Project Delta
by 5th Legion
Summary: She was not born into a normal life. She had no father to protect her, no mother to nurture her, no home to feel safe in, and no real chance at a future. Born in a lab, she was to be part of an experiment meant to change humanity into something new, to raise them to a new level of biological glory. Pain was her constant companion and suffering her faithful teacher. Covers Pre ME1
1. Chapter 1

**Project Delta**

 _She was not born into a normal life. She had no father to protect her, no mother to nurture her, no home to feel safe in, and no real chance at a future. Born in a lab, she was to be part of an experiment meant to change humanity into something new, to raise them to a new level of biological glory. Pain was her constant companion and suffering her faithful teacher. As a child she was nothing but a number, fated only to die for scraps of useful knowledge and perhaps improve another number's chances… but fate is fickle. A beast grows within her soul, and when it breaks free the reaper himself will struggle to keep up._

 **Chapter 1 - The Early years**

Entry : 0

Date : 5.1.2154

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

This shall be my first entry detailing Project Delta, the apex of my career. Our organization has long been dedicated to the advancement and improvement of humanity. With this project, we shall ensure humanity's dominion over all that dwell in this galaxy.

The purpose of Project Delta is to change humanity. Change it into something better. We shall achieve this via extremely advanced bio-implants developed in our most secure lab. We don't fully understand where the base materials came from but the prevailing hypothesis is that they were developed by the protheans as a means of evolving beyond their own physical limitations. Now, we shall use them to build our own future.

Using animal trials we have determined to optimal placement of each different implant, of which there are 7 distinct units. Every system of the body shall be augmented. By the time the implantation process is complete, the subjects will be stronger, faster, more durable, more intelligent, and well… pretty much better in almost every way. There are likely to be a number of deviant cases but with 500 hundred subjects I don't think having to liquidate a few dozen will matter.

It will not be a bloodless process. Casualties have to be expected. However, I'm sure that once we produce the results I expect, any fatalities can be forgiven. After all, most of the subjects have no families. Most aren't technically citizens of the Alliance. A few were even born here from a few 'volunteers'. No one will miss a few orphans with no ties to the outside world.

We have been allocated significant resources, a secure facility, numerous test subjects, and a guarantee that the Systems Alliance and the soon to be introduced and pathetic Citadel Council will be completely unaware. With our current situation I estimate significant results within a single decade.

The subjects have already begun arriving. All will be here by the end of the week. 500 infants ready for implantation. This the beginning of a new age.

Entry : 1

Date : 5.8.2154

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Every subject has arrived and received their inspection. We are ready to begin the implantation process. I am nearly breathless with anticipation. Our first move is to install the cerebral implant. The optimal placement with our simian test units was just above the cerebellum. I am confident this will remain so with our human subjects.

The cerebral implant should take only a few weeks to spread throughout each subject's brain. This first implant will smooth the development for all future units. We must be careful during implantation. The human brain is a fragile thing, and an infant's even more so.

This first step is the most important, and will likely be the most damaging. Animal trials had almost 2% fatalities in this first stage. An acceptable if annoying possibility. I will be quite busy in this early stage and will not make a new log until it is complete. I refuse to miss a moment.

 _There is pain. The tiny mind knows little but that. There is pain. She doesn't know what she is, where she is, or who she is. All she knows is pain. She screams as all infants do, but no mother comes to comfort her. No father seeks to cast away the cause of the pain. She doesn't understand anything she hears or sees. She is too young. There is only pain, pain, pain. Why does everything hurt?_

Entry : 2

Date : 7.3.2154

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

I must admit I am somewhat perturbed by the price of the very first stage of the experiment. Of the 500 subjects implanted, 37 died within an hour of surgery. A further 43 in the following 7 weeks. 80 subjects, a full 16% of our stock. I am unhappy with this cost but shall continue regardless.

The remaining 420 subjects are developing fairly well with only a few exceptions. Numbers 113 and 299 are proving to be quite weak and will likely perish before the second procedure even begins. 486, 047, 309, and 322 are showing signs of extreme cerebral deformation and shall be liquidated. We need not waste further resources on such obvious failures. The only questionable case that I think is even remotely salvageable is 027. She shows signs of implant rejection but I think we'll keep her for now. I think it will be useful to monitor the rejection process. Perhaps we'll learn something to boost the chances of the others.

Other than the less than stellar survival rate so far, I believe that we are more than ready to move to stage 2. Next comes the spinal implant with shall be placed and the base of the C1 Atlas. Over the course of 2 more months it shall spread throughout the spinal column, providing reinforcement and improving stability.

A number of staff members have expressed disquiet over continuing. I've done my best to allay their fears. This isn't about a few meaningless lives. It's about humanity's destiny within a harsh and uncaring galaxy. Most seemed to settle down and those that were not placated have been sent away. We will continue immediately. I eagerly await news for the next log entry.

 _The pain barely lets her sleep. Her back is but a line of fire, scorching her at all times. She continues to cry for help, for a caregiver, but none come to her aid. Why won't it stop? The large ones, the ones in white and green do nothing to stop the hurting. They feed her. Clean her. Cut her. Hurt her. BUT WHY? There is pain and they won't help her. They won't help._

Entry : 3

Date : 10.9.2154

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Far better news this time around. With only 6 fatalities, stage 2 is complete. Many subjects are already displaying advanced motor skills. 099 and 222 are walking unaided. This rapid development can only be from the implants. The subjects are growing faster than we thought possible.

One small problem we've discovered is that the subjects seem to have developed a bizarrely powerful tolerance for the sedatives we've been using. The dosage required to keep them sedated is borderline fatal. Therefor we will have to forego the use of sedatives in the future and simply hope for the best. This decision was met with vehement anger among the majority of the staff. Accusations of unnecessary cruelty and outright maliciousness were thrown about. When I refused to reverse my command, fully half the staff resigned. I have requested that my next batch of help be of a more pragmatic temperament.

 _He_ contacted me for a report 2 days ago. He seemed quite happy with the results thus far until I told him of the casualties. He is well prepared to accept some deaths but I shall have to refrain from revealing the full cost until we have significant results. At the moment he believes we have only lost 20 subjects rather than the 86 we actually have. I don't have any real room to maneuver on the subject. I shall just have to be more circumspect.

Our next step is the ocular implant. This implant shall in fact completely replace the eye. Once fully grown, they shall provide the subjects with vastly superior eyesight. Casualties should be quite light for this particular step.

One item of rather surprising news is the continued survival of subject 027. Though she still shows some signs of rejection, the fact that she is still alive is quite impressive. I shall have to keep an eye on her.

 _The pain only gets worse. Where before she would wake to new pain, now the large ones hurt her while she is awake. She loses sight for a time and in the deep dark without sight her eyes are but globes of agony boring into her tiny skull. When sight comes back everything is painfully bright. She sees colors where before there were none. A new light assault her eyes. One of the large one shines it in her face and makes noises of surprise at what it sees. This large one is always looking. She knows nothing else of it other than the fact that it is always watching when she feels new pain._

Entry : 4

Date : 1.2.2155

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

As expected, there were no fatalities for this most recent stage. A few close calls certainly, but no deaths. This seems to have earned me some favor with _Him_. I shall strive to preserve this good fortune.

Despite the excellent news of survival for all subjects a new problem has arisen. Due to the lack of sedative being used each subject is fully awake for the procedures. This has lead to a difficult situation among the staff. Hurting the subjects for the sake of advancement isn't a problem. It's the screams that are a problem. Many staffers have resigned, claiming that the screaming haunts them in their dreams. One young man even had a mental breakdown and had to be carried away. I have ordered the surgical bays be completely soundproofed. Hopefully this will help solve the problem.

The implants themselves have developed nicely. Most have taken the appearance of natural human eyes with only a few small anomalies marking them out as abnormal. The one notable exception is little 027. Her implants not only appear completely different, containing no fewer than 5 distinct rings of material outside her pupils, but they also shine a startlingly luminescent violet. Despite this her new eyes seem to function perfectly, despite a somewhat unnerving decrease in blinking. Also all signs of rejection have disappeared completely. She is now one of the healthiest subjects. This little one has certainly captured my interest.

Our next step should go well. The next implant is actually a series of bio nodes to be implanted in the marrow of the subjects' long bones. While the procedure will undoubtedly be unpleasant we must push forward. This implant will take far longer than the last three. I'm optimistic about what's to come

 _'It hurts' she thinks to herself, 'Why can't I stop hurting'. Her arms and legs feel like grinding glass. They are getting longer and stronger, but even lying perfectly still she still feels the endless pain in her very bones._

 _The large ones still won't make the pain stop. The one that's always there for new pain keeps talking to her but she barely can hear through the roaring in her veins as the pain keeps her weak._

 _"Well 027, how are we today?" Why does he ask this? What does he want? "I'm glad to say you're doing quite well. You're bones are forming nicely and your new bits inside are beginning to mesh. I think you'll be with us for a while yet." Why won't he help her?!_

 _'Please make me stop hurting!' The voice in her head sobs as he turns to walk away. But no sound comes out. She just stares at him through her tears as he again leaves her alone to her pain. 'Please… just make it stop….'_

Entry : 5

Date : 10.30.2155

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

It seems the universe delights in making me regret my words. The last 10 months have been utter hell. A further 32 subjects perished during the most recent implantation. If that wasn't enough we had an information leak and were forced to relocate. 13 more subjects died during transport. The remaining 369 are doing well despite this near incessant pain they're experiencing. We can't use painkillers though. I've learned that the medicines we use to suppress pain also severely slow the growth of the implants. The subjects will simply have to learn to live with it.

Again, more interesting news in regards to 027. Her implants have grown in perfectly and are working together more smoothly than any other subject. She certainly seems to have a guardian angel watching her. Her bones, while still growing, are already stronger than a fully grown adult. Her white blood cells are fascinating. They are actually creating small nodes outside her bones that in turn generate a new kind of cell. These new cells flow through the blood like platelets, but instead of clotting wounds, they actually form active defensive points. We exposed some of these cells to samples of various viral and bacterial agents. They dissolved every infectious agents they encountered. One day we may be able to turn this into a new form of antiseptic, if we can first solve the problem of their extreme toxicity first. These cells tend to kill anything outside the host body.

The other subjects are all progressing well. Some are almost as promising as 027. We shall have to wait and see as the next implant will be challenging. It is a subdermal implant which will spread through the subject's entire dermal layer. This implant is the slowest growing and will almost certainly lead to some loses. I can only hope for smoother sailing from here on, but I won't hold my breath.

 _The pain now includes a hideous itch that never goes away no matter how much she scratches her skin. It feels like something slithers just beneath the surface in an endless crawling ache that robs her of what little peace she had found in sleep. The food that made the painful itch weaker doesn't come anymore._

 _She can hear screams from beyond her door. They sound like her own. Desperate cries of pain, destined to be ignored like any other plea for help she hears. She knows there are others like her. Others trapped in agony that never, ever stops. She often sees them being dragged between rooms, by the tall ones. They suffer as she does. 'Why are they hurting us?' It is a never ending refrain in her mind. What little sleep she manages to steal is always haunted by the quiet sobs of those like her, echoing through the halls._

 _The tall one who brings the pain won't leave her alone. Always asking questions, wanting her to answer, demanding to know why she won't answer. When she doesn't he takes her to different rooms and sticks plugs on her head and throat and needles into her skin. Then he makes sounds of interest and confusion before taking her to new labs._

 _He makes cuts on her skin and watches as it heals. The tall ones take fluid from inside her arms and puts them in tubes. She doesn't know why. When the pain bringer tells her he uses words she can't understand like 'anti-septic' and 'coagulant'._

 _The only comfort she has is her hair. It goes down to her shoulder in a tangled mess, but it's soft and she loves the color. She often holds strands tight in her fists just to have something else to focus on besides the pain. It helps make her feel better. Not by much, but a little is better than none._

 _Sometimes the pain is too much to hold inside so she shrieks at her walls for hours, venting a wild, feral anger that eats away at her heart. When she finally collapses from exhaustion she curls in a corner and silently begs for something to change, for a chance to go to sleep just one time without hurting, to eat without razors tearing in her stomach. She's so tired..._

Entry : 6

Date : 6.22.2157

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Two years. Two fucking years! Intellectually I knew that this stage would take longer but I never really braced myself for just how bitter this time would be.

Another 37 subjects have died. The first fifteen died during implantation. The remaining 22 from implant rejection over the first 3 weeks. Despite my calm thus far I must admit that the… the sight of these rejections was very, very… disturbing. Never did I think flesh would simply peel free from a living creature in such a terrifying manner.

This has proven to be a breaking point for so many staff members that _He_ felt the need to contact me and demand answers. So many have left not only the project but our organization in its entirety. I did my best to assure him that it was simply the stress of spending so long in seclusion. Not to mention the nature of the experiments themselves. I'm still not entirely sure if I convinced him, but he seemed to mollified for now. I have my own doubts at this point but I refuse to give in.

The sole point of good fortune in this most recent stage is 027. She becomes more remarkable with each step. Her implant has spread throughout her dermal layer flawlessly. She has become resistance to cuts from most common sources of damage. Her physical appearance is surprisingly different than her fellow subjects. Most have a mid tone complexion quite common in modern man. Her skin has taken on a quite pale color with a small number of freckles dotting her face. Her hair has shifted from its original brown to a deep, almost crimson shade.

Her behavior is also odd compared to her peers. While most of the other exhibit many common characteristics of children their age, she is almost completely different. Where others are somewhat mischievous and constantly seeking to ask questions (mostly when the pain will stop) she never speaks. We know she can understand us. We've used numerous mental tests to be sure, but she doesn't talk. I have performed a thorough examination to find the problem. The result… nothing. There are no flaws in her vocal cords and no abnormal brain deformations. She simply chooses to not talk. That's not to say she is completely silent. She still makes sounds to indicate amusement (rarely but still), hunger, fear, and anger. 027 just doesn't communicate through words. I intend to engage her in a number of more focused exercises to try and encourage her to 'find her voice' as it were.

Our next step, given our retched luck thus far, will likely be costly. The 6th implant will be installed in 4 pieces, 1 for each chamber of the heart. Once installed it shall begin to spread throughout the entirety of the subject's' circulatory systems. I don't know how long this implant will take to reach maturity. Simian testing revealed wildly differing growth times, all the way from 6 weeks to 18 months. No 2 subjects had the same duration so we'll have to see how it goes. I pray for a turn in our luck.

 _She clutches at her chest, at the ache inside that makes her feel so weak. They put something in her chest, she watched them do it. Now she feels like there are bugs crawling in her chest. The blood pounds in her ears and she always hears her heartbeat._

 _Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump._

 _Her head burns inside. She thinks to fast sometimes and forgets what she's doing while she starts trying to do something else. She thinks faster than she can move. 'WHY IS EVERYTHING SO SLOW?!' Every sound is a blast of mind shredding noise that leaves her dazed. She doesn't get sick anymore, but she would gladly take that back if she could just stop hearing her heart at night._

 _Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump._

 _The tall ones and the others like her are disappearing. The screams are much louder for a while and then they just start going quiet. This is more terrifying than anything else. She had gotten used to those sounds. With them gone she wonders if her own screaming will stop. What will that mean? Will the pain go away? Or will it get so bad she can't even cry out._

 _Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump._

 _Her fear keeps her in a corner of her cell, crying quietly, trying not to bring the attention of whatever is making the sounds disappear. The only sound that just gets louder and louder and louder is that of her own heart._

 _ **Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump.**_

Entry : 7

Date : 4.17.2160

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

…

…

…

As of the 17th of April, 2160, Project Delta consists of only 5 subjects. Their numbers are 003, 190, 486, 250, and (thankfully) 027. The remaining 327 subjects have all perished. The sounds they made… I… I don't know if I can keep doing this. I always thought… I thought maybe a few dozen, a hundred at most, but 495, 99 percent! I doubt _HE_ will forgive this even if the remaining 5 subjects are true successes.

My staff has been almost entirely replaced with VI controlled robots. They kept complaining about the screaming, the endless pleas for help or anything to make the pain stop. I just can't take the whining any more. I'm already having trouble keeping myself together after seeing what happened to the most recent fatalities. Skin splitting along major veins and arteries, blood pouring from ears and noses, some of them simply drowning in their own blood as their lungs were torn apart by failed implant growth. _So much blood._ It will be better with less noise, yes, less noise.

Subjects 003, 190, 486, and 250 are all developing as expected. They are maturing faster than a normal human and I predict full physical development by age 13. Again 027 is the anomaly. She likely won't reach physical maturity until 17 perhaps even later. While she is growing much slower than the others, her implants are perfectly formed and her body is stronger than we thought possible . She hasn't suffered any kind of sickness in more than 3 years. Her mind processes information at a rate seldom seen even in genius level intellects. Her reaction times thus far are nearly 22% quicker than the human average. While these results are quite impressive we will need to wait until the final implant is installed and mature before the real testing can begin.

The only observable problem for our little 027 is pain. Despite the beautifully healed scars and perfectly grafted implants, she seems to be suffering widespread pain almost constantly. This has resulted in an aversion to almost any physical contact as that seems to exacerbate her suffering. There have been a number of times that I have observed her trembling in the corner of her cell, desperately pawing at her forehead or extremities whilst emitted a mewling sound one could easily associate with a wounded animal. While we can find no source for this widespread pain, our scans have indicated that the portions of her brain responsible for the processing of pain are almost constantly active. In truth, I wish I could ease her suffering but we've come too far to be held back by the weeping of children.

I shall need to maintain close observation of all subjects for the final stage of implantation. The muscular implant must be inserted bit by bit into each of the major muscle groups. This will likely be the most torturous stage for the subjects, but each of them has shown how durable they are. They'll make it. They. **Will.** Make. It. I… hope they make it.

 _She has so much energy it makes her tremble at all hours. She wants to run, to jump, to climb, to fight, anything to spend energy and be tired again. She is stronger than before. One of the new tall ones tried to take her food away. She hit it hard enough to break its chest open. It's not like her chest, because she didn't see any blood or even a heart for that matter._

 _The other ones like her are with her now. They talk but she still doesn't. When they cry it makes her heart hurt so she tries to make them stop. She hugs them and they are quieter. She even shares her food so they feel better. She is hungrier but helping them makes the pain more quiet._

 _The screams are gone but now she has the new sounds the others make to keep her company. She doesn't feel like crying as much anymore. Her new friends, her first friends, help make the ache in her chest go away._

Entry : 8

Date : 6.28.2160

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

So far the final stage of implantation is going well. All five subjects are still alive and the new implant nodes are steadily growing. Each seems to be adapting well, even though they all seem to be suffering for the same widespread pain that 027 has been enduring. They cry so much. **They won't stop**. Even 027 weeps every now and then. Why?! She, of all of them, should be used to it by now. No matter. We continue.

I've decided to keep them all together for the remainder of the implantation process. This seems to ease some of their suffering. Each able to provide some measure of comfort to others by way of their shared suffering. Surprisingly the most nurturing of all is 027. When the others cry uncontrollably, she stills her own sobs to hold them close despite the obvious pain it causes her. She still doesn't speak but just being around her seems to calm the others. She even gives most of her food to the others just to make them feel better. She becomes more fascinating every day.

 _One of her friends is sick. He can't stand up anymore. He barely eats. She holds him close so he knows she's there because he cries when she isn't. Her other friends are too afraid to come close but she can't leave him alone. She makes sounds to him. Sounds that always made her feel better but he almost never seems to hear. Is he going to stop making sounds? Is he going to disappear too?_

Entry : 9

Date : 8.11.2160

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

A disturbing turn. 003 has become violently ill. His tests show widespread destabilization of each implant matrix. If this continues the result will be complete rejection, at which point his body will literally tear itself apart. I desperately hope this isn't a sign of what's to come for the others. Especially 027.

Most of the others try to avoid 003 now, as if they fear being close will somehow spread his condition. But not 027. She continues to surprise. She spends nearly every waking hour by 003's side. He stops crying while she is near. She still doesn't talk. Instead she simply holds his hands and hums a mindless tune that seems to comfort him for some reason.

I shall continue to observe and pray for a swift recovery.

Entry : 10

Date : 9.9.2160

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

003 has taken a turn for the worst. It's as I feared, widespread rejection. His implants are already beginning to break him. 027 continues to stay with him, humming her little tune. She simply holds his hand and cries with him.

The others are beginning to show signs of illness as well. I… don't know what to do. What the fuck am I supposed to do?!

 _She can't stop crying. They are all sick now and their sounds are growing quieter. The boy who got sick first isn't moving anymore. He's barely breathing and she doesn't know how to help._

 _She spends days trying to make her special sounds to make him happy but she doesn't know if he hears anymore. She knows he's going to stop make sound soon. She doesn't want him to hurt anymore. There is a sharp piece of metal in the room. She stole it from one of the tall ones. They used it to cut her to put things inside. She thinks she knows how to make his pain stop, but she knowing his sounds will stop too. He is hurting so much and she doesn't know what else to do._

Entry : 10

Date : 9.15.2160

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

She… she killed him. I have no idea where the knife came from. She held him close. Hummed her little song until he fell asleep. Then she drove the shard of metal through the base of his skull, tearing through his palette and impaling his brain. Scans indicate near instant death. How did she know to strike in such a way? When he was dead she just kept holding him for hours silently weeping. The others didn't even bat an eye at his death, though in truth they aren't really in a position to do so. All remaining subjects except 027 are showing signs of rejection.

I am almost certain that Project Delta will soon end, and with it my own life. I shall stay with them until they pass. When this cruel joke spreads to 027 I will reveal all to _Him_ and then I'll end myself.

 _She doesn't know how long she held him for after she made him quiet. All she knows is that he is gone and her other friends are becoming just like he was. She has to make the all quiet. They won't hurt anymore. She'll be alone but at least they won't suffer like her anymore._

Entry : 11

Date : 11.4.2160

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Subject 190 - deceased

cause of death -

single stab through the base of skull with surgical knife, death was instantaneous

Subject 486- deceased

cause of death -

single stab through the base of skull with surgical knife, death was instantaneous

Subject 250- deceased

cause of death -

single stab through the base of skull with surgical knife, death was instantaneous

She's all that's left. 499 dead, 4 by her own hand. She simply lays in the corner of her cell now, nothing but the sounds of depthless sorrow coming from her. She shows no sign of illness, nor even the slightest hint of implant rejection. It will still take a few more procedures to finish the process but it looks like she will succeed where all others have fallen.

 _Alone...alone...alone. It's so quiet. No screams, no shouts, no pleas for help. Only the sound of her own sobbing keeps her company now. She holds her knees to her chest and begs in her head for her friends to forgive her._

 _She's not sick like they were. She isn't becoming quiet and that just makes her feel worse. She thinks about making herself quiet like the others but she's too afraid._

Entry : 12

Date : 4.11.2161

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

I don't know what to say. 027 is a success. Implantation is complete and everything looks fine. All we had to do was trample a pile of dead children, and inflict endless, searing agony and now we have a successful subject. For what it's worth we can now proceed to phase 2.

I can't tell _Him_ the true cost. I've been lying for years. I might as well continue. I'll send word for enough materials to move 420 subjects. _He_ still believes there are that many survivors. I'll need to eliminate the few remaining staff members. The VI's will handle the labor, both for moving material and disposing of the bodies.

We'll be moving into a new facility in the terminus for Phase 2. It's currently under construction on some station that is evidently outside even Council jurisdiction. Even should some damn fool learn what we are doing there'll be nothing anyone can do. So long as we leave the station's ruling faction in peace, we'll apparently be left in peace.

I shall see this through to the end, not matter what may come. And when all's said and done I shall gladly pay whatever price there is to pay.

 _The tall ones take her from her cell and put her in a pod. She sleeps for a while and awakens in a new place. Everything is different. Her cell in bigger, more open, and has much more in it. She doesn't know what to think. All she knows is that it's still quite and she hates it._

Entry : 13

Date : 5.17.2161

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

We have arrived at our new facility. It is marvelous. It contains everything we need to move forward. There are cells for hundreds of subjects, which will now be used instead for various experiments. We have numerous gymnasia for physical training. Our medical and technical labs are state of the art and I shall delight in putting them to use.

I wish I had something positive to say for the station itself. In truth it's quite the repulsive den of swine. Slums, drugs, gangs, whores, repulsive aliens everywhere, seedy clubs, and enough murder and mayhem to make even the megalopolises of Earth look positively homey. I'll not spend much time outside the lab, in fact, none if I can help it. We won't be letting 027 out there. We have too much to do.

Omega **…** what shithole.

027 had little reaction to the new surroundings. She is still in widespread pain and avoids contact as much as possible. I've ordered 4 cells to be combined into one large room for her. She deserves that much at least. The next few years will not be easy for her. She will have to suffer more than ever before, but I'll be there to watch over her.

 _All alone in her big new room, she spends a lot of time just laying down trying not to think of her friends. It takes her some time to actually start examining her surroundings. She has a soft bed, a bathroom of her own, books, and more food than ever._

 _Eventually she finds something she's never seen before. A big glass panel mounted in one corner of her room. In it she sees an image, an image that follows her. Eventually she realizes that she is seeing herself. She spends hours looking at herself in her mirror._

 _The pain-bringer eventually comes in and sees her staring at herself. He talks for many minutes about 'reflection' and how 'light bounces'. She doesn't hear any of it. She can't stop staring and the girl in the mirror. She is shorter than she thought. She sees her red hair running to her shoulders in tangled mess and is happy for a moment. Eventually he stops trying to talk to her and leaves her alone with her reflection._

 _She looks into the glowing violet eyes for nearly an hour and then something suddenly snaps inside. All the pain, sorrow, and hate start pouring out in an unending stream of shrieks and growls. She leaps at her reflection and begins slamming her fists against the glass. It hurts more that anything she's ever felt but when the glass cracks she goes wild. Pounding harder and harder, pieces of glass begin to scatter about. Some of fall on top of her, grazing her skin. Most simple bounce off but some slide along just right and slice open her arms, shoulders, and face._

 _There is now blood being flung across the walls, the floor, and all over her. The blood just drivers her further. When the mirror finally shatters completely she turns her rage on anything else she can find. She shreds the bed covering and tears pieces off its frame. Swing a piece of a metal bar from the frame, she sets about smashing everything she can reach. She can't stop, can't think. All she knows is the pain all over and the endless screaming in her head. She hates everything she sees._

 _Eventually some of the tall ones come in to stop her. She hates them, hates them, HATES THEM. They are the new focus for her rampage. The first one doesn't understand the danger. He demands she stop and stomps forward to try and restrain her. He never really knew what happened. She hit so hard, so fast, his skull caved in with a spray of blood and brain matter. His body fell forward in a nerveless heap. The second simply stands there in terror as this little girl leaps at her next. The metal bar again sings through the air. This time in a horizontal swing that catches the woman in the throat. The tall one collapses to the ground, her head resting at a disturbing angle._

 _The third one is ready for her. He attacks with his own metal stick and knocks hers away. He pull back his arm for another swing. Before he can even think of bringing it down she leaps onto his chest and clamps her teeth down on his nose. She them proceeding to tear the ugly lump of flesh from his face in a spray of gore. She leaps off as he falls back, desperately clutching his shredded face, screaming in agony. She isn't idol. As soon as the man is on the ground, she leaps back onto his chest and grabs his collar. She then swings her head down into his. The headbutt causes an explosion of pain that nearly floors her, but she doesn't care. The tall one is still breathing. She headbutts him again, and again, and again. By the fourth strike there isn't much left of his head._

 _She takes up her metal stick again and begins striking each of the bodies over and over and over. There is shadow growing in the corners of her vision. Nausea is spreading and she can barely stand. A new voice sounds at the door. Rather than anger or fear she hears a voice trying to be soothing, to calm her. She tries to swing at this new target but collapses in a heap. She looks up through foggy eyes to see the pain-bringer standing over her looking down in abject horror at the scene before him. She hates him most of all. She decides that when she stops feeling so dizzy she is going to hit him until there is nothing left to hit. She will paint the walls with his blood. Her decision made, she finally allows her exhaustion to drop her into the abyss of sleep._

So there it is. The first chapter of my first fanfiction. This story shall cover Shepard's story up until ME1. I welcome feedback and will try to answer any questions


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Phase 2**

 _Project name - Delta_

 _Phase_ _: 2_

Entry : 1

Date : 5.18.2161

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Our first day of Phase 2 and already trouble has reared its ugly head. 027 had an… incident yesterday. At first she seemed to accept her new surroundings with almost no distress. We observed her resting for a short time before she got up and began to look around her new room. She seemed to like what she saw, until she came to the large mirror along the 'north' side of her room. It was quite the odd sight. She just stood there, staring for almost 3 hours. To tell the truth I had forgotten that she had never seen her own face. Her old cell didn't have a mirror. I tried to explain the science behind reflection and how mirrors work but she didn't seem interested. She just kept watching herself, hands idly playing with her dark crimson hair. That seemed to make her happier than any attempt to educate so I left her to herself.

An hour later I received an emergency alert. Her vitals were spiking uncontrollably and scans indicated she was loosing blood fast. I nearly had a heart attack. She couldn't be suffering implant rejection. All signs indicated a perfect meshing with her natural internal structure. I was so terrified over what it might mean that I didn't even think to use my comm link to find out what was wrong. I sprinted to her room, desperately praying for some kind of monitor malfunction to explain the spike. The truth was far, far worse than I feared.

The first sign of what was to come came in the form of a fresh splatter of blood in the hall, her door wide open. _Did someone attack her? No! No!_ It was then that an awful sound came floating out the room. It was a cross between a guttural growl and feral mewling. _What the fuck is going on?_ I crossed the threshold into a scene straight out of nightmare. Blood splayed across nearly every surface, tinting everything in a hideous crimson. There were pieces of flesh cast about, all sourced from the three mangled corpses piled nearby. They had been savaged to a degree that visual identification was impossible. It wouldn't be until the autopsies that we found out who these poor bastards were. Assistants Jonah, Sara, and Corporal Dollen had to be shipped home in pieces for burial. However, the worst sight by far was 027 herself. She was the source of those terrifying sounds. She stood over the largest remaining piece of flesh remaining, striking it in an ever slower and weaker rhythm. Her hands were an oozing, mangled mess. I could see shards of glass imbedded deep in her flesh, blood pouring from cuts across her head, shoulders, and arms. _So much blood._

I tried to speak calmly and soothe her rage. When she finally looked at me, it was with a feral, hateful glare. She began to stumble towards me, raising her weapon, a piece torn from the bed frame if I'm not mistaken. She only made it a few steps before her legs gave out. Collapsing in a boneless heap, she tried to crawl on, growling and trying to attack. She only succeed in groaning with an exhausted tone and then rolling onto her back. Her eyes rolled back as she fell into unconsciousness.

I picked her up and took her to emergency care, desperation lending me a turn of speed I was shocked by. Her implants saved her. 90% blood loss, deep lacerations along much of her body, several bones broken from her own exertions, and massive strain on her heart. The list of consequences goes on. She Nearly tore herself apart in her attack. I'm still not certain what triggered the sudden violence. Security footage shows her just staring at herself one moment and completely berserk the next. When her watchers finally intervened, she attacked with barely a moment's delay. Jonah died first, his head reduced to a bloody smear. Sara next when 027 broke her neck with a single hit. Dollen was the only one to fight back, but it was meaningless. Even disarmed she still killed him with almost no effort. His body was the least intact, torn into more than a dozen distinct pieces.

It was so disturbing, so brutal, so utterly _perfect_. Despite the hideousness of the incident, she has proven the efficacy of the implants. With training and proper control, she can still serve the purpose of the project. However, it will likely mean a new breed of super soldier rather than a full reinvention of our race as a whole. This will still give our people a massive edge in an ever growing field of threats. I'm even more dedicated to continuing, for 027 is the future of warfare. We shall move forward with fresh purpose as soon as she's back on her feet.

Our first tests will establish some baseline information about her physical condition. After that, the true work will begin.

 _She wakes up to a world of agony. Her hands are blobs of molten pain. Her skin feels stretched to the point of ripping. Liquid glass shifts in her bones as she tries to hold still. Her chest is a mass of lead trying to force air in and out._

 _She holds herself as tightly as she can, trying to remember what happened. She sees flashes. A crushed skull. A neck bent at an impossible angle. Pieces of torn flesh all around. A shattered mirror and shards of glass_ _ **in**_ _her skin. A reflection of violet eyes._

 _She sobs at the things she knows she did. When she made the others quiet, it was to make their suffering stop. This time she doesn't know why she ended these new ones. All she can think when she tries to remember why is a black abyss of feral rage. She quivers in terror at what she sees and hides away from it. That isn't her…_

 _Is It?_

Entry : 2

Date : 7.20.2161

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Preliminary testing has proven quite fascinating. 027 has become a remarkable creature. She is stronger than even fully trained soldiers. Her senses are so acute that she can navigate through even pitch black areas by sound alone. She can track scents almost as well as a blood hound. Her vision extends well into the ultraviolet spectrum and even into infrared, though to a lesser extent. She is also capable of moving with blinding speed, her reaction times putting battle hardened warriors to shame.

She has also proven to be highly intelligent. 027 is capable of solving complex 3 dimensional puzzles in record time with little to no prep time. I have even seen her disassemble the circuitry of a datapad and reassemble it with a precision I didn't think possible. Puzzlingly though, when asked to write down how to do it, she grows confused and non-cooperative. I'm not sure if she even understands it herself. It may very well be some kind of instinctive affinity for problem solving combined with what is proving to be a near insatiable curiosity.

We have to keep her constantly occupied. Otherwise she will seek out some kind of mystery to solve, or more disturbingly, she'll begin trying to go after staff with violent intent. She is growing far more aggressive than before. 23 staff members have been seriously injured after failing to heed her auditory warnings to stay away. Assistant Harlow had to have 4 fingers reattached after attempting to take away a puzzle that she apparently wanted to put together a second time. Dr. Imes is now in a body cast after gripping 027's arm too tightly to draw blood. Commander Argen of the security detachment is still in a coma. I warned him not to make snide comments about her hair. She loves her hair and won't let anyone so much as glance at it wrong.

An odd twist with 027 is her new taste as far as nutrition goes. She tends to eat almost anything she can get her hands on while hungry. This has, on multiple occasions, included the cardboard container her milk comes in. While somewhat bizarre, it doesn't seem to negatively affect her. Trying to stop this behavior has proven extremely hazardous as Dr. Petrov and his left eye learned the hard way. Other odd tastes include her napkin when finished eating, the cob from the occasional serving of corn, and even the shells from some crab legs one of the assistants managed to sneak in for her. We continuously monitor her digestion but at this point it's little more than a passing curiosity. We shall to add dietary experiments to the list of future activities. I am excited to see the limits of her new abilities.

Our next stage of testing will be the extreme conditions tests. We will subject her to numerous adverse conditions in order to see how well her implants can help her adapt. I don't want to hurt her. She is precious to m- us, but we need to know just what she can endure.

 _They keep putting her in odd situations. Rooms with no light that she has to make her way through. Pieces of material that she has to bend or break. Things she has to find by smelling them. She can see things they can't. They think the blood stains in her room are gone, but she can still see them. They are just in different light that's all._

 _They give her things to put together. This is interesting for her. She likes the way things fit together, but sometimes they try to take them away before she's done. When she took their fingers away they stopped that._

 _The stupid one in armor said mean things about her hair, so she ripped his off. The first pain bringer says that one is in a 'coma' whatever that means._

 _She's so hungry now. They give her lots of food but it's never enough. One tried to take away her food and all she saw was red. When she saw things normally again, that one was missing an eye and she went back to eating. They don't try to take her food anymore._

 _She makes sounds to tell them when to leave her alone, but some don't listen. At least, they don't listen until she rips a piece off of them. Then they listen._

Entry : 3

Date : 3.31.2162

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

These last 6 months have been astonishing. 027 has met our every expectation and then sailed straight past them. Though it has been quite painful for her, and very difficult to watch, she has shown an inner strength and adaptability that is nothing short of amazing.

We began with various forms of thermal testing. First she was placed in a large 30m x 30m x 20m cell and told simply to survive. For 2 weeks we slowly raised the temperature from the standard 21c to a blistering 82c. She didn't react oddly at first, simply removing excess coverings at first and drinking more. As the temperature reached levels dangerous for humans she began shredding her remaining clothes into small sections. As the air reach 60c her dermal implant began to secrete a strange viscous material. As the material spread, her internal temperature began to drop to more sustainable levels. For 2 days she showed almost no sign of discomfort or even dehydration. I just had to know how much she could take. For the 3rd week I order a sharp rise in temperature. At 90c she began to have trouble breathing. At 95c Her new dermal material began to crack and her temperature began rising. At a full 100c she finally collapsed and I ordered the room dropped back to normal levels. Full scans and hour later showed that she was already recovering. Any normal human would be long dead but she was up and about by morning.

The strange secretion was examined later and it was odd to say the least. It began dissolving without the high ambient temperature but we did manage to preserve a small amount. This remarkable compound was actually forming an intricate carbon lattice over her skin and deflecting ambient heat whilst allowing her own body heat to pass through. The range of temperature for this compound to form is limited but it allowed her to live for an extended time with temperatures even a turian would find intolerable.

 _She's BURNING. There's no fire but she still feels like she's burning. It's so hot she can't think. She stays a slow as possible so she won't heat up but the air is so hot it doesn't help much. It's not until the goo starts seeping out of her skin that she starts to feel better. It feels strange, like she's covered in syrup and the smell is like something has been scorched but it does feel good._

 _It just keeps getting hotter. The stuff on her skin breaks. Her mind swims in an ocean of magma. When the bliss of darkness comes, she doesn't fight it. She dreams of fire but the dream doesn't hurt as much so she welcomes it. Fire is better than lava._

Next came the cold test. With the same setup and instructions as before, she became quite nervous, frightened even. Over the next 3 weeks the temperature was slowly lowered to -29c. She didn't handle the cold as well as the heat. While still far better in extreme cold than a baseline human, the results weren't as extreme as the heat. At -32c that she began to falter. When her internal temperature began to drop, her muscular implants went into overdrive and began firing micro movements in her muscles. These kept her body from shutting down in the cold but also made her extremely hyper. She was completely unable to stop moving for the duration of the experiment. She wasn't even able to sleep properly until the temperature was returned to normal.

 _Her teeth chatter and her snot is frozen. Her body shakes uncontrollably and she can barely sleep. She has so much energy that it feels like her body is screaming at her to get up and do_ _ **something**_ _to burn it away. The shaking helps keep her warm but it makes her so angry. We can't she just hold still!_

After recovery and a few days rest she was taken to a new lab. This chamber was built to test gravitic tolerances. While one of the shortest tests, I can safely say I was by far the most terrifying for her. First we starting with low and no gravity tests. She seemed very disturbed the entire time. She was easily able to orient and control herself on the odd gravity fields but her vitals were extremely erratic the entire time. Though her reaction to high gravity was far worse. As she began to feel her weight increase, she started to panic, slamming her hands against the walls of the chamber whilst screaming at any who were there to hear. She stayed standing until 10g and screaming until 12g. At 14g she began weeping uncontrollably and staring directly into the main camera. At 16g she lost consciousness and we ended the test.

Afterward she wouldn't let anyone get close to her for almost a month. The few that tried, well… I rather not talk about what she did. It's best to say we won't ever, **ever** be repeating that test.

 _She's never been so afraid. When she stood in that room and felt the ground stop pulling her it twisted her guts in a way she's never felt. Eventually it pulled her back down, and she thought they were done. But when the ground started pulling harder and harder and just wouldn't stop, she was so terrified she thought her heart would pop. She screams at them to stop. It hurts so much. Everything is pulling down. Her insides are being shredded and her skin is ready to split. The black of pain-sleep takes her and when she wakes up next she's back in her room._

 _She can barely think for so long after. Any time one of the pain bringers comes she makes them quiet. She opens up their insides and starts pulling until there's nothing left to pull. They leave her alone for a while._

Once she finally let us get close again we took her to the pressure chamber. This test was surprisingly smooth. Her tolerance for low pressure ghosted right at the terminal line for almost all life. She simply curled into a ball as tightly as possible and stayed that way until pressure returned to normal. Her scans showed full function for the 9 hours of extreme low pressure. She showed some negative signs, minor bleeding from the ears and nose but no long term damage. High pressure tests showed a tolerance for nearly twice the normal human maximum.

After she finished decompression, she was returned to her room and allowed to rest for another week.

 _This new room makes her feel wrong. First, the air getting thin and her insides trying to get out. Then the air starts squeezing her. It's so hard to breath or even move. When will it stop?_

The final extreme environment test was shockingly successful, but the price we ended up paying for it was far heavier than I thought possible. For this test we place 027 in an environmentally sealed series of rooms. Here over the course of the next 3 months, she was subjected to a series of environmental toxins and adverse atmospheric conditions. Lethal CO2 levels barely slowed her down. Low oxygen was little trouble for her. Various nerve agents, while extremely painful were completely unable to stop her. She was even able to survive 3 days in room filled with toxic levels of chlorine gas, though she had to be removed from the testing area afterwards.

There were signs of severe damage in her mouth, throat, and lungs along with extensive chemical burns across almost 70% of her body. I was worried about scarring but it turned out to be a needless fear. She rapidly healed and within a week there were only a few small traces of damage which were quickly fading. She spent most of this time unconcious. Perhaps this lured us into a false sense of security or maybe we just underestimated how quickly rage can wake someone up.

 _The air here hurts. It hurts to breath. It hurts to open her eyes. It hurts simply being here. Her skin starts changing color and itching. She scratches so hard that some of it comes off and she leaves a small trickle of blood on the floor behind her._

 _When she can't move anymore and the darkness takes her, she feels herself being moved. For a long time, it's dark and all she can think of is the scorching feeling in her lungs. Then she feels pain in her arms, legs, chest, and neck. It feels like what the pain bringers do after she does what they tell her, but it hurts so much more that usually. They're being meaner because she's asleep. Then there's nothing but flashes of red, screaming, and a black abyss chasing her through her dreams._

At roughly 2pm on the 8th day, she woke up. And when she did people started dying. Dr. Melbourne was first as she was the one checking the burns. While 027 had been asleep, we hadn't been as gentle during the exams, and apparently she could remember the pain if nothing else. Melbourne didn't last long... I can still hear her screams, short though they were. Davidson was next as he tried to help Melbourne, losing his throat for his trouble. Arcus and Jordan lost their eyes when she started swinging her IV stand about. 4 guards tried to restrain her and each lost fingers to her teeth. She even tore the ear off one of them and ripped out another's tongue. Some damn fool had left the medbay door open and she was out like a shot. Almost 2 dozen more personnel were disfigured or outright torn apart before we could contain her using gravity plating installed at one of the security checkpoints. We used them to knock her out, afterwhich she was returned to her room.

All said and done, 22 staffers are now dead, and 7 more have been severely injured. 027 herself is awake once more. All the rage and hate has now taken a backseat to her tears. She hasn't left the corner of her room. The only sound coming from her is a soft sobbing that never stops. It's like some kind of switch has been flipped. The wild animal that was tearing through us is completely gone. In its place is a weeping little girl who won't even look at you.

I think we will give her some time to rest. We'll need that extra time to dispose of the dead without tipping _Him_ off. Over the next few years we'll be expanding on the experiments we've already done, introducing new variables and challenges for her to work through. Though these will be interesting, I doubt the possibility of any noteworthy revelations.

 _She feels something changing. She is hungrier than ever and sometimes she sees gold dancing on her hands. One of the pain bringers, a 'doctor', keeps putting needles in her arm. She thinks 'go away' and tries to push the doctor away. She never makes contact, but a flash of gold and the doctor still goes flying. She feels an explosion of pain in her head and falls back into pain-sleep once again._

Entry : 4

Date : 7.29.2165

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

She's biotic! I never even dreamed this would happen. We were performing some low level blood tests and she became upset over the multiple draws. When Dr. Case tried to ease the 4th needle in 027 began glowing with a gold hued light. We were so surprised that no one moved until 027 pushed her hands forward and hurled Case _through_ the far wall of the lab in a golden flash. 027 collapsed afterwards and had to be taken back to her room to rest. We had a single biotic on staff come running in shortly after the incident claiming we had an intruder, that he had felt some kind of powerful biotic surge. Afterwards we began running the common tests for biotic biology and lo and behold she's a biotic. The strange color of her energy aside, it it an unassailable fact.

We performed a more thorough examination and found something so astonishing that I thought I had gone mad. She has grown an 8th implant! It has taken the form of dozens of different nodules throughout her nervous system, each resting where any biotic individual has their own nodes. She has been having golden biotic flares ever since the incident and has been clutching her head at all hours of the night. A regular biotic will often suffer from migraines after heavy biotic exertion, especially without an amp.

We shall need to reinforce the walls to ensure this power doesn't let her escape. I shall begin inquiries as to acquiring some assistance in caring for her new found condition. I will also see if I can't arrange for her to spend some time we a younger biotic, someone to help her through this confusing time.

 _Her body feels like it's trying to break itself. She keeps shaking uncontrollably every time she she the gold lights on her hands. It feels like the light keeps filling up her chest and stomach and eventually will tear its way out. She tries to make the light stop or at least stay dim but it keeps coming back._

Entry : 5

Date : 10.20.2165

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

027's condition is deteriorating. She has been suffering powerful seizures that seem to have no cause. The only theory I have is that her own biotic flares are triggering them, but I have no idea how to prevent this.

If that were it, it would be bad enough. 027 experienced an extreme surge of biotic energy 4 days ago. At first it seemed to be just another flare, but when the energy just kept spiking I ordered the observation area vacated. It's good that I did as after 30 seconds the surge become blindingly intense before blasting out in a wave of golden light. I'd have been ecstatic if the damaged hadn't been so heavy. 027's room, as well as the adjoining 5 chambers have been reduced to smoldering wreckage. 4 staff members were caught in the blast and were torn apart at a molecular level.

Therefore I intend to bring in a colleague from the alliance's own biotics program. We've worked together before, and I am absolutely sure of his discretion.

 _He_ was reluctant to allow someone from outside our organization, much less the young biotic he'll be bringing. However, I made it quite clear to him that we simply don't have the necessary staff experience to handle a developing biotic. Our new helpers will need a few months to get here without arousing suspicion. After all, we don't want the corporate leeches at Conatix to get wind of our little 027. Those fools would hand her over to the tender mercy of that disgusting turian and I will never let that happen.

 _She's so tired. Everything is a haze or blurred images and dull sounds. The thumping of her heart is all she can focus on. At least she can stop the gold flashing now… most of the time. The one called 'Orsen' the first pain bringer keeps calling her a word she doesn't understand. What is a biotic? Why is she one? Why won't it go away?_

Entry : 6

Date : 1.19.2166

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Things are still difficult for 027. Her seizures have become less frequent as she learns to control her flaring but she seems perpetually exhausted. Even the slightest activity leaves her drained and she sleeps for almost 12 hours a day. Thankfully Dr. Collins will be arriving within the week. Hopefully he can help us get 027 back on her feet.

I have been reading the file we have on the boy he's bringing with him. It makes for interesting reading. His initial eezo exposure was apparently from a transport crash near his parents home while he was still in the womb. His testing shows extreme potential and an already impressive level of control. It is my hope that he will be able to help 027 learn to control her biotics more thoroughly.

 _There is a new doctor there now. He looks at her for a few moments before walking out. A few minutes later someone new comes in and he has food with him. So much food. She can't help herself. Gathering what little strength she has, she tackles the new one and starts devouring the food as fast as she can. She's so hungry, that she doesn't hear him introduce himself. She doesn't hear where he came from. In truth, she doesn't' care. He brought her more food and that's enough for her._

Entry : 7

Date : 1.25.2166

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Dr. Collins arrived last night and within an hour had already made me feel like a back alley lackwit. We knew to increase her caloric intake but failed to take into account the extreme degree of power she has.

I was unaware that naturally more powerful individuals needed more calories than the baseline biotic. I thought it was simply a matter of skill and control but apparently biotics have a number of background processes inside their bodies that require more energy to fuel. More powerful biotics need an ungodly amount of energy simple to stay active.

The average caloric need for humans is between 2,000 and 2,500. An average biotic needs nearly 5,000 and the most powerful need almost 6,000. Dr. Collins has determined that 027 will need over 10,000 to get back up to normal levels.

The boy with him will help teach her what she needs to do to keep herself healthy. For the sake of secrecy and brevity he shall be noted in this log as K. I must say he is quite bright for one so young. He is very inquisitive and yet wise enough to know when to stop asking questions. I have high hopes for his interaction with 027. With luck she will adapt to the new realities of her life quickly and we'll be able to resume testing.

 _The new one is very nice to her. He doesn't make her do strange tests. He doesn't come with needles or knives. He just talks to her when she is curious and holds her when the pain is too much to handle. He is always trying to help her and she has never felt so calm._

 _She learns new words from the educational sources they give her. She likes the things she learns about to big lizard people. She gives her friend new name and even gives him something to call her._

Entry : 8

Date : 6.02.2166

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Dr. Collins has done excellent work. 027 is on her feet and active once more. With her properly adjusted diet and new mental exercises, she is rapidly adjusting to the necessities of biotic life. She has even become more cooperative with our experiments, at least in regards to using her biotics. Her extreme migraines have faded to more tolerable levels and she is back to sleeping her regular 5 hours a night. While she is still in widespread pain, it no longer seems to hold her back so much.

In truth, K deserves as much if not more credit than the rest of us. He has proven to be a very dedicated helper, despite his age. He has no problem spends hours helping 027 with her exercises. He even spends most of his free time with her. This usually involves him holding her during particular difficult bouts of the ever present aches she feels. He is always trying to help her through with kinds words, or even just providing a shoulder to cry on. Their relationship has the qualities of a close pair of siblings. He even threatens staff members who try to take her for testing when she is having a particularly difficult day.

The most stunning development though is that now 027 is finally speaking. It started with just a few whispered words to K when she thought we weren't listening. After a few weeks she even began to share a few words with some staff members. Whenever she speaks about K she refers to him as Kuva. I thought it just some odd nickname until I looked into the educational material she's been accessing. Kuva is actually an obscure word in an old Krogan dialect. The exact meaning, and I quote, is 'an older male sibling that brings hope and peace in fell times'. She literally sees him as a beacon of hope in her own personal hell. 027 has asked K to cal her Zarka which means 'little sister in sorrow' in the same dialect.

I looked deeper into the material she's been reading through. She has accessed material to learn a multitude of languages. As far as I can tell, through her own personal effort, she is now reasonably fluent 6 different human languages, 3 asari, 2 turian, drell, hanar, and to a limited extent elcor.

Her most heavily accessed language material is Krogan. She seems quite enamored with the brutes. She's delved into their art, literature, religion, architecture, and music. She delved into just about everything involving them. 027 spends much of her spare time drawing pictures of famous krogan. She's quite the artist and K will sit with her for hours just watching, occasionally sharing a quiet word.

A month ago K gave 027 a stuffed hanar toy, just a simple plush toy. It came from one of the nearby markets, although when he managed to acquire it I've no idea. She now carries it everywhere. She sleeps holding, eats with it, and even goes into testing areas with it. One of the assistants helped her sew some velcro pads to 2 of the tentacles and now she often wears it on her back. She almost never lets anyone touch it save for K and limited number of assistants. Delfries tried to take it away day 1 and lost his left arm for his trouble. I've sent a general order out - Don't touch the hanar.

027 is developing well and with K and Dr. Collins covering the biotic front, I believe things will go quite well from here.

 _Kuva is so kind. He even gave her another friend. This new friend is soft and pink and doesn't make her skin feel like it's burning. She hasn't named this new friend but still keeps him close._

 _It's easier to use the gold light now. Kuva keeps showing her new things to do with it. She can use it to pick things up or push them away. She can even put things together and take them apart without touching them. It feels so good to make the light, even if it does make her head hurt._

 _The doctors are getting upset with her more than usual. She just wants to spend time with Kuva and practice with her special light. Kuva tells them to leave her alone and tells her to be strong. She wants to and with Kuva there, she feels brave enough to stand up to them._

Entry : 9

Date : 1.07.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

After much deliberation, I've decided that I need to send K away. He has been invaluable over the last 12 months in teaching 027 how to handle her biotics and really has helped her grow, but he has too much influence with her. He has been encouraging her to stand up to us and given her extensive abilities, this has led to some near disasters.

We need to resume normal testing and he is unfortunately interfering with this. I've already arranged for him and Collins to return to Jump Zero immediately. We'll make the move as soon as 027 is asleep tonight. Hopefully that will make it easier on her.

' _Kuva' she calls out. She doesn't see him. But... he's always there when she calls. 'Kuva' where is he? Holding her soft pink friend close, she keeps calling out 'Kuva...Kuva...Kuva' He still doesn't come. She starts to panic. Another friend is silent. The sounds she's come to rely on are gone and she feels so alone._

 _Eventually the one called Orsen tells her. 'I'm sorry 027. The boy had to return home. Perhaps when our testing is done in a few years you'll be able to visit him'. He says more but she doesn't' hear him._

 _Kuva is gone. He left her...he left her? No._ _ **They**_ _took him away. They just want to make her hurt all the time and Kuva was stopping them. He was helping her. He was making her happy and they don't want her to be happy. She needs to think. She goes back to her bed and lays as still as possible._

 _It will take time for her to figure out what to do. She holds her pink friend close and starts to listen, truly_ _ **listen**_ _to everything around her. She can hear so much that she starts to feel the shape of the place she's in. One day she'll leave. When she does, she won't leave anything but pain behind. She'll find Kuva_

 _But first, she has take made Orsen and everyone else here as quiet as the others like her. Except Nora. Nora's ok._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Shadow Growing**

Entry : 10

Date : 1.15.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Am I destined to an unending spiral of mistakes. Has some higher power finally decided to take a personal hand in ending this project. Sending the boy away may very well be the single most imbecilic mistake of my life. When 027 woke up the day after K and Collins left, she spent nearly an hour calling out to him. When we told her that K had been sent back I was expecting anger, rage, perhaps even an explosion of violence. Instead she simply stared at use. No expression, no words, not even the slightest whisper of sound. She just around and laid back down. She hasn't gotten up by her own volition since.

She won't talk anymore, hell she won't even look at us. She just lays there, desperately hugging that damn hanar doll. I'd hoped to return to work after K left but her newfound apathy has put paid to that hope. We'll need to resort to more direct means in order to encourage activity. I don't want to hurt her, but we need to push forward so I've no choice.

I've had a new testing area built. In this new area are a number of hazards that will force her into activity in order to avoid pain. I don't want to do this but she leaves me little choice.

 _They don't think she can hear them. The first place she grew in had walls that made things quiet, but this place doesn't. She can hear them changing things, rearranging rooms. She even hears small bits of their plans for her. Their voices are muffled and she has to struggle to understand but she still can plan around it._

 _They want to put her in a new area. The one called Orsen thinks it will let him control her. He. Is. Wrong._

Entry : 11

Date : 1.29.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

After a rocky start, I'd say we're back on track. The new testing area, which has been dubbed 'the Maze' by staff, is a grand success. Traps, deadfalls, sudden spikes of hot and cold, along with numerous tasks to be completed in order to acquire the necessities of life are all proving to be just the motivation she needs to get up and going.

At first we used staff members to personally reload the traps and supply points but that is no longer an option. She has developed a rather nasty habit of clearing out everything, hiding the materials _somewhere_ , and waiting for staff members to enter. The first week saw 12 people ambushed and slain before we fully understood what was going on. She was _hunting them_. Not out of anger or need, but instead out of a desire to simply hunt. She seems to revel in it, going so far as to prolong the the experience by introducing her own obstacles, such as leaving certain traps in place to make it more difficult for herself or only using her bare hands. She is _using_ _us_ to make herself more dangerous.

To combat this disturbing turn, all maintenance in the Maze is now carried out via VI controlled mechs. She still hunts them but this seems to have eased the maliciousness of her behavior. The only problem is that now we can't risk going in after her for the simpler tests. She won't let most of us get close anymore. There are a few assistants that can still get what we need, but this situation needs to be rectified. While I plot a course of action, I intend to wrap up a small personal project of mine. A small profile of 027 that I've been putting together. When finished it shall take the place of my next entry, baring in major developments

 _They don't come in with her anymore. They've learned it isn't safe. Now they usually just send the machines in. Most of the time she lets them come in, but every now and then she'll tear one apart. They aren't as useful as the living once, but there's still some fun in destroying them._

 _She likes to practice going after them quickly and quietly. She knows it will help her hunt the rest down when she leaves. She just wishes they would make it harder for her. She even has to leave some of their traps intact just to have any fun._

 _The only one she still lets near her is Nora. She is still nice and never shouts at her. When she leaves she won't hurt Nora. But the rest… she'll make them hurt like she does._

Entry : 12

Date : 2.15.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Subject number - 027

Sex - female

Age - 12y 10m

Physical description

Height - 1.25 m

Weight - 38 kg

Hair color- dark crimson

Eye color- luminescent violet

Skin tone- Caucasian

Subject summary-

027 is a quiet individual. She almost never speaks and avoids contact as much as possible. Her personal activities, when not engaged in testing, are typically artistic in nature.

If not drawing or quietly singing to herself, she will often spend time playing with her hair, tying it in ever more intricate patterns. She has also been observed, on days with more intense pain, to grip bundles of her hair tightly in an effort to focus on something else.

027 has developed a possessive obsession with a large stuffed hanar plush toy. She carries it with her at nearly all times and when she can't carry it she keeps it strapped to her back. Attempting to take the toy away from her or to even touch it without her permission has proven fatal for no less than four staff members. It is unknown why she obsesses over it but we will continue observing.

027 is a biotic of extreme power and unique appearance. While the energy from most biotics is a very dark violet, her's are a shockingly bright gold. We believe the unique color is due to the fact that her biotics originate with a non natural organic structure that grew inside her after her extreme conditions testing.

027 has a ravenous appetite to match her extreme degree of biotic power. She often consumes up to 5,000 calories in a single meal. She also tends to eat a number of non food items nearby for reasons unknown. These include but are not limited to: napkins, cardboard milk containers, fruit seeds, peanut shells, shellfish shells, and even the paper wrapping on candy. Attempting to interfere with this or with 027's meal in general has proven extremely hazardous.

027 will often rest in corners holding herself tightly in an attempt to ease the chronic, widespread pain she endures. She'll also frequently cry quietly to herself when no one is nearby, and she'll become extremely violent if someone attempts to speak to her on the matter.

The subject has frequently displayed a duality in her regular behavioral patterns. When unthreatened or when escape is available, 027 tends to be surprisingly timid. Staying quiet, even hiding as often as possible. However, when truly threatened or backed into a corner, it's like an entirely different personality takes over. She shifts from the timid little girl into something almost monstrous. Though she usually maintains a certain degree of control, 027 can still shift to extreme, wild violence with little more than a few quiet but obvious auditory cues.

When shifted into this secondary state 027 becomes dangerous beyond all measure. Her attacks vary between wild, animalistic viciousness and cool methodical cunning on par with lifelong assassins. She has managed to gain proficiency in over a dozen different engagement styles including guerilla style ambush tactics, chemical assault, and even rapid blade work (her preferred method).

(Though this profile is not as extensive as originally intended, a number of recent incidents have prompted me to shelve this personal project until the current critical conditions have been resolved.)

 _She has trouble thinking about anything but hurting them now. It's harder than ever to focus on anything but violence she knows she has to leave soon or she won't be able to go back to the way she was. She just wants them to leave her alone but they won't. So she just has to keep hurting them._

 _And every day it just gets harder to stop, to think of something other than pain. She wishes Kuva was there to help her. She knows he'd be able to help._

 _Something is stalking her in her dreams. It has no shape to it. It seems like and amorphous mass of shadow. It moves without limbs, crawling across the walls of her mind. With its coming is a grating howl that makes her blood boil and her sight go red. This thing, this monster, never goes away… not anymore. It hunts her, like she hunts the ones who hurt her. It's getting stronger and faster and she's not sure how much longer she can stay ahead of it. She's terrified of what will happen when the shadow finally catches her and drowns her in an abyss of rage._

Entry : 13

Date : 2.19.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Something has happened. 027 has become clinical in her violence. She has taken to seeking out and destroying any and all cameras, microphones, and light fixtures. She has turned the maze into the perfect hunting grounds. Her implants have begun generating a slight electromagnetic field which makes her difficult to track via standard methods. She will now attack almost anything that enters her domain with the exception of a single staff member, an assistant named Nora.

She no longer needs to be provoked to engage in violence. It would seem her secondary personality traits have taken root and are now dominant. It is unknown at this time whether or not this is a permanent situation. However, I can say this for certain. It is clear that she has been toying with us since K left. All this time she has been expanding her repertoire of skills and abilities although I am unsure what her final plan is.

I shall attempt to subdue her in order to engage in direct personality alteration. Since the gravity plating is no longer functional and we lack sufficient mechs to overwhelm her, I shall have to resort to more barbaric means. From this point on we shall withhold all food and water until she's too weak to fight at which time we will acquire her and begin personality alteration.

Why, why? We were getting so close. I will not let her destroy her own future. I can help her. I can save her from herself...

 _She can't stop crying. She didn't want to do it but they left her no choice. They took away the food and the water and she was just so hungry. The first 2 had food and water. She killed them and took it but it wasn't enough._

 _The next two had nothing but she was_ _ **so**_ _**hungry**_ _._ _ **So desperately hungry**_ _._

Entry : 14

Date : 4.01.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Never in 35 years of medical research did I think I would see what I have seen here. At first it seemed the plan was working. She was becoming less active and her attacks were slowing. At one point she collapsed and didn't move for several hours. I thought she had finally passed out or would at least be weak enough for us to recover her. I sent 2 guards in to fetch her but her weakness was a ruse.

When they got close enough she trapped one in stasis and then used her fist to crush the others throat. Unfortunately for all, the damn fools were carrying ration bars and canteens on their persons. She stole them and disappeared back into the maze.

Thankfully those idiots weren't carrying much as she began to weaken again relatively quickly. We waited even longer this time, almost 2 weeks and again she seemed to pass out. Even our scans told us that she was unconscious so we sent in 2 more guards. We didn't tell them what happened to the last 2. Again her weakness was false or at least partially. It took almost 2 minutes for her to bring them down. Neither had any rations with them and I thought that this would be the push to get her to come to us. I was hideously wrong.

Instead of surrendering to the situation she actually started to cut off pieces of the dead and consume them. She then filled one of the canteens she had stollen with blood from the bodies. The only, tiny, pathetically miniscule bit of good news to come from this scene of utter horror was the fact that she was weeping uncontrollably the entire time. At the very least she herself was repulsed by this horrific act.

By our estimates, using her new… supplies, she'll be able to survive a further 2 week without assistance. I… don't know how to proceed. My plan has backfired so catastrophically that I truly see no way back.

 _She has to get out. There's no more time to plan. If she waits any longer the monster in her heart will kill what's left of her. It's growing larger with every passing moment. The most desperate she becomes, the faster it comes after her. Soon it will consume her. She won't let it. It won't take her._

Entry : 15

Date : 4.10.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

I am a fool. In truth, I can scarcely believe how unbelievably stupid I have been. To think I could keep what's happened all these years from _Him_ with a few platitudes and scraps of good news among disaster after disaster. _He_ is a hard man but even _He_ could not condone such a horrific price for such small returns.

 _He_ knows. Every detail, every scrap of information, ever asinine attempt to hide the truth, _He_ knows about it. Through agents planted or files hacked… it doesn't matter. _He_ knows and now I shall finally pay for my transgressions. A recovery team is already inbound to take 027 somewhere, I know not where. While here they will no doubt dispose of me and rightfully so.

It's almost midnight and I'm expecting the recovery team's arrival in less than 12 hours. I won't resist. I can only hope that they will treat 027, my beloved little 027, the with the repec-

[WARNING!… PRIMARY POWER FAILURE… SWITCHING TO SECONDARY BACKUPS… WARNING! WARNING! 'MAZE' CONTAINMENT BREACH... SUBJECT 027 IS LOOSE… THIS IS NOT A DRILL… REPEAT SUBJECT 027 IS LOOSE… THIS IS AN OMEGA LEVEL ALERT… WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

 _She hadn't planned on it but when the lights on the door went out she made her move. The few guards nearby died fast in a flash of blood. Her gold light tears through anyone in her way. It only takes a few minutes of crawling through the duct work to reach the exit._

 _All she has to do is rip open the door, run out, and she can be free. The only thing that stops her is the idea that if she leaves now the pain Bringers might do this again to someone else. So instead of opening the door she uses her light to crush the two sides together. Now it is time to hunt._

 _Most don't see her coming. She aims for throats when she can. They seem to die faster that way. Sometimes she has to come straight at them when they can see her. Their bullets hurt but don't really slow her down. Some of them get on their knees and beg but she doesn't understand it. Most die screaming._

 _She finds Nora hiding in one of the labs. She almost doesn't recognize the woman because her sight tinted red. All she can think about is pain but before she can strike she hears Nora crying out. Instead of killing her she just hits her hard enough to make her sleep. Hopefully she'll be okay. The rest get no such mercy._

 _She has to get through the thicker doors to finish it. She knows it will take longer and they will try to stop her the whole way. They will fail._

 _The first door only has a few guards. These she kills with her bare hands, before taking what little food and water they had in their belts. She doesn't care about the horrid taste. It's food that doesn't make her soul hurt. Their water is the sweetest she's ever had, though she can still feel that terrible copper taste at the back of her throat._

 _She's so distracted by her impromptu feast that she almost misses the footsteps behind her. She does nothing at first. The steps are almost random, halting, as if the person is terrified to move closer. Afraid or not, they keep moving closer. It's not until she hears the trigger creak back that she finally moves. It's not hard to move out of the way. It's not even a trained guard. It's one of the med staff, Dr. Bran. He's always been mean to her. He always said they should lobotomize her and stick a VI in her head. She takes the arm holding the gun in an iron grip and pulls the gun away with her other hand. The good doctor is already begging for his life as she brings up her new gun to his forehead. He wanted to pull out her brain, so she blows out his._

 _She moves faster through the rest of the doors. She sees almost entirely in red now. Blood on her hands, blood in her hair, blood, on her face, blood, blood, blood. The Monster inside is screaming to be let out and she's losing the fight to stop it._

Entry : Omega

Date : 4.11.2167

Entrant : Dr. N. Orsen

Again 027 continues to surprise. I thought my death would come in a hail of the recovery team's bullets. Instead, it would seem that our adorable 027 has decided to rescue me by handling my end personally. In truth, I'm glad it's this way. It just feels right. I was her beginning and she is to be my end.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 10 BREACHED]

The emergency bulkheads will slow her for a time, but in truth it is far too late to stop her. Those doors were meant to hold against outside attacks. Anything from asari commandos to rampaging krogan, but they weren't built with 027 in mind.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 9 BREACHED]

( _Where the fuck is sh-the fuck is going on-oh god she's here-please NO_ )

My colleagues are trying to subdue her. They're using everything they can get their hands on. Grenades, live ammunition, nerve gas, and on and on. It won't save them.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 8 BREACHED]

( _How the fuck do we stop- she's in the ducts-Oh Lord who art in heav-so much blood..)_

It's obvious where the tipping point was. The boy. I should never have sent for a younger biotic to help her. Yes it would have taken longer, but we could have maintained control. Alas, regrets are meaningless.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 7 BREACHED]

( _Need orders-nothing's working-call Orsen. He'll-NOT RESPONDING!)_

I wonder what she'll do when we're gone. I doubt the recovery team will catch her. I'd be concerned over the fate of a normal child, but 027 is far from normal.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 6 BREACHED]

( _Where is Ors- ORSEN WHAT DO WE DO?!-the fuck is he doing?!)_

I wonder if she'll spare any of us. I know she'll slaughter the security teams, that's a given. Most of the doctors too. I bet she'll leave assistant Nora alive. She seems to like Nora. She was always the most gentle with 027. Never demanding, never rude, and always sympathetic to the point of delaying our experiments to give 027 a little extra rest here and there. Yes, Nora will probably survive.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 5 BREACHED]

( _This is interim security commander Dol! Fall back to checkpoint 0! If anything can stop her it's the big guns!)_

Oh that incorrigible fool. Those guns won't phase her. Hell I'd be surprised if they even get to use them. So far she's proven quite difficult to see coming. She's obviously been planning this for some time. There's no hesitation in her actions. She's mapped out the facility in her mind and she took out the exit and security stations before anything else. She doesn't want any of us getting away

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 4 BREACHED]

Not much time left. I've downloaded all our files into this pad. Hopefully someone will make good use of them.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 3 BREACHED]

( _Alright people get ready! When those doors fall I want you to turn that gate into to mouth of hell itself! STAND TO!)_

Ohh… so _dramatic._ I'd think him a prospective movie star if his confidence wasn't a complete farce. The man is visibly trembling. He fellows are even worse. They know they're going to die.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 2 BREACHED]

( _FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!_ )

Ha! He actually thinks she'd just be standing on the other side. He doesn't even notice the slight bowing in the duct above him. This won't take long. She's cut her way through the ducting above Dol and is now staring at him. Ah now he's noticed.

( _You little bitch. I'll gut you like- AHHH UGH- SHE GOT DOL!- Let's get the fuck out of here!- The fuck can we go!?)_

Well that's it, she's at the final door. I guess I should make myself presentable. Our wonderful 027 deserves a good showing. It is her birthday after all.

I will leave this device recording for the sake of quality record-keeping. It's doubtful I'll be able to make many comments afterwards.

[WARNING… BULKHEAD 1 BREACHED]

This is Dr. Nathaniel Orsen signing off.

 _Hello 027._ _Lovely to see you again_.

 _He's not begging. He doesn't threaten or try to attack. He doesn't try to run. He just says hello. Why isn't he afraid? He should know he is going to die, but he doesn't even try to stop it. He just stands there and smiles at her. He smiles as her makeshift knife cuts his fingers off. He smiles as she tears his ears off. He smiles as she claws out his eyes. He_ _ **smiles**_ _as she forces her hand into his chest and takes hold of his heart._

 _He just looks into her eyes and whispers 'Goodbye my lovely little 027'. It drives her berserk. She tears out his heart in a spray of gore and hurls into the hallway as the monster inside surges out in a torrent of hate and rage. She shreds the body beyond all hope of recognition, before laying waste to the room in a blast of biotic fury. Turning back to the hall, she tears out of the room with a shriek of depthless pain. What bodies she crosses are dissolved by golden arcs of power surging from her, the still twitching corpses torn apart down to the last molecule. Blood boils into vapor and debris is blasted from her path._

 _When she reaches the doors sealed earlier, she barrels through them without slowing and sprints into to scattered tangle of haphazard buildings beyond. She doesn't know how long she runs or where she is going. She just keeps running and running, agony constantly tearing across her whole body._

 _When at last the beast recedes back into shadow, she collapses to her knees in an empty alley, breath sawing in and out in a ragged pattern. She can barely remember what happened. When she tries all she sees in blood and pain._

 _She kneels in the filth of an alley in the middle of Omega. There are the sounds of screams, gunshots, and the roaring of engines coming from every direction. She hears none of it. All she can hear is the thundering of her heart and the slow drip of blood falling from her hands._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Recovery & Rest**

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2167_

 _Location_ _: Omega facility_

 _Investigator_ _: Operative Davidson_

 _Objectives_

 _Primary_ _\- Secure research subject unharmed for transport_

 _Secondary_ _\- Liquidate Dr. Nathaniel Orsen_

 _Tertiary_ _\- Rescue any surviving staff_

 _Quatrinary_ _\- Gather any remaining research material_

 **Recovery**

The 5 man team makes it's way towards their objective. It's already clear that the situation is F.U.B.A.R. "We're approaching the facility now Sir."

"What do you see?"

"It's a wreck. The doors have been torn from the facade and fused into a single piece. There's smoke rising from numerous breaches in the walls and there's a lot of interference coming from inside. We're going in." This wasn't what he expected. The first thing he sees inside is the trail of blood leading deeper in.

"Move carefully Davidson. If 027 is loose, you and your team are in extreme danger." _He_ hasn't told them what they are there for. _He_ had hoped that the pick up would be smoother, but his plant within Orsen's staff hadn't revealed just how bad the situation was becoming. 027 was likely long gone but _He_ still needs to be sure.

"Copy, moving with care." The facility was supposed to be a standard research base. The organization has several scattered across the Terminus. The only thing special about this one was it's location. Omega was deep enough in 'unclaimed' space, that pretty much anything goes. Perfect place for _questionable_ research.

Given what he's seeing, it's probably good that this place is on Omega and not Bekenstein or Eden Prime. "No contact yet sir. Plenty of scorch marks and blood splatter, but no sign of the objective."

"Make your way to Orsen's office. Keep scanning for any signs of life and investigate everything. I want the facility searched from top to bottom." The feed is heavily distorted, a crimson haze tainting the image. The comm they were using was still highly experimental but color distortion like this was a new anomaly. "Davidson, check your transmitter. We've got a red tint on this end."

"It's not the transmitter sir."

"Explain."

"There's a red miasma in the air. It's been all around us since we moved in."

"Do you know what it is?" _He_ had an idea on it's origin.

"Not yet sir. We're scanning but there's a lot of interference. It… it smells like blood sir."

Silence across the line. _He_ knew it was a possibility but had hoped otherwise. 027 hadn't snuck out. She had finally decided enough was enough and had made the staff _aware_ of her decision. "Get to Orsen's office immediately."

"On the way." The team moved as quickly as possible to the central office calling out what they saw as they went. "We've got bodies at the last bulkhead. Almost looks like a bear attack, lots of torn meat and plenty of blood."

 _She's even deadlier than I thought_ "How many dead?"

"I count at least 14 here. We've also identified possibly 62 more since arriving."

"Possibly?"

"Most of the remains aren't in one piece. We've seen severed limbs, empty torsos, and organs without bodies to match them with. There are also a number of cadavers that are burned to a crisp but with no signs of a fire. Michaels says that it looks like the burn from a biotic warp, but we can't be sure". The team leader hesitates at the last threshold. "It looks like a bomb went off in Orsen's office. The entire room trashed. We're moving in."

The office is little more than piles of rubble and scorch marks. There's a small red mound in the center of the room but they aren't sure what it is. That's when one of the team lifts his hand and reveals a burned, severed ear. "Sir, I think we found Orsen".

"What do you mean you 'think'?"

"It's just a pile of meat sir. No visible identification possible, so we're running a DNA scan." His Omni tool runs thru a simple i.d. program. After few moments he gets a positive chirp from the device. "It's him sir. Not much to recover... Orders?"

"She's probably gone by now... Finish the search, gather anything useful, and scrub the base."

"She? I thought we were here for some kind research project."

"The less you know the better Davidson. Finish the search before the locals become curious."

"Copy".

Two hours in they finally found something. "Sir, we've got a positive signal on a staff member."

"I.d.?"

"Researcher's assistant Nora Weiss. Lifesigns are irregular. She's most likely injured."

"Search and stabilize… now."

"On our way"

She was pressed into a cabinet as tightly as she could fit, a massive bruise on her crown and a vacant look in her eyes.

"We've got her sir."

"Is she saying anything?"

"No. Doesn't look like she's all here. She's got a head injury and most likely a severe concussion. Doc says she's catatonic."

"Get her back to the ship immediately. I'll debrief her in person. Finish the search."

"Copy."

An hour later, their sweep complete and charges set, the recovery team was on their shuttle bound for debrief with _Him_. Their main objective is long gone, only a thin trail of blood marking its passage. A trail that peters out after a hundred yards. Whatever was being studied here is now loose in the middle of Omega.

 **Rest**

 _She wakes up in a pile of filth in a place she doesn't recognize. A mountain of pain is crushing down on her._

 _She can tell several bones are broken, some just barely pulling back together with a scaping crawl that makes time move slower than a drunken elcor. There are over a dozen bullet holes still closing on her arms and legs, each just another pinprick of searing despair._

 _She's awake for almost an hour before she sees the knife. It's lodged in her stomach, the blade thankfully resting between vital organs. She tries to pull it out but 3 minutes of screaming and crying prove she's too weak to fix it right now._

 _She struggles to her feet and begins walking... somewhere. She wanders through alleys and markets, occasionally collapsing in a boneless heap. No one helps her. No one cares. She's just another street rat that got in someone's way._

 _Her head is swimming. Her eyes are aching and lights are dancing at the edges of her vision. Smells assault her nose. Smells of blood, booze, piss, and all manner of stench and stink that just makes her nostrils burn. She's losing so much blood even her system can't compensate._

 _Eventually it's just too much for her and she falls to the ground again. She can't move anymore and the shadows at the edge of sight are closing in. That bone-deep ache of exhaustion is pushing her down. She hasn't felt like this since her biotics manifested, and even then she at least had somewhere quiet to sleep. Here there's just cold metal and the sounds of suffering assaulting her ears._

 _She lays there in a haze of pain. Sometimes she gets a sidelong glance from a passerby but never more than the few seconds needed to confirm that she has nothing valuable to steal. For hours she hangs at the edge of darkness, wishing she could pull her pink friend from her back and hold him tight. She's fighting just to stay awake. It's a fight she is slowly losing._

 _As she's about to give in and let the darkness take her a pair of distorted voices come drifting through her fading consciousness._

' _She's is bad shape doc'. That voice is very quiet but she can still hear the wavering tone to it._

' _Irrelevant. We do everything we can. Even if it just eases her passing'. The second voice is more firm and confident. It says more but she's barely aware._

 _A short stab of pain in her neck flushes away some of her agony and she can finally focus for a moment on what's happening. Standing over her are 2 shadows, one is shaped like her. The other is confusing however. Instead of hair it has two small horns jutting from its head. The first called this one 'Doc'. Another doctor...NO! They'll take her back! She struggles to fight but it takes all she has to just keep breathing._

' _Please' she begs in a feeble groan 'please don't take me back'. It's the last she can manage before falling into a pit of darkness that seems to swallow all hope._

' _Don't worry little one. Mirdan is the best doctor on Omega. He's only going to help'. She can't understand. Doctors hurt people… why would this one be different…_

"She's in bad shape doc. I don't think she'll make it". Sara struggles to understand who could be so evil to a child. The knife in her gut is just the worst of over a dozen oozing wounds. She can also see 9 obviously broken bones bulging against her skin. She's absolutely bathed in blood, hopefully not all of it her's. Her beautifully colored hair is knotted and scorched in places. Her pale skin has so many bruises that she is almost completely black and blue.

"Irrelevant. We do everything we can. Even if it just eases her passing. I'll not behave like those disgusting monsters in the slums. Taking credits and just leaving innocent people to die in pain. Ignoring suffering just because someone can't pay. A doctor's purpose is to help, no matter the circumstance". He injects a heavy dose of medi-gel to ease her pain and gestures for his teary eyed assistant to come closer. Sara's a good helper if a bit of a bleeding heart. She tends to despair a little too easily but she'll learn. Omega doesn't tolerate the soft for long. He notices a splash of pink laying behind their new patient. "What is that on her back?"

Sara reaches down and finds something quite odd. "It's a stuffed hanar toy." The thing is covered in as much blood and filth as the girl.

"Make sure to bring it with us and clean it up when she's stable. If she's thought to take it with her after" he gestures to her wounds " _this_ , then it is likely extremely important to her. I would rather not traumatize her further than she already is."

"Yes doctor." Sara can't stop staring at the miserable creature before her. The cruelty of her attackers boggles the mind. What's even more astonishing is that fact that the girl is even still alive. She must be on some kind of ultra-intense stims to still be holding on after whatever the hell happened to her. She almost misses the girl's desperate groan.

"Please...please don't take me back". The obvious pain in her voice tears at Sara's heart. Even Mirdan is moved by it, and he's seen some of the worst things the galaxy has to offer.

"Don't worry little one. Mirdan is the best doctor on Omega. He's only going to help". She sounds so afraid of going back to where she came from. "We're going to take you back to our clinic and do everything we can to help."

The little girl doesn't respond. She's passed out and in truth is barely alive. Mirdan pulls 1 eyelid open to get a good look and they're both startled by the slight glow of her eyes. Her bright violet eyes.

"What do think doc, some kind of cybernetic."

"Negative. It gives off an organic signature. It appears to be a bio-implant, but it's far more advanced than anything I've even seen. If i had to guess, I'd say this poor girl has been the victim of a disturbing medical experiment."

"Makes sense. Did you see her heartrate when I called you doctor? I didn't think a human heart could beat so fast without rupturing."

The doctor is quiet for a moment. "Her heart isn't entirely human."

"What?! What the hell do mean doc?"

"Look at her scans. There are multiple anomalous structures throughout her body. We'll know more once we get her back to the clinic. We need to move before whoever did this catches up with her." With that Mirdan takes the girl in his arms and rushes down the street with Sara close behind. Their clinic isn't far but the girl is in bad shape. Sara prays to any god that will listen. ' _Please let us make it in time._ '

 _She's floating on a cloud of razors. The small flush of comfort that came from the injection is gone, replaced by an almost numb void of sorrow. She's been caught and now they're taking her back. She'd kill them but she can't even open her eyes. She's so weak that every breath is a triumph._

 _The pain slowly starts to recede back to its normal, scalding level. It just means that they'll start hurting her again and she's not even sure that she wants to wake up anymore._

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2167_

 _Location_ _: Unlisted clinic on Omega_

"Jesus… who the hell would do this to a kid?" Sara's struggling to understand such disregard for suffering as she stares at the girl's deep tissue scan.

"It was likely some kind of clandestine black ops group. Maybe even a gene research firm looking for an edge over their competition." Mirdan, while disturbed over what he sees, isn't as surprised by what the scans found. "Though I doubt that this level of bio augmentation could be managed without the backing of a government or a prominent paramilitary group. Even the best STG bio-upgrades are children's toys compared to this."

"How can you so nonchalant about this? This girl has to have been through hell during the surgeries to do this".

"Don't mistake my lack of excitement for apathy." Mirdans reply is firm but not hostile. He's seen suffering for most of his life, though this could be the worst case he's ever known. "I'm sympathetic for the girl's plight but I must remain emotionally uncompromised if I'm to help her."

He collects his thoughts for a moment before continuing "Truthfully, I do find this act of defilement quite barbaric. The implants are grafted to nearly every bit of tissue, however the integration, while near perfect, is also constantly triggering pulses of pain throughout much of her body. For such extensive integration, these implants would have to be grown into their current configuration. They likely each began as some sort of 'seedling' and then after implantation they would have spread throughout her body. All the while they would slowly restructure her flesh into the form we see now."

"How can you know all that from a single scan doc".

"Know? I don't know but it fits the evidence. I've seen similar signs during my STG days but never so extensive or so functional. There are at least 5 distinct tissue clusters in her body where such implants could have grown from." Mirdan continues to examine the images before him. "Reinforced bones, enhanced musculature, spinal and cerebral enhancement, and of course those remarkable eyes. This girl seems to have been designed, pardon the the word, for a specific purpose."

"What kind of purpose?" she's almost afraid to know.

"This is likely the result of an attempt to engineer a new breed of soldier. If my analysis is correct, this girl is stronger, faster, and far more deadly than almost any other human even as a child. In time, she'll likely become the most dangerous person in the galaxy".

"But why do this to a child?"

"A child's body is still developing. It may be that these implants needed to mature with their host in order for proper integration. Of course it could very well have been a twisted desire to see a child suffer as well. Those who toy with such technology often have little empathy for the suffering of others. It's likely that this girl has known little but pain her whole life". He truly is repulsed by such disregard for basic decency towards a sentient being.

"At least these sick things will help save her life." though in truth Sara thinks it might be more merciful to let the poor thing go.

"Yes they will, but we must also give her any help we can. She's extremely malnourished and dehydrated in addition to her extensive injuries. Thankfully we've no one else to care for today so we can give her the focus she needs. We'll need to run a battery tests to see what treatment she can handle."

Sara was about to respond, to try and convince him that the girl has likely already endured too many 'tests' when terrified scream tore through the room, and the monitors for the little girl went berserk.

 _Her head is finally clearing, though she still can't remember much. She can't move well due to a number of braces holding her broken bones in place. She struggles to open her eyes, but her lids weigh a ton each and she gives up after several tries._

 _Instead she just listens to her senses like back in the lab. The smells of antiseptic and various chemicals assail her nostrils. It smells so familiar her heart rate going up a little. She can hear to steady beeps of a heart monitor, the soft breeze of air coming from a nearby vent, and the soft conversation coming from the next room._

 _It sounds like the two voices from early but she isn't sure. They talk at length about her and her implants. Most of the information doesn't stick. She's still too far out to make sense of it all. That is until one of them starts talking about running tests on her._

 _That one word floods her system with enough adrenaline fueled terror that she snaps awake with a horrified scream. NO! NO! She won't let them._

 _She struggles to try and stand but just falls to the floor. Still panicking she starts to desperately crawl across the floor to a nearby vent. If she can just reach it she can disappear from this place before they can start hurting her again. She's almost there when a shadow crosses over her and a frantic voice calls for her to calm down. It just makes her panic more. The damn braces are slowing her down but she doesn't have time to take them off as a pair of hands try to take hold of her._

 _Normally she could just tear them off and get free, but she's still too weak from her escape. The hands flip her over all the while the voice tries to call her down. She manages to get her unbroken leg between her and her assailant. She pushes as hard as she can. Usually that would send her target flying but this one just stumbles back a few feet. It does, however, give her enough time to reach the vent and tear the grate free with a weak biotic pull. The exertion makes her brain explode into soul deep agony but she forces herself on, frantically clawing her way into the vent. A second voice calls for the first to back away as the girl tries to escape._

 _Barely two meters in, her heart breaks from what's in front of her. She had been so desperate to reach the vent that she failed to notice that the air current she heard earlier wasn't coming from this one. This one is sealed shut and she's too weak to blast through it._

 _Heart rending despair claws at her as she curls up as tightly as she can in the back of the sealed vent, crying uncontrollably. She can't believe it. She's back where she started and this time she's too weak to get away._

Sara bolts into the room in time to see the girl frantically crawling towards their old vent. The girl has managed to tear out her IV and is leaving a blood trail that most likely originates from torn stitches around the knife would. Sara runs to her and tries to hold her still.

"Calm down! Please, I know you're scared but we just want to help!" The girl is so out of her mind with fear that she doesn't seem to understand. She just struggles harder. Sara manages to flip her over and gets a hard kick to the gut for her troubles. It feels like she's been punched in the stomach by a krogan and she's pretty sure at least one of her ribs is cracked.

The girl is at the vent and Sara thinks that it will stop her. Until the golden flare tears the grate off and hurls it away. She manages to get in before Sara can reach her. When she hits the end and sees that it's no escape route, the girl just curls up and starts sobbing. Sara's never been so heartbroken over hearing someone cry. She moves to try and enter the vent before Mirdan stops her.

"Sara! Do not follow her. She's is already terrified and pursuing her in there will only make it worse."

"What the hell do we do then?! We can't just leave her in there, she needs treatment!" Sara wants so badly to help the poor thing but doesn't know how to get past the obvious terror the child has.

"We must convince her that we mean no harm. She needs to trust us, even if only a little". The doctor thinks for a moment before coming up with a plan. "I'll get her some food and water, you will go find her hanar doll. Hopefully she'll at least let us help her in a small way."

The doctor leaves to retrieve food from the storage room, while Sara grabs the newly cleaned plush toy from her desk. The two meet back in front of the vent a minute later and look inside to find the girl still weeping in the back.

"Go with the doll first. She'll recognize it and might let you get closer".

Sara nods and starts inching towards the vent. The girl can obviously hear her approach and starts sobbing even louder. Sara holds out the doll in front of her a calls to the girl "Hey… here you forgot this. We cleaned it for you." A single violet eye opens wide and stares at her, tears still streaming down the child's face. "It's ok. I just want you to have it back."

She prays the girl will let them help.

 _The human woman is holding her pink friend out to her. She can't believe that she left him behind. She had been so afraid that his absence hadn't even registered. The woman slowly gets closer, stopping less than a meter away._

 _With one eye she stares at the woman trying to understand why she would be nice to her. As fast as she can she throws a hand out and grabs her friend before forcing what little energy she has left into a golden bubble around her. She squeezes her friend as close as she can and waits as her barrier starts to fall._

A bizarre biotic field now stands between them and the girl. Sara's never seen gold hued biotics before but given the nature of the girls 'enhancement' she isn't as stunned as she should be.

"What now doc? That barrier is just going to drain her faster and she doesn't have much left."

"Yes, which is why I'll leave the food and water at the mouth of the vent and then we'll both leave her be".

"But-"

"If we try to force the issue she'll never trust us and we will never be able to properly help her." Mirdan places his items at the end of the vent. Two packs of water, some reheated varren meat, and a small cup of Sara's so called 'chocolate pudding' will hopefully help the girl survive the night and buy them some small measure of trust. "Come, we need to get some better food for her. Keep watch from the next room and I'll go to the market and acquire something more substantial for her".

Sara watches the doctor go, sighing heavily before turning back to look at the girl. The supplies have already been taken from the lip of the vent and Sara can see the girl positively inhaling the meagre offering. She smiles sadly at the painful desperation in the girl's eyes, before softly whispering, "Don't worry. Mirdan is going to get some better food for you." Those lightly glowing eyes simply stare at her, tears still pouring out. The girl is trembling badly so Sara brings a blanket and a pillow for her. She places them at the end of the vent before retreating into the next room to watch from the camera display at her terminal. It takes a few minutes but eventually she sees a small hand dart out of the vent and pull the items inside.

 _Why are they trying to be nice? Is it just to make it hurt more when the tests start. She hugs her pink friend closer and curls up with the blanket over her. She doesn't want to sleep with these strange people outside but she's too tired to fight it anymore._

 _She wishes Kuva was there. He'd help. He'd keep her safe until she was strong again. It's with happy memories of him she finally drifts off to sleep. Dreams of fear and blood plague her but she manages to stay asleep with the thought that maybe Kuva will find her in her dreams._

 _Date_ _: 4.16.2167_

She's finally giving them a chance to help her. For four days they've brought food and water to her hiding place. She doesn't speak and barely looks at them, but at least she doesn't bolt as soon as they look at her.

The first two days she didn't even leave the vent. She cried to herself, stopping only to grab the much larger meal that Mirdan had brought. The second day, she let Sara get close enough to give her a new shot of medi-gel. On the third day however, while Sara was sleeping on a cot a short ways away from the vent, the girl finally came out. She stood next to the cot watching Sara sleep for several minutes before turning around and crawling back inside her hole.

The fourth day was different. Sara was again sleeping in her cot when the girl emerged, holding her blanket and pillow in one arm and her hanar in the other. She put the blanket and pillow on the floor next to Sara and laid down too. Then she slowly pulled the woman's hand to her and went to sleep.

Mirdan watches the monitors and contentedly smiles to himself. Soon she'll let them help her and it brings some peace to his old heart. The beeping on his console gets his attention. It's a call... from his favorite nephew no less. He'd sent a message about the girl looking for advise but hadn't expected a return call so soon. Then again, his nephew had never been one to waste time.

"Hello nephew, thank you for responding so soon".

"Of course uncle. No time to waste. Have assembled list of treatment ideas and nutrition plans. Maintain regular scans. Send results in one week. Will analyse and refine advise. Remember, maintain high calorie diet. Biotic needs far more energy centric diet than standard human. Implications of augmentation… troubling." The young man was talking a mile a minute, but Mirdan was used to it.

"Thank you for the advise nephew. I'll keep you up to date. I'd ask you what you're doing but I know you'd have to lie."

"Always good to hear from favorite uncle. Will pass your best wishes to mother."

"She worries about you, you know. I know she would like you to do less dangerous work."

"Had to be me. Someone else might've gotten it wrong."

"I understand nephew. I look forward to talking again. May you have luck in all your endeavours."

 _They're nice like Kuva. They never stick needles in her except the one that makes her feel better. They never yell at her. They give her so much food she can't eat it all. The water they give her is cold and doesn't taste like metal. They even cleaned the blood off her pink friend._

 _After a few days she crawls out of the vent to look at the woman closer. She's a lot like Nora. She's always so nice. Her name is Sara… she likes Sara. The other one is nice too but is more like the other doctors than Sara. He tries to help but she's not as comfortable with him. She goes back to her place in the vent to sleep again._

 _The next day as she's about to curl up to sleep again she decides to go back out. She brings her things with her and lays down holding Sara's hand, just like she used to hold Kuva's. It's the first time in a long time that she sleeps without being afraid of her dreams._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Red Wake**

 _Date_ _: 4.17.2167_

 _Location_ _: Unlisted clinic on Omega_

The first thing Sara notices when she wakes up is the crushing pressure on her right hand. She looks to the side and sees her arm hanging over the edge of the cot. Propping herself up she looks over and sees the girl tightly holding her hand. It would be a beautiful sight if it didn't hurt so much.

She thinks about pulling her hand free when the girl's eyes slowly open. She blinks a few times before noticing Sara's gaze, at which point her eyes shoot open. Sara can feel the massive spike in her pulse.

"It's okay," she gently whispers "you're completely safe here". The girls eyes narrow slightly but she doesn't move. "You're in Mirdan's clinic. We found you in the street. You were and still are hurt very badly."

"What do you want?"a trembling voice replies.

"To help you".

"Why?"

She's so confused by the question that she almost doesn't answer "Because that's what doctors do." she never thought she'd have to explain why she was helping someone.

"Doctors don't help people," the girls eyes start to water as she whispers to Sara, "all they do is cut you and hurt you."

Sara speaks as gently as she can "The monsters that did this to you are not doctors. They might call themselves that but a real doctor doesn't hurt people on purpose."

The girl just stares at her, but she's still in the same room so Sara takes it as a win.

"Can you tell me your name?"

The girl hesitates for several minutes, her eyes darting across Sara's face. "027"

"Sweetie that's a number," Sara doesn't quite know how to handle that "do you remember your real name?"

"They never called me anything else." The girl is now sitting upright watching her very closely.

"Well, when we don't know a girl's name we usually call them Jane. Can I call you Jane for now?"

The girl doesn't say anything but she does nod slowly.

"Okay Jane," the girl actually smiles at that "I'm going to get up now and get some food for you. Can you let go of my hand for a bit?"

The newly christened Jane looks at her hand for a moment, as if she'd forgotten she was holding Sara's. She slowly lets go before putting both hands on her hanar and squeezing it tightly

"I'll be right back."

The girl nods but stays quiet. Sara goes to grab some food from the box of supplies Mirdan brought back. Inside is an impressive assortment that Mirdan claims is perfectly suited for a biotic recovering from severe injuries. "He must have been talking to his nephew." Sara whispers to herself.

"Indeed I have." Mirdan seems to just be waking up himself, having fallen asleep at his desk some point in the night, _as usual_. "He is more knowledgeable when it comes to unique medical cases. I thought he would have some ideas on how to help her and I was right. He's provided an extensive list of treatments to help her get back to full strength as well as a number of ideas on how to ease her chronic pain."

"That's wonderful. I'm sure Jane will be happy."

"Jane?" Mirdan is excited by this development "You got her to talk you?"

"Well… yes, but it's not her real name. Apparently, the sons a bitches that put those things inside her never gave her a name."

"Those who deal with such experiments, seldom give names. It makes it easier to ignore their subject's suffering." The doctor is pensive for a moment. "Given that she was likely never formally named, I'd say that does in fact make Jane her real name."

"She seems to like it, though that may have more to do with her now having more than just a number assigned to her." Sara pulls out a generous assortment of high calorie foods. "Do you wanna try talking to her?"

"Not just yet. I want you to spend more time speaking to her. Try to make her as comfortable as possible and later in the day I'll come and introduce myself. Hopefully by then she'll be comfortable enough to stay in the room. In the meantime I'll start preparing some of Mordin's suggested treatments."

Sara returns to Jane with an arm full of food. The girl's eye go wide when she sees the feast in Sara's arms. She sets everything down on the small glass table next to the wall. "Come on Jane. You can have as much as you want."

The girl doesn't hesitate, quickly grabbing as much as she can and inhaling it with a reckless abandon that would put a krogan to shame. She's got the hanar strapped to her back so she can use both hands and she's absolutely shoveling. Four days and she's still catching up on missed calories.

"I know you had a hard time before we found you but you don't have to eat so quickly. There's no one here that's going to hurt you. Nobody's going to take it from you," Sara can tell she's struck a nerve. Jane's eyes are narrowed and one hand is now squeezing the table's metal frame hard enough to dent it.

"They took it away," Jane isn't looking at her. She just keeps shoveling, speaking quickly between bites. "They took away the food, the water, the medicine. They took everything, tried to make me do what they say." Her eyes are tearing up again and she starts talking faster and faster. "They wouldn't let me eat for so long. I had to pretend to pass out to get them to come in. The first ones had some food and water, and I took it from them." She's just getting more frantic with each passing moment.

Sara tries to interject, to calm Jane down, but the girl is too worked up. "Everything hurts so much more when I'm hungry or thirsty. My skin feels like it's ripping. My stomach gets knotted so much I can barely breath. My head roars. My heart is on fire. IT HURTS SO MUCH!" Her grip on the table is so crushing that a spiderweb of cracks flash across it before the entire thing shatters, sending the food cascading to the floor.

An alert sounds on Sara's omni-tool. Jane's heart rate has skyrocketed and her blood pressure is redlining. "The next time I tried to lure them in, I had to lay there for days to trick them again." She's hyperventilating now and Mirdan storms in to see the problem. He's stopped in his tracks by what Jane says next.

"They didn't have anything, ANYTHING!" her eyes are closed as a wordless scream sounds out. Her voice becomes a whisper quiet enough to test a turian's hearing. "I was so hungry." She's hugging her stomach, weeping freely. "I was so hungry that I...I…"

It's out before Sara can stop it "What happened Jane?" She's never felt so horrible for asking a question.

Jane shakes uncontrollably and she's barely breathing. "I ate...them". Sara, now crying herself, looks on with undisguised horror. Mirdan can scarcely believe what he's hearing. Just a child and the girl has already experienced one of the worst things a person can live through. "I took their meat and filled a canteen with their blood. There was enough to last a few days but I got away before I ran out."

Her breathing starts to speed up again, this time hitching with her sobs. She looks so broken down it tears at Sara's heart. She has no idea what to say so she stays silent. The only thing she can think of doing is reaching out and taking Jane in her arms. The girl doesn't flinch or shy away. She just wraps her arms around Sara in a bone bruising hug and cries.

Eventually the sobbing stops. Sara looks down to seen that Jane's fallen asleep in her arms. The girl still looks tormented in her sleep.

"Lay her down in the cot and let her sleep," It's the first time Mirdan's spoken since he came in over an hour ago. "Her physical injuries are healing almost as quickly as a krogan, but the psychological damage will take far longer. It's best to give her as much rest as possible." he gives her a small injection of painkillers to ease her sleep.

Sara's reluctant to let go, but she knows that Mirdan is right. She lays Jane down as gently as she can and covers her with her blanket. Then she places the hanar toy in the girl's arms. She seems to relax with that and Sara leaves her in peace.

 _Her dreams aren't as bad as they usually are. The dark shadow still stalks her but doesn't try to get close. There's a small prick in her neck, followed by a relieving stream of cold that flushes through her veins._

 _The pain's never receded so much and it makes staying asleep easier than ever. She can hear a soft voice quietly singing at the edge of hearing. She doesn't understand the song but it's so relaxing she doesn't mind._

 _She doesn't know how long she's asleep. She hears sounds of medical instruments humming and syringes being filled and used. She hears the occasional voice speaking words of thanks or pleading for assistance but none are enough to wake her. That is until a booming voice outside calls in._

' _Payment's due Mirdan! Boss is tired of waiting!'_

' _I already told you I owe your boss nothing. This is a free clinic to help anyone in need. We don't make any money to steal. I've even treated several of you.' Mirdan sounds nervous._

' _Doesn't matter. You're in Red Wake territory. That means you pay to stay open. Give us the credits or we'll take a few people instead. That little human assistant's probably worth somethin'._

 _'Leave Grath. You get noth-'. A gunshot cuts off Mirdan's words followed by a cry of pain._

' _Mirdan!' Sara's cry stokes something in Jane. The claws of a deeper darkness are reaching out._

 _'Bron, get inside, see if we can get another one. The younger the better'._

 _'What about the doc?'_

 _'Salarians are good at stitching things back on. He'll be fine.'_

 _She can hear heavy footsteps coming towards the room, but she doesn't try to hide. The figure that comes in is humanoid in shape, but the four eyes and odd skin texture mark it as something else. She'd read about batarians but there hadn't been much information for her to access. The alien sees her and a hungry smiles spreads across it's face._

 _'Well, well, well, what do we have here?' It walks over to her, looking her up and down the whole way. She stays rooted in place, the shadow inside is almost free. Her eyes itch and everything is coming painfully into focus._

 _The batarian takes in a fistful of her hair and growls 'I think you'll do just fine'. It's enough to send her into the abyss, and for the abyss to lash out._

Sara struggles against the turian but his grip is iron. She desperately looks to Mirdan but the doctor is in no shape to help. It takes all his strength to stem the flow of blood pouring from his severed arm. When the batarian went inside she was terrified about what would happen to Jane.

A flash of gold and a strangled scream come from the next room. Everything stops as a silhouette fills the doorway. Instead of the batarian thug, Jane strides into view. Her right hand is wreathed in golden fire and in her left, gripped by two empty eye sockets, is the severed head of Bron. A look of absolute terror is frozen on his face.

The girl is growling like an animal. Her eyes are so heavily dilated they barely glow anymore. Sara's not sure which is more frightening, the mercs' plans for her or the terrifying apparition in the doorway.

The girl pulls her left hand back and the severed head is enveloped in golden light. The hand thrusts forward and a blast of power catapults the head into the nearest merc with enough force to reduce it and the merc's chest into a gruesome mist.

Jane throws herself forward next and mercs begin to die.

 _She can barely think. Her sight is tinted red and everything is moving slower…except her. She hurls the head into the nearest threat and it fades from sight. She can see Mirdan on the ground, a pool of his own blood beneath him and his severed arm not far away. Sara is being strangled by a turian, her strained heartbeat pounding in Jane's ears. That one is next._

 _In a flash of gold she leaps to Sara's side, grips the turian's arm, and pulls. There's almost no resistance as the offending limb is torn from her foe. The alien screams in pain before her hand flashes forward and crushes his throat. As he collapses in a gurgling heap she turns to her next target, the batarian standing over Mirdan. She casts her power over him and moves on as his flesh is torn apart molecule by molecule. Bullets are screaming towards her, but none can get past the golden barrier around her._

 _Two humans are next. She focuses on the space between them and a surge of gravity pulls them together with unstoppable force. The two scream in an ear piercing shriek that ends with a fused mass of oozing flesh twitching on the ground._

 _The next merc she turns to is already dead, a large dagger hanging from his ruined eye. Mirdan is on his feet and firing a pistol with his remaining hand. His stump is coated with enough medi-gel to fill a varren skull. The man's shots are fired with a pinpoint precision that sees two more mercs go down with tight clusters of holes bored into their heads._

 _It's then that she hears a roar sound out from the back of the merc formation. In a stomping charge, a krogan comes barreling out, knocking its own allies to the ground in the process. It's heading straight for Jane. A normal person would have run or leapt out of the way. Jane isn't normal._

 _With a roar of her own she counter-charges at the great lizard, a golden aura surrounding her. It takes only a few seconds for the two to come into contact and when they do three things happen. One, the krogan stops moving forward. Two, his shields collapse and armor buckles. Three, his crumpled corpse, minus the head, is sent hurtling over the nearby railing to fall for miles._

 _The last three are so petrified by what just happened that they have stopped firing. If the smell is anything to go by, at least one of them has pissed himself. Their fear is irrelevant. They made their choice. The first of them is slammed in the chest by a gold covered fist, his organs pulped by the impact. His corpse joins the krogan. The second, a turian, has his fringe torn from his scalp. He falls to the ground screaming in agony, until his own fringe is stabbed down into his temple._

 _The final merc, the batarian Grath, has turned and is trying to run. She catches him easily and takes hold of a fold in his armor. The man is pleading for his life when Jane hoists him overhead and hurls him back towards the clinic in a flash of light. His landing is not gentle and he breaks nearly a dozen bones on impact. His pain keeps him floored as Jane stalks towards him, like a predator towards cornered prey._

' _Please! It's not personal! I was just following orders! The boss made me come here!' Jane's pupils are shrinking and she's coming down from her rage slightly. She can finally speak again, but her voice still comes out in a ragged pant._

' _Who… sent.. You?!' she's grinding her teeth in anger._

' _Jorak!'_

' _Who the fuck… is Jorak?' She's struggling to keep control. The creature in front of her makes her so desperate to kill._

' _He's second in command for the Wake' the man is gibbering in terror._

' _What... is... the Wake?!' The beast inside is breaking free again._

' _It's our outfit! The Red Wake is the merc group I work for!' Grath has soiled himself and is violently shaking._

' _Where… is… JORAK?!' she got her hands poised over the alien's eyes. The shadow screams at her. REND! TEAR! SLAUGHTER!_

' _He's knocking over some warehouse in Gozu!'_

' _WHERE?!' her nails are resting against his eyeballs now, slowly grinding into them. She's almost drowning in the blinding need to make this thing suffer._

' _NORTH SIDE! NEXT TO KEEVA'S TECH SHOP!' with that she drops the man in a boneless heap. She kicks him in the chest to lay him onto his back. 'PLEASE! I told where he is! I told y-' his plea is cut off by a hand stabbing into his chest. He can feel those tiny fingers wrap around his heart. She stares into his eyes for several seconds, before a volcano of agony erupts from his chest._

 _He's limp on the ground, sight fading, mind going blank. The last thing he sees is a tiny red haired human standing over him, covered in blood. In her hand is a still twitching heart. 'But...that...that's my heart...' he thinks. It's the thought that sends him screaming into the abyss._

Sara's never been so terrified. She's seen people die before. Hell, Mirdan's killed more than a few fools that thought the doctor was a pushover. But what she sees now is more frightening than anything Mirdan's ever done, by far.

Jane, the little girl that was weeping in her arms only few hours ago, is standing nearby, with steaming piles of dead flesh scattered about. The attack had been so fast that Sara could barely understand. Jane had torn the mercs apart with a feral abandon that even the worst killers would cower from. She's once again covered in blood, this time of multiple hues. Human red, turian blue, batrian orange are all splashed across her face, arms, and torso. She's still holding the heart torn from Grath's chest. Her breath is sawing in and out with a ragged sound like someone who's run 20 miles at a dead sprint.

Sara's omni-tool is screaming at her. Jane's vitals are all over the place. In any other patient Sara would assume a death spiral. Jane just stands there growling and trembling. When the heart in her hand bursts, the popping noise seems to shake some sense into the girl. Her breathing slows and she falls to her knees. Her hands are slowly clenching and opening in a steady pattern.

Mirdan makes his way to Sara, his face pale and drawn. He's lost a lot of blood and is staggering like a drunkard. "Get the trama kit and a couple spare blood packs. I'm stable for now but I'll need some help soon. I'll try and talk to her." The confidence in his voice gets through Sara's fear and the woman runs into the clinic to get what the doctor needs.

As she searches, Mirdan slowly approaches Jane. She's still trembling but her breathing is slowing. As he comes around her side, she slowly turns to him, tears trailing through the gore splashed across her face. Her voice is tiny whisper "I'm sorry." He hadn't expected an apology.

"What do you have to be sorry about?"

"I'm sorry that you saw that. You saw what I am."

Mirdan keeps his voice as steady as possible "I saw a girl come to the rescue of myself and my assistant. I saw extreme power used for a noble purpose without the injury of any innocents. To tell the truth Jane I should apologize to you for allowing the altercation to involve you at all." The girl looks confused as Mirdan continues. "You are a patient in my care. It was reckless and irresponsible of me to trade words with these thugs whilst you were inside. I failed to recognize their intent soon enough and that failure led to this," he gestures to the stump where her left arm used to be, "and to this." This time he indicates the piles of bodies. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Jane's expression lightens with this as Sara runs back out, trauma kit in hand. She works quickly, running blood feeds to all the correct places and injects a powerful stimulant to keep him awake. As this happens, Jane turns to look over the bodies. In the tangle of limbs and armor she spies a small gun and reaches out to it. It's a little too big for her but she can still make it work. She then goes inside to find a bag large enough for her purpose. Sara helps Mirdan to a cot inside and starts full treatment, just in time to see Jane pull an empty body bag from storage.

"Jane you don't have to worry about that. I'll take care of the remains later." The girl doesn't seem to hear. Sara leaves her be and keeps working. An hour later, with Mirdan's hand built surgical cradle in place reattaching his arm, Sara goes outside to see what Jane is doing. She's a little startled at the way the scene has changed.

Where before there was a scattering of ragged corpses and dropped guns, there is now a single heap of bodies and limbs. Jane's has stripped their armor and weapons. The girl herself is cramming everything she can into the body bag. She looks over every piece she has, casting some onto the corpse pile and storing the rest. "Jane… what are you doing?"

"Gathering useful or valuable gear," she speaks in a absent tone before striding over to the pile of dead bodies, "and destroying evidence of what happened." With that, the girl is bathed in golden light as she gathers her biotic power. She thrusts her hands forward and the pile is enveloped in energy. It's similar to what she did to one of the mercs earlier but on a larger scale. The supercharged warp is tearing through flesh, metal, and ceramics like a hot knife through butter. When it's over, there's nothing but ash and that is quickly blown away into Omega's near random air currents.

 _She knows what she's going to do. The hunt must begin soon. Eventually, these 'Red Wake' bastards will come looking for their comrades, so Jane needs to give them something more important to chase. Mirdan and Sara are her friends and Jane won't let them get hurt anymore. It will start with the one that ordered the attack in the first place._

 _Jorak… she's going to make him suffer. She hasn't decided how he'll die yet, but she does know that it won't be as merciful as Grath's death._

 _She hears Sara come out the doors just as she's finished loading her new hoard of valuables. 'Jane...what are you doing?' Her voice is wavering slightly. Jane knows she's afraid of her. It's a thought that hurts her almost as much as the spike of pain tearing through her head and the four new bullet holes in her left leg. She doesn't know when they happened but they aren't slowing her down. Too much to do._

' _Gathering useful or valuable gear,' she would have thought that was obvious. It's the same thing she did in the maze, except on a larger scale, "and destroying evidence of what happened." The pile of bodies and scrap dissolves quickly under her power. Kuva called it a biotic warp and it's very useful for getting rid of things. When the pile is just ash in the wind, Jane gathers her hoard over her shoulder and starts to walk away from the clinic._

' _Wait! Jane where are you going?' Sara's voice is filled with panic._

' _Gozu… Keeva's tech shop'_

' _Why? There's just more mercs there!' Jane looks over her shoulder to reply._

' _Jorak is there. He wanted to hurt people I care about. So now he dies.' she turns back and resumes her march to Gozu. 'Tell Mirdan I said thank you for what he said. I'll be back in a few days.'_

 _Date_ _: 4.18.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Tech shop_

Keeva' Kala Nar Talbeth didn't want much from life. A good job, a safe home, and maybe a little money to spend. She had none of those. She'd made the mistake of going to Omega on her pilgrimage and had almost everything stolen within the first month. She's managed to survive by selling her tech skills since then and has even managed to set up a small shop. That'd be great, if she hadn't needed to borrow so much money to do it. She does good business, but that creepy bastard Brull takes most of her earnings.

She puts up with it without complaint though. He's already made it clear what he'll do to her if she doesn't keep paying.

She'd hoped this week would at least be a quiet one, but that hope died when the Red Wake showed up. They didn't say anything, as they trashed her shop stomping through to the back door. Apparently it was a good place to hit the warehouse next door from. Their leader decided to make her understand. "Listen here suit rat. We're gonna leave a man here to use you back window to shoot from. You get in the way, you tell anyone, hell if you so much as breathe too loud, he'll shatter your faceplate and break you legs." With that, the batarian Bosh'tet, and his thugs stormed towards the warehouse next door. The man they left behind started shooting through the window.

The gunfire carried on for a few minutes before Keeva felt someone nearby. She turned, then gave a high pitched scream and nearly leapt out of her skin when she saw a small human with glowing eyes staring at her. The girl had startling red hair and a massive bag drooping behind her.

The thug's voice comes roaring from the back "Shut the fuck up suit rat! Another peep and I won't stop at _breaking_ you!" She's not paying attention. The girl is still standing in front of her, completely silent. She's yet to blink.

"Um… can...can I help you?" she asks in a halting voice.

"That's it! Come here rat! We're gonna have some _fun_!" The batarian comes storming in, knife drawn and codpiece open. Whatever he's planning is cut short by a pair of gold wreathed hands grabbing his temples. With a quick twist, the man's head is turned a full 360 and his corpse crashes to the floor.

Keeva nearly has a heart attack. She can see the girl more clearly now. She's covered in blood of several varieties and there are clearly bullet holes in her leg. There's an SMG strapped to her thigh and the bag she has over her shoulder looks a lot like a body bag. The bag's zipper is slightly open and Keeva can see a pile of guns inside.

"Hello. My name is Jane and I want to trade."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - New Friends**

 _She's a little ashamed at how long it took to find the place. She should have asked Sara or Mirdan for directions. Even Grath would have been helpful, but she'd already ripped his heart out by the time she thought of asking. Twelve hours of walking, nine pimps turned down, three sexual predators decapitated, and one poetry spewing vorcha later she's finally found the shop she's looking for._

 _Sounds of gunfire are drifting through the air. The warehouse behind the shop is already under attack. She can hear four different firefights so she knows she still has time. Inside the shop is a quarian woman in a dark red enviro-suit. Jane's fascinated by the patterns on the material and stands behind her for several minutes, just staring at the beautiful swirls on the suit._

 _When the quarian finally turns around and sees her, a scream sounds from her speakers. Jane doesn't even flinch. The woman is no threat and she is still looking at the patterns. When she finally talks to Jane it's with a halting voice. 'Um… can...can I help you?'_

 _Before she can answer, a batarian brute storms into the room with a knife drawn and his armor is hanging open. She doesn't have time for this prick. A short jump, quick twist, and he's lying on the ground, neck twisted all the way round._

 _Turning back to the quarian woman, Jane quietly says 'Hello. My name is Jane and I want to trade.'_

 _Date_ _: 4.18.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Tech shop_

"I… I'm sorry?" Keeva's still so startled by what happened to the merc that she doesn't really understand what the girl wants.

"I said my name is Jane and I want to trade." The girl is shaking slightly but never breaks eye contact. Keeva's about to respond when the girl starts talking again. "But first I need to go kill some people." She reaches into the bag and pulls out a very expensive pistol and thrusts it into Keeva's hands. "You can have that pistol if you watch my stuff for me. I'll be back when I'm done killing Jorak, then we'll talk more." The girl turns to the back door. As she turns around Keeva notices a most perplexing sight. Strapped to the girls back is what looks like a blood drenched hanar. After she leaves, only a few moments pass before she leans back in. "Oh, and if you take anything out of the bag before I come back I'll skin you. Bye."

She'd thought about it, but the girls warning keeps her rooted to one spot for the hour that she's gone. It's an hour filled with gunshots and screaming.

 _It's not like earlier. Her vision has a dark blue, almost violet hue to it. Everything is so clear and sharp to her eyes that it hurts. She can tell where her targets are facing by the sound of their guns. There are two different groups fighting. On one side are her Red Wake targets. They have dark red armor with 3 curved chevrons on their chests. Most of them are batarians and turians, but there are two humans and what she thinks is a drell. The ones they're fighting are armored in blue and white. These are a random assortment of humans, turians, batarians, and even couple salarians._

 _She doesn't know the blue ones so she decides to leave them alone. Most of them are dead anyway._

 _Jorak is easy to spot. His armor is the most complex and decorated. He's shouting orders to the others and insults at the blue ones. She'll save him for last. She wants him to see it coming._

 _She decides to start with the odd one out, the drell. He's the furthest from any support. She quietly climbs into the rafters and stalks towards his position. None of her targets have noticed her yet, their focus completely drawn to the blue armored mercs at the other side of the warehouse. She considers her options for a moment, and decides on a subtle approach._

 _The drell has his back to her as she shimmies down a support beam. She draws the knife that Mirdan had used earlier. The blade is as long as her hand and curves slightly. The inside is as sharp as a razor, while the outside is serrated. With the merc's attention firmly fixed on his opponents she's able to sneak behind him completely unnoticed. Focusing all her strength she slams the knife into his neck just below his brain. The man is dead before he hits the ground._

 _Her first target down she returns to the rafters. Next comes a pair of turians. The two are very close together and firing at the same target. She tries to sneak up on them like the drell. She doesn't know much about their species... Jane has no idea how strong their hearing is. The one on the left is the first to react, whirling about, firing as he turns. She takes four shots to the gut before she gets her barrier up._

 _By now the other one has turned and is firing as well. The other mercs are taking notice too. She slams the first turian into the far wall with a biotic push. The corpse is little more than plates and jelly._

 _The second shouts in anguished rage and blindly charges forward. Jane grabs her SMG from it's place on her hip and fires until it overheats. The weapon feels bulky and uncomfortable but is suited to the job. The merc crashes to the ground with a dozen holes in his head._

 _The gun is useless now so she casts it away and uses her biotics to leap back to the rafters, chased by gunfire the entire way. She hugs the shadows, staying out of sight. The occasional blast of gunfire blazes into the rafters but it never comes close to hitting home. The blue ones have taken advantage of the distraction and fled. That's fine. It makes it easier to pick targets. The hunt resumes._

 _Date_ _: 4.18.2167_

 _Location_ _: Storage warehouse 9 - Omega_

Jorak is pissed. 'An easy job' his brother said. 'Clean sweep, no trouble' he said. The idiot's screwed him again.

The Suns were nothing. They could've been done with them in minutes. He could have been in and out no problem. No one said anything about some little biotic freak that could slaughter battle-hardened mercs without breaking a sweat. The little bitch has killed three of his best like it was nothing. Now he and the other eight are hunting the little monster through the stacks of crates littering the warehouse.

Oh… the things he's going to do when he catches her. He can still salvage this. Dead allies make for bigger cuts all around.

"Where is she Ben?" The human with the scanning tool looks to his wrist for a moment.

"Can't get a fix. Something's jamming us."

"Shit."

Grun, the ugly bastard, is moving at the front. He's smooth and methodical, never leaving anything to chance. He's the best damn tracker in the Wake. He's tracked targets through sewage, war zones, even the junk yards of Omega. He sees and hears everything. Well, almost everything.

Out of the shadows the the left, a knife comes sailing into Grun's skull. It sinks to the haft and it's momentum knocks the merc's head back hard enough to snap his neck.

Four down.

"Dammit! Fuck this! Suppressing fire!." They've got enough firepower to take on dozens and it shows. The eight of them lay down a curtain of fire that could lay waste to a small army. Bullets are shredding crates left and right. The walls are riddled with thousands of holes. Even the ceiling is shredded as a few seek to hit her earlier hiding spot. The barrage is so intense that the east facade of the warehouse collapses under the immense damage. Several bystanders outside without the sense to leave earlier are shredded in the firestorm. Gorth and Krill are hosing every shadow with their heavy chain guns. Weaver and Reck are blasting away with their shotguns. Jorak, Ben, and Trin also lay down fire with their rifles, though their fire is more disciplined than the others. Decimus isn't firing, though he's always prissy about wasting gunfire.

Once the warehouse is little more than shredded metal held up by a prayer, the firestorm finally abates and they begin to survey their handywork. "I want a full sweep. We don't leave until I've got her shredded carcass at my feet." The job won't be worth as much with so much damage, but at least he'll get to gloat over her corpse. "And somebody find Decimus. I swear I'll rip his fringe off for disobeying orders."

His six remaining lackeys spread out in a search pattern, coming over the rubble to find the little monster that had spoiled the job. A few minutes in and Weaver calls in, "Boss! I found Decimus." He sounds nauseous. Pathetic. Jorak's done bringing humans along… too soft.

He's ready to start spewing hate at his weakling comrade right until he sees what Weaver is so nervous over. "What the fuck?" Jorak can barely keep his lunch down. Decimus is laying in three pieces. He's been ripped in half at the waist. It looks like he tried to crawl for a short way, if the blood trail is any indication. He didn't get far before the edge of a heavy duty crow-bar was stabbed through his neck. His severed head is on the ground nearby.

Jorak's about to call a retreat when a pair of muffled screams sound from the north end. What's left of the squad charges over to see what happened. "Shit...Gorth and Krill" Trin's normally aloof attitude is gone, replaced by abject terror. Both the heavy specialists have been disemboweled. What's worse… Gorth's gun is gone.

Jorak can hear the distinct sounds of a chaingun spinning up. "DOWN!" It's all he has time to say. A hail of high caliber slugs tears into the team. Weaver is cut in half by the firestorm. Ben's throat is turned to mince meat. Reck's head disappears in a red haze. Jorak and Trin are the only ones to make it to the floor unharmed. The chaingun keeps firing for almost a minute. At this point she's just trying to screw with them. When it finally stops, the two survivors leap up and start firing at the spot the shots were coming from.

"Back to Back!" Jorak is done with this shit. 'Win' or lose, it's time to go. "We don't break till we're outside. Then we bolt for the car. Got it?!" Trin's shaking like an epileptic but nods in agreement. "Let's go then."

They two move quickly and are almost to the main doors in less than a minute. Jorak's starting to think they might survive. "Almost there, get ready." Trin doesn't answer. In fact, Jorak can't feel him at his back anymore. He slowly turns and sees… nothing. No Trin, no girl, even the bodies have been moved.

It's the last straw. His courage spent, Jorak bolts for the exit. His terror addled mind fills his imagination with enemies in every shadow. Jorak wildly fires at every suspicious heap in his mad dash for the door. He reaches to exit, throws the door open, and runs headlong into Trin's swinging corpse. His eyes are gone and he's been strung up by the loops of twine he always carries. But that's nothing compared to what's next.

Piled in the street in front of the warehouse, bodies stripped and engulfed in flame, is what's left of his team. It's just a tangled pile of meat, guts, and skin. And standing in front of that hellish sight is something that could haunt his nightmares, if he lives to sleep again. It's a small human. She's coated in blood, old and new. Her clothes are tattered and she has multiple bullet holes seeping tiny streams of blood. The most frightening part though is her eyes. They glow in a bright violet hue and have yet to blink. She's standing completely still. The only movement is the slow dripping of blood from her hands.

"What the fuck _are_ you?" He can barely form the words. His gun dangles by his side and he struggles to find the will to use it. This… thing, just slaughtered eleven of the deadliest men Jorak has ever known. What chance does he have?

"I'm Jane."

"What do you what?" He's close to losing it.

"You."

"Me! Wha- Why?!"

She doesn't answer. Instead she starts slowly walking towards him. There's no expression on her face and no haste in her step.

"Stay back!" His shout comes out more like a scream than a command. He can finally aim his rifle at her. "I'll shoot."

She tilts her head but keeps walking. He aims dead center and hauls back on the trigger. His rifle is one of the best heavy assault rifles in the galaxy. He's killed someone from every species in the known galaxy. Nothing's ever survived a blaze from his weapon. His rounds fly at her in a torrential storm... and not a single one hits. Every single one bounces off a golden barrier. He's still firing when she reaches him and doesn't stop until she gently pulls the gun out of his hands. He doesn't react.

Terror holds him completely still as a golden aura surrounds him. In a flash of power he's thrown against the wall of the warehouse and released from the biotic field. Before he can slide down the wall, four shards of metal slam through his hands and feet, pinning him in a spread eagle pose.

She surveys her target for a short time before gathering her power again. His world is filled with blinding agony as she goes to work.

 _It takes a lot of focus to finish what she started. She wants to peel off the outer layer without killing him and that's proving to be a lot harder than she thought. He screams for a while but eventually sags into the pose she's nailed him up in. She hopes he's still awake but doesn't stop to make sure. She's not sure she could start up again._

 _It takes several minutes but eventually it's done. She spends a little while admiring her work. It feels good to make a bad person hurt._

 _Eventually some of the blue ones come back. The one in front is pointing his gun at her but she can tell his heart isn't in it. 'Stay...stay where you are." He's shaking all over and his gun is constantly wavering. In response, she just stares at him. The man faints and falls to the floor in a heap. The rest aren't as courageous and clear the way as she turns and walks back to the tech shop next door, a new bundle of guns slung over her shoulder._

 _Date_ _: 4.18.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Tech shop_

Keeva's heard screams before but nothing like that. It was at the same time the most pathetic and the most horrifying sound she's ever heard. A few minutes after it stops 'Jane' walks back in. The girl is even more soaked in gore than before. What tatters are left of her clothes are so drenched in blood that the original color has completely disappeared.

She's holding perhaps the most expensive weapons Keeva has ever seen, and she has another bag loaded with firepower. The girl plops down on the stool near Keeva's workbench. She sweating profusely and panting. The girl whisper something but it's too quiet to hear.

"What was that?" Keeva is on the verge of panic.

The girl lifts her head and says "food."

"I.. I'm sorry. I don't have levo food. I never thought I'd have a guest in my shop looking for food." The girl's breathing shifts to something like a growl and she glares at Keeva. The quarian woman is so afraid she can't move. Jane slides from the stool and stomps over to Keeva's pantry. She almost rips the door off it's hinges. Once inside, she grabs the nearest solid food item and starts tearing into it without even removing it's sealed covering. Keeva tries to warn her "Wait! That's dextro food! It'll make you sick!"

When she tries to reach for it, Jane turns to face her, teeth bared. A guttural growl pins Keeva in place. She doesn't know how to handle this. It takes only a couple minutes for Jane to down three days of food. Keeva laments the expense, but not out loud. When Jane is apparently full she turns back to Keeva. "Water?"

"Um… there's a… a faucet over there." she gestures to the nearby sink. She'd tell Jane about the water packs but truly sterile water is even more expensive than her food, and she's saving it for hard times.

The girl doesn't complain. She simply walks to the sink, turns the water on, and takes several long draws from the faucet. When she's done she returns to the stool. Jane sits back against the workbench for several minutes, eyes closed, just breathing deeply. The trembling that assails her is slowly fading and eventually she looks back at Keeva.

"I need to sell most of my guns."

"Um… I… I mean I can buy guns but I… don't really have much money to pay with." Keeva can't stop trembling. She's so afraid of pissing the girl off she can barely breathe.

Jane watches her with an unblinking stare. It's one of the most uncomfortable experiences of Keeva's life. When the girl finally starts talking again Keeva can't help but give a little jump.

"You can sell them for me right?"

"I... I know a few people who can pay a lot for them. I owe too much money to give you any real deal."

"Why do you owe money?" The girl seems genuinely perplexed.

"My shop wasn't cheap, not to mention that I lost almost everything I had after I got to Omega. I had to borrow a lot of credits to afford this little workshop and even more for the tools I needed. I do good business but I have to give most of my money to the man who loaned me the money." Keeva's a little ashamed over being so deep in debt. "It'll take a while to pay it all off."

Jane's still staring at her, now with a deep frown. "How much is this one worth?" she holds up the rifle in her hands.

Keeva brings up the information on her omni-tool. "Its an M-76 Revenant, one of the most expensive guns in the galaxy. There's not many around so it's worth a lot. Keelah, I could pay off my debt twice over by selling it. To be clear, it's worth a lot. And that's before we factor in the mods."

The girl finally blinks before cocking her head to the side, "If you help me you can have it."

Keeva's eyes are like saucers and her heart skips a few beats. She stands perfectly still for almost a full minute before finding her voice. "You… I… you'll let me… what?"

"If you help sell my guns, you can have this one." She's holding the rifle out to Keeva, a look of utmost earnestness on her face.

It's too much for Keeva. This girl is offering a way out of poverty for the young quarian and the only thing she wants is help peddling some guns. Keeva's head is spinning as she starts to fall. The last thing she feels before passing out is the girl catching her and gently stopping the floor from meeting her faceplate.

 _This isn't something she expected. She offered to help and the quarian faints. She stops her from hitting the floor and picks her up. The workshop has a small cot so that's where she puts the woman._

 _She watches the quarian for several minutes, studying the intricate patterns worked into her suit. The suit is in rough shape with over a dozen large patches attached to cover any weak spots. Her curiosity leads her to gently squeeze the material in multiple places. It doesn't make her skin ache as much as the clothes she has, or what's left of them._

 _The contact seems to be what the woman needed to wake up. She can hear Keeva's heart speeding back up to normal pace and woman groans slightly before coming to._

' _Wha… what happened?' her voice is even more heavily accented than before._

 _'You fainted when I offered to give you a gun.' She thinks the quarian might pass out again. 'Why did you faint?'_

 _'I… I was just astonished that you'd give something like that away.' She's not sure what the woman means but decides to move on._

 _'Can I have a few things right away?' she'd like to get to the larger hunt soon. 'I need some things to help me hunt and having a friend who's good with machinery would be nice.'_

' _Um sure, what… what do you need?'_

 _'I need an SMG modified to fit me. My hands are too small for the normal grip to be comfortable. I also need it's heat system improved as much as possible. It doesn't need to hit very hard, I just need it to be able to fire as long as possible..'_

 _'I can do that easily enough. Some of those guns in the bag have pieces I can use. You do know that an SMG like that will have really bad recoil?'_

 _'Doesn't matter.' She's strong enough to control it so she's not worried._

 _'Anything else?'_

 _'Do you have an extra suit?' she's had an idea and hopes Keeva can help._

 _'I have some spare material but not whole nother suit...Why?'_

 _'If you can help me make a suit like yours you can keep half the money from the rest of the guns'_

 _The quarian seems shocked but Jane doesn't understand why. It sounded fair to her._

 _'I know someone in the upper markets that can make one for you,' Jane can't help but smile at that, 'but I have to ask… Why do you want a suit like mine?' She thinks carefully before answering._

Keeva can't think of any reason for someone other than a quarian to need a suit like her's. It's not hard to make one, just expensive, and to make one for a human will cost even more. Jane stays quiet for a long time before looking down to the floor and rubbing her arm.

"My skin hurts all the time and everything I wear just makes it feel worse. My clothes," she holds up her arms to show off the tattered remains of her clothes, "aren't enough anymore, and I don't like being uncovered. You're suit material doesn't hurt as much and I'd like my own."

Keeva's disturbed by the girl's plight and speaks more confidently this time. "My friend in the markets can definitely make one for you. I can call him right now if you want." The girl nods enthusiastically and Keeva places the call.

A ten minute chat with an extremely chipper hanar is enough to get things rolling. The jelly seemed positively ecstatic over the chance to make a new style of garment. When asked about her desired color and pattern design, Jane had stumbled for a bit before asking for a red slightly darker than her hair and had drawn a symbol for him to place on it. He'd guessed Jane's measurements with barely a moment's pause to examine her over the video feed and promised to rush his soon to be masterpiece to Keeva's shop as soon as it was done.

"I think it will be a very nice suit." Keeva is actually excited to see it. "Is there anything else or do you want me to get started on your guns?" The girl considers the question and starts to answer, but is interrupted by the sound of an incoming shuttle and a turian voice calling for his men to stand at attention.

Date : 4.18.2167

Location : Storage warehouse 9 - Omega

The old man has not been having a good day. A dozen attempts to steal from Aria's weapon stores had the queen positively apoplectic. She had, in no uncertain terms, told him to take care of the situation or she'd tear out what's left of his organs. Anyone else would get skinned for talking him like that, but he'd learned his lesson about challenging her power a long time ago. He knew just how easily she could slaughter him.

So now he finds himself standing outside what used to be the most valuable storehouse of arms and armor on Omega. Now it's little more than a smoldering pile rubble and lost fortune. But that's not what holds his attention. What's got his focus is the pitiful creature nailed to the front of the warehouse. It's a batarian or what's left of one. The old man is hard to surprise these days but the state of this fool is something he's not seen in centuries and even then, that job was much rougher.

He's been skinned alive. Not with a knife if he can believe his old eyes. No, this one's had his skin dissolved by a biotic attack, but it's been done with a precision he didn't think possible. What's even more astonishing is that the poor bastard is still alive somehow. The sorry fool looks at him with lidless eyes. A wretched gurgling noise sounds from his exposed throat. The new arrival takes a moment to realise that the man is laughing.

"A little late to the party aren't you." He recognises the voice!

"Well, well Jorak… I must say you've looked better."

The mutilated merc lets loose another sickening laugh. "I'd say the same to you, but you've always been an ugly old lizard." Jorak can't manage more before breaking down in a sickening cough. The old man gets a laugh out of that.

"How bout you tell me what happened here," he draws his favorite pistol from his hip, "and I'll go ahead and let ya die."

Jorak breaks down into a hysterical laugh. "Huh, ha ha! You got no clue. We were just here for a quick score but…" His eyes are rolling randomly in their sockets and another wet heave escapes his lipless mouth. "We had no idea Aria's made a deal with Akshar."

"The hell's Akshar?" The old man's heard of a lot of odd things but this was new.

Jorak is positively convulsing in his insane mirth. He'd be rolling on the ground if not for being nailed to the wall. "The end of days come. Demons walk Omega!" He's screaming at a level to make a deaf man wince, "RUN, HIDE, FIGHT, BLEED, DIE! IT DOESN'T MATTER. SHE'S COME FOR US ALL. ALL WILL BURN. ALL WILL SUFFER. AKSHAR COMES FOR ALL IN A STORM OF BLOOD AN-" the old man's pistol ends the insane rant.

He calls to another batarian nearby, this one a member of his personal guard. "Gruld, the fuck was he talkin about?" The batarian seems completely unnerved by the dead mercs rant. "GRULD!"

"Sorry… It's just that Akshar is a very old legend. Been around almost," the man tilts his head to the side and closes his eyes trying to think, " Fifteen, twenty thousand years.

"Wow, that is certainly _fascinating…_ " the condescension is dripping in his voice "but if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to know what the hell it means."

"Right… right. Akshar's a deity from a near dead religion on Khar'shan. She's supposed to be some goddess hell bent on killing everything for the sins of the ancestors. Not really a popular cult. Most of um are psychos or serial killers."

The old man thinks for a while, trying to figure out what could make a blood thirsty piece of shit like Jorak break down into a hysterical fanatic, ranting about the end of days. He turns to contemplate the question while staring into a smoldering pile of bodies nearby when one of the Blue Suns assigned to the warehouse finally works up the courage to speak. "Sir I-" The old man cuts him off with a sharp gesture.

"Think long and hard about what you're gonna say boy. Whether or not you still have a head in two minutes depends on what you have to tell me." He's in no mood for ass kissing or excuses.

The merc in front of him is wide eyed and shaking but manages to tell him something useful "About two hours ago we got hit by a Red Wake assault team led by… him," indicating the now headless body of Jorak. "Most of my guys went down in the initial hit but some of us managed to fortify inside. They were pouring fire on us when someone else showed and started killin um."

The old man leans in very close and growls his next question, "Who?"

"Don't know who she is. We didn't get good look at first, but not long after she showed up they were all dead and piled up in that heap." He's pointing to the scorched bodies nearby.

"Where is she now?"

"In the shop over there." It's a small place but he'd heard good things about the girl that worked inside. One of the best techs on Omega from what he hears. Maybe she could have a place with them if she could fight like _this_.

"Cassius, head over there and find this girl. I'd like to talk to her." The turian stays quiet and heads to the shop next door. He can hear shouting inside and is about to go over himself when Cassius is sent hurtling out the door in a haze of gold light.

 _She was curious about the new arrival. He's a Krogan and a very old one at that. He walks with slight limp and has so many scars on his crest that the original shape is almost obscured. He talks to Jorak for a while then goes and ruins her hard work by shooting him. She knew Jorak wouldn't last long but had hoped he'd suffer at least a little longer._

' _Jane get away from the window!' Keeva seems extremely nervous._

' _Who is that?'_

' _That's one of Aria's men. He used to rule Omega before she almost beat him to death. Now he does whatever she says and goes all over Omega to take care of business. The warehouse was one of hers. Oh Keela, I hope they don't come over.'_

 _As if in response, a turian comes striding into the shop. He spends a moment looking around before zeroing in on Keeva. 'You. Come with me. Now.'_

' _Please I didn't do anything!' Keeva sounds like she's on the verge of tears. Jane doesn't like that and steps between the two._

' _Out of the way kid!'_

' _ **Go away**_ _.' She's struggling to control the shadow inside._

 _The turian stomps forward and backhands Jane in the head, knocking her to the side. 'Learn your place human!' The explosion of pain in her face breaks her control for a moment. She leaps up and rips a mandible from his face before blasting him in the chest with a push. He's sent flying through the door and then the sounds of confused shouts start pouring out._

' _Oh no. Oh Keela.' Jane can tell that Keeva really is crying now and immediately reins the shadow in. She didn't mean to make her feel worse. The voices outside are silenced by a single confidant command from the old Krogan as his slow, stomping footsteps come towards the shop. Keeva's backed herself into a corner and is trying to hide so Jane stands in front of her. She'll keep her new friend safe._

 _When the Krogan finally arrives and sees Jane and Keeva he stares for a few moments before talking. 'I just wanna talk. No need for the crazy explosion from earlier ok.'_

' _He frightened Keeva. If he comes back I'll rip his other mandible off and then I'll beat him to death.'_

' _I take it that you're the one who killed the mercs next door.' He doesn't seem angry. She nods slowly. In fact, Jane can see a broad smile on his face._

' _Well then I'd like to know. What exactly gets a little human girl to do that to the Red Wake?' He's smiling the whole time now._

' _They ordered someone to hurt my friends. So I'm going to hunt them down and rip their hearts out.' The krogan looks delighted at her answer. It makes Jane feel good to know that someone likes her work. 'Who are you?'_

' _Who am I? I'm Patriarch.'_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - New Gear**

 _Date_ _: 4.19.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's tech shop_

"So Jane, how do you like your new gun?" Keeva was quite proud of herself. The SMG had been decent before, but now it was a work of art. "It's got upgraded heat sinks so now it'll fire longer than most rifles without overheating."

The girl is positively beaming over her new toy. "The grip feels perfect. Can I adjust it when I get bigger."

"Yes you just need a good workbench and a few decent tools." Keeva watches the girl as she runs her hands over every surface of the gun. A deep voice sounds from her sound.

"I must say, that little gun is quite the piece of work. Fire till doomsday, but won't hit too hard will it?"

"Well um… Mr. Patriarch… sir…" the old krogan holds up his hand to stop her stumbling.

"Just Patriarch. You got nothin to worry about from me kid."

The quarian visibly relaxing. "Right, thank you. To answer your question, the gun's current setup will loose some hitting power but will still make short work of kinetic barriers and unarmored flesh. Biotic barriers and combat armor won't suffer much but I'm betting that's not a problem for Jane."

At the sound of her name the girl lifts her head to look at them. "Nope, I just want something for when I'm tired." She'd spent the night in Keeva's cot. The woman herself had been so thoroughly focused on her work that she hadn't even noticed until she'd finished, turned to show Jane, and noticed the girl out like a light. Looking to her Omni-tool, she was stunned to see almost seven hours had passed.

The old krogan had left the night before, returning in the morning, a grizzled old turian with half his face burned off trailing behind. Turns out, he was Aria's main gun peddler. After a few minutes of haggling most of Jane's guns had been sold. Keeva thought some of the offers were a little low but the overall amount they'd been paid was enough to make a volus banker green with envy. The only gun they hadn't sold was the M-76. The turian had been flabbergasted over the monumental score and was champing at bit to buy it. That is until he learned that it had been picked from the corpse of a Red Wake warlord. He'd thanked them for the other guns and practically bolted from the shop.

Keeva's a bit nervous about that. "Why didn't he want it? The Revenant is one of the most valuable guns in the galaxy."

"Red Wake's been making waves on Omega last few months. Not many willing to step up and fight um. That rifle was Jorak's and he was the second in command for the entire company. They find out someone's trying to sell their dead commander's gear… might get a little pissy over that. Be a good idea to change it up a little, change the shape and color. Don't want the Wake come knocking. Jane might need to drop a few more before they start causing trouble." While Patriarch is almost giddy over the idea, it's got Keeva wringing her hands and cursing to herself.

Jane herself is quite perplexed. "I thought I killed them. How can they cause trouble if they're dead?"

The old krogan chuckles to himself. "Oh little one, this was just one team. The Wake's got a few thousand spread all over the Terminus, couple hundred on Omega alone."

Jane's face contorts in rage as she jumps to her feet. "Where?! I'll kill them too!"

"Easy little one." The girl's got spirit that's for sure. "While I'd like to see those butcher's dead and gone too, we just don't know where they are. Hell, the warehouse over there," he gestures to the ruble next door, "that was just one of twelve that they hit and the only one they were stopped at." Jane still looks pissed but manages to calm down a bit. "Not to mention the fact that, even with what you can do, you'll need a lot more than a fancy gun and tattered clothes to go after them. You'll need some kind of defenses and plenty of help chasing all of them down. I know somebody who might be able to track them down. Kid's got mechs and spy drones watching all over Omega. I'll give him a call, see what he can turn up."

The girl stares at him for a few minutes before asking, "Why are you helping?"

"Well, there's a couple reasons. First off, you slaughtered an entire Red Wake assault team, and in the process made an example of their second in command. That'll do a lot of good for Aria's organization, keep some of the smarter mercs from signing up with the Wake. Then there's the fact that a new, remarkably dangerous person has shown up out of the blue." He's pointing at Jane while saying this. "It's usually good to make friends with powerful people… will you be my friend Jane."

She's quiet for a moment before broadly smiling. "I'll be your friend if you'll be friends with my friends, like Keeva." The quarian is still fairly nervous over being in the room with the krogan, but she perks up at what Jane says.

"I think I can manage that. Might be quite a few of our boys needing tech upgrades. If you can pull off work even half as good as that pistol, you'll have customers lined up out the door."

"Really? You'd send your people to me for tech work."

"Damn right. We've got some guys with experience, but most of them got their heads up their asses over their supposed greatness. Be nice for some fresh talent."

"Um.. thank you. But you know I'm not planning on staying at Omega for more than a year or so."

"I figured... pilgrimage right?" The woman's head bobs up and down. "I've known a few quarians over the years. Never stay very long, but most really knew their way round a wrench. I'd be glad to send business your way while you're here, as long as you promise to do a good job."

She almost look insulted. "I don't do substandard work." She's finally found her nerve and looks him in the eye with squared shoulders.

The talk diverges into rate negotiations for several minutes before Jane hears a new, aetheric voice outside. "With deepest respect, please remove your hands from this one. This one has a wondrous item to deliver to the honorable quarian within."

"Keeva, there's a hanar outside with a delivery." Jane is excited to see a real life version of the soft pink friend on her back.

Patriarch calls outside, "Let the Hanar in Gruld." A moment later a hanar floats in with a large package grasped in a single tentacle. He's draped in a few strands of silken fabric, which trail gently behind him. For a hanar, it's grandiose, ostentatious even.

"Wow Vollo. You've always worked fast but this has to be a record." Keeva can't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"This one simply could not resist pouring all of its attention into such a wonderous project, and what a stupendous project it has been. Woe unto this one, for never again shall such a glorious feeling of accomplishment fill it's unworthy soul." Jane can see a number of odd flashes accompany its speech. The flashes are a bright hue of purple that she can't name.

"Vollo you say that every time you finish a new project." Keeva sighs heavily as she speaks. "It's always 'woe unto this one'. Why not be happy over finishing something new?"

"With deepest respect to the kind quarian, this one is positively ecstatic over its success. This one simply laments the end of such a numinous sense of exploration into new ideas of garment manufacture."

"Don't worry Vollo. I'm sure you'll find another new and unique project to get into."

"This one is infinitely humbled by your confidence. If this one may humbly request, where is the fascinating one called Jane for whom this glorious article of clothing has been wrought into being?" Vollo gently caresses the package draped over his tentacle.

"I'm Jane." The girl walks up the the hanar and watches with an unblinking stare. The hanar considers her for a few moments, a new series of flashes showing at the tip of its body. "What do those flashes mean?"

"This one is confused. It did not speak. Can.. can the intriguing Jane perceive the higher frequency of light that accompanies this one's private musings."

"I can see a lot more than most people."

"Wonderous! A truly unique individual, no doubt completely worthy of this one's utmost effort." The hanar brings its burden forward and presents it to Jane. "Behold! This one's masterpiece." A second tentacle removes the top of the package and inside is a suit colored a beautiful shade of red. Jane reaches in and slowly pulls it out, a rapturous look on her face.

 _It's everything she hoped it would be. The fabric is just as smooth on her skin as Keeva's. The color is perfect and the swirling designs are similar to Keeva but far more intricate. It even has the symbol she requested on the chest. It's a golden yellow figure standing straight, feet together, arms raised as if in praise to something above. It's the pose she nailed Jorak into._

' _This one humbly submits that the suit is to the exacting quality the wonderful Jane desires.' She hadn't asked for any sort of special effort but was more than happy with the result regardless. 'With the honorable Jane's permission, this one will explain the wonderful features of this beauteous garment.' Jane quickly nods, excited to hear all about her new suit._

 _The hanar quickly goes through a list of features, from the durability of the fabric to the ease of modification as she gets bigger. The suit includes a hood and an optional armored faceplate. The hanar grows ever more animated as it speaks. 'This one has also included two special features not requested. First is a mounting point at the back of the suit in which a powerful shield generator can be placed.' Jane looks at him in confusion, she hadn't asked for that. The hanar notices her confusion and explains 'this one received an unsourced transmission with video of the intense battles in which the honorable Jane engages. This one thought it prudent to include the capacity for such protection.'_

 _Jane happily replies, 'thank you very much Vollo. It'll be nice to not have more bullet holes next time. What's the second feature you mentioned?'_

 _The hanar is lightly rubbing to tentacles together as if in anticipation 'this one has noticed your choice of plush companion,' he gestures to the pink figure on Jane's back, 'and is infinitely humbled by your choice of companion. Therefore this one has included special folds of fabric around the collar to protect your flattering friend from falling blood and viscera. Its location will allow maximum coverage from a shield, meaning that the toy will be protected from anything short of a fatal blow.'_

 _Jane searches the collar of the suit and finds the fold he spoke of. She's overjoyed. She doesn't like it when he gets covered in blood._

 _'This one does not wish to sound impertinent, but this one wishes to know. Are you satisfied with this one's meagre efforts?'_

 _'It's completely perfect Vollo'_

 _'Glorious news! This one shall treasure your praise until its dying day.'_

 _Keeva comes forward, 'How much Vollo?'_

 _'This one could not charge for the opportunity to partake in such an exhilarating experience.'_

 _Jane won't have that 'Vollo I want to thank you for it. You deserved a reward. Just say how much it cost to make at least.'_

 _'With depthless humility, this one supposes the sum of twelve thousand credits would be sufficient compensation.'_

 _'Keeva give him double that from the gun money.'_

 _The quarian pushes a few controls on her Omni-tool and transfers the credits._

 _Vollo emits dozens of rapid flashes before finding his voice again. 'This one could never accept such a monolithic amount for it's efforts! This one was performing the simple service of clothing manufacture.'_

' _To me, it's one of the most important things you could do Vollo' Jane reaches out the hanar and takes several tentacles into a tight embrace. The hanar is speechless for several minutes._

 _'This one shall delight in the memory of this project. This one wishes you a pleasant day.' with that the hanar quickly floats from the shop, as Jane strips out of what's left of her old clothes and slides into her new suit._

 _Keeva looks away until she is covered again. Jane is stunned at how comfortable the suit is. Her old clothes felt like gravel grinding against her skin, but this material only causes a slight ache that she can almost ignore. The suit has gloves that she leaves off for now. Also included is a pair of perfectly sized utility boots that make her feet almost pain free. She's never been so comfortable and simply stands for several minutes enjoying the sensation._

' _It looks great Jane. how does it feel?'_

 _Tears are gathering in the corners of her eyes. 'I barely hurts... It's perfect.'_

 _Date_ _: 4.19.2167_

 _Location_ _: Gozu District streets_

Patriarch had left shortly after Vollo had made his delivery, promising plenty of business for Keeva and some useful information for Jane, to repay her for slaughtering Jorak and his team. The Wake's second in command had one hell of a bounty on him.

Keeva spent a few hours teaching Jane the basics of maintaining her new suit. While she didn't need the same lecture that quarian children got since she didn't need to maintain an airtight seal, she still needed to know how to properly clean and repair the special material and how to flush the air out in an emergency. Jane was almost bouncing in joy, gladly soaking up every detail Keeva doled out. When she eventually felt that Jane knew everything she needed, the two of them left her shop to give Jane time to walk around and get used to her new suit.

The girl was quiet most of the time, simply enjoying what she claimed was the deepest sense of comfort she ever known while awake. The two had been walking for almost an hour before Jane spoke up. "I can't wait to show Sara and Mirdan."

"Mirdan?" Keeva tilts her head, trying to remember where she'd heard that name, "Isn't he that salarian doctor in Doru, runs the free clinic?"

"Yes, him and Sara found me bleeding in the street and took me to their clinic. They gave me lots of food and helped me heal. They're my friends." Jane stares at Keeva for a moment before nervously asking, "You're my friend too, right?"

Jane's watching her with a pleading gaze. Keeva can't believe she'd even need to ask. "Of course you're my friend. You've brought me a way out of debt and given me a chance at a real future. How could I not be your friend at this point?" Jane's eyes are watering as she suddenly takes Keeva in a bone creaking hug. Keeva struggles to breathe, desperately tapping Jane's shoulder. "Jane! Jane! Too tight!" The pressure immediately eases as Jane quickly pulls away with an alarmed look on her face.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Don't worry, I'm not hurt. Just remember not to squeeze so hard next time."

Jane hangs her head down, "Ok."

The two of them continue walking for little while longer and eventually Keeva notices how late it's getting. "We should probably head back now. It is pretty late."

Jane stops with her and stares for a bit. "I'm gonna stay out for a little while. I wanna see more."

"Are you sure? It's not really safe to stay by yourself for long."

"I'll be fine. If anyone causes trouble I'll rip their guts out." The way she can say something so brutal in such a casual manner makes Keeva a little queasy.

"Um… ok. Just try not to hurt anyone if you don't have to. Oh and stop by the shop in a few days. I'll put together a great shield generator for your suit."

"Ok. Bye Keeva." With that, Jane turns from Keeva's side and wanders away into the streets of Omega. Keeva thinks to herself, 'please be careful Jane.'

 _There is so much for her to see in this place. Lights flashing everywhere, advertising almost everything. Food, booze, tech, drugs, meds, clothes, strippers, sex, slaves, and a hundred other things Jane never even thought of. There are a lot of things she doesn't like, but it's too much for her to change it all. She could probably do a lot of damage, but she'd run out a energy long before all the bad things were dead. She stops a few times to eat a ration bar or two that she'd gotten from Keeva._

 _She's happier than she's ever been. She's comfortable for the first day in her life. She's got friends that can help her. She's got money for food. She isn't trapped anymore. This place is so open that she can enjoy just breathing, despite the pervasive stink in the air._

 _She goes a while without sleeping, maybe a day or two. She's feeling a little tired and decides to head back to Mirdan's. She's not really sure which way to go but she's not worried. She'll figure it out. She walks for a few hours before she picks up on a scent that's been with her for a while. She first smelled it an hour before and it hasn't gone away. Someone's following her._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 - 003**

 _Date_ _: 4.23.2167_

 _Location_ _: Kima District - Omega_

 _2 hours after incident_

"I shouldn't have let her go." It's been Sara's constant refrain since the girl had left. Jane wandered off with a bag of guns and no knowledge of the area. Sara had been pulling her hair out in worry ever since, and today that worry had seemingly been vindicated.

"I doubt you'd have been able to stop her." Mirdan's face doesn't betray his feelings but Sara knows him well enough to tell that he's just as worried as her. "Given her extreme abilities and assuming her background is as brutal as we theorize, it's likely trying to control her be would an exercise in folly. A waste of time at best and a fatal mistake at worst."

"Do you really think she'd hurt us?"

"It's likely that if we tried to force the matter she wouldn't even realize what was happening until after we were dead." Sara can't help but shudder at the very idea of being the target of Jane's ire. "Check the tracker. We have to be getting close."

Sara turns back to her Omni-tool. The tracker Mirdan put on Jane was still functional, but the signal had been intermittent for the last two days. "It's still scrambled...WAIT! There, the signal is finally clearing!" Relief flooded her system, until the vital scans returned as well. Jane was dangerously close to an aneurysm and she's badly dehydrated. Her blood pressure was sky high. "She's in bad shape."

"What direction? We need to get to her now." There's no panic in his voice but Sara can hear the strain.

"Tracker's got her pinged five hundred meters… that way." Sara's pointing to Mirdan's right. Banking the car right, the two quickly close in on the signal. "Looks like she's in one of the residential areas."

Mirdan sees it first "What's left of one." Sara looks up, confused by the statement until she focuses on what's in front of them. The area had been a one of the slightly higher quality neighborhoods of Omega. Not exactly nice, but certainly nicer than normal. Now, it's little more than a smoldering ruin.

"It looks like a bomb went off." Mirdan can't help but agree. The area's littered with the wreckage of numerous collapsed houses. The broken bodies of dozens can be seen below, and there, at the epicenter of the disaster was a kneeling figure with dark red hair. "That's her! I see Jane!"

Mirdan brings the car in to land close by and Sara is out as fast as possible, running to the girl. Jane doesn't react in any way. When Sara reaches her, she can see Jane is wearing something like a deep red quarian enviro-suit. She's holding a heavily engraved blade in one hand and has an SMG in the other. The girl herself is once again splashed in blood.

"Jane… Jane are you ok?" It's obvious that something extreme has happened to her. Jane's eyes are bloodshot and so heavily dilated that their glow is almost gone. Her skin is covered in chemical burns and there's a hideous tear on the side of her face, only recently closed if she's any judge. There's also signs of a puncture wound in her chest that seems to run all the way through. Her gaze is completely vacant. "Jane, come on, talk to me."

Mirdan arrives with full set of med gear and goes to work trying to find what's wrong. A minute in and he delivers the dire news. "Severe dehydration, extreme calorie deficiency, multiple broken bones, internal hemorrhaging, thoracic cavity puncture, and severe contusions on multiple organs"

Sara's astonished that Jane is still alive with such injuries and is about to try getting her to talk again when she sees what Jane is staring at. She hadn't noticed at first. She'd been too focused on Jane, but now she see's it. There, in the dirt in front of them, is the broken body of a child roughly the same age as Jane. "What the hell happened here?" She turns back to Jane and sees the tears streaming down the girl's face. She's whispering quietly to herself, the same thing over and over.

"What is she saying Sara?"

Sara leans closer to Jane, struggling to hear. It's a short series of numbers, "She's just repeating the same three numbers, 003." Sara turns to Jane and asks the question, "Jane what does 003 mean?" Jane stops her refrain and raises her eyes to meet Sara. They're wider than ever and filled with abject panic.

"Subject 003. Subject 003. Subject 003." She goes on and on in a wavering voice.

"Jane, what is subject 003?"

 _Date_ _: 4.21.2167_

 _Location_ _: Fumi District Alley_

 _31 hours before incident_

It took a couple days, but Brade had finally found the target. The red haired girl with the glowing eyes had been wandering aimlessly through Fumi when he'd started tailing her. The Wake had put one hell of a bounty on her and he was eager to collect. He's heard a few things about her from the the guys up top, but he honestly couldn't understand why anyone would put a multi-million credit bounty on a kid.

'Well she did supposedly kill Jorak, so there's that.' He's not sure how this little waif could have accomplished such a feat, and to tell the truth he didn't really care.

He'd been tailing her for over an hour before she'd begun acting odd. She kept turning her head and twitching her nose. 'Can she smell me?' The thought echoes through his mind for moment before he dismisses it. No way the kid could do that.

After she stops sniffing, her pace doesn't change. She just goes back to gawking at everything in sight, stifling a yawn as she walks. That's good. A tired target is an easy target. He wants to force her somewhere more remote before striking. There are a few spots he set up earlier. He didn't really need to hide what he did on Omega, but he had a reputation to maintain. A good assassin does his work quick, efficient, and most importantly… out of sight.

He sends out a drone to the next block. It floats over to a store and fires an E.M. pulse. All the lights nearby blow out and people start pouring out, shouting at each other, blaming the damage on everyone they locked eyes with. As he'd hoped, the girl ducks into the nearby alleyway to avoid the crowd. It's one of the ambush sights he's prepared, just in case she came this way.

Once she's deep into the twisting avenues between buildings he sets off the first charges, trapping her between two piles of rubble. Then he sets off the second charge and the gas canisters burst open.

 _She recognizes the gas that floods the area in a greenish-yellow haze. It feels, tastes, and smells just like the gas from the labs. As soon as she tastes it, she clamps down on her breathing and scrambles to pull up her hood and get her face mask on._

 _It takes a few moments, and during that time she's back in her own personal hell. What skin is exposed feels like it's slowly being ripped off. She wants to claw her own eyes out to stop the murderous pain. Her lungs are on fire and she can tell that blood is already pooling inside. This gas is much more concentrated than the labs._

 _After a few seconds of mind flaying pain, the mask is finally in place as she struggles to remember what Keeva said about flushing the seals. She finds the catch on her belt and frantically punches the code in. The suit gets a lot tighter for a moment, as the air in inside is flushed out and is quickly replaced by the small emergency supply built into the suit._

 _Finally able to breath safely again, she turns her red-tinted, rage filled gaze to her surroundings. THERE! A figure crouches over the edge of the building to her left, craning its head to peer into the alley. She doesn't know if it's actually the one responsible and she doesn't care. The blood in her lungs and burns on her flesh demand a response and the shadow inside clamours to deliver. She keeps control… barely._

 _Date_ _: 4.21.2167_

 _Location_ _: Fumi District Alley_

 _30 hours before incident_

Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT! His visor should let him see through the gas but all he gets is a miasma of static.

He'd seen her go to her knees, desperately grasping at her throat and oddly enough her belt. Didn't really mean much to him. People do strange things while choking on his special mix. He'd used it quite often. It's a super concentrated mix of chlorine gas, enough to make a krogan puke his lungs out, so a kid would go down fast. He's pissed that he doesn't get to watch. There's something special about seeing one's hard work come to fruition.

He doesn't see the small figure climb up to the side. Her doesn't hear her soft footsteps as she creeps up behind him. He doesn't feel the rage pouring off her in waves as she reaches for him.

He does feel the iron grip on the back of his neck. It picks him up and before he knows what's happening, he's sent sailing through the air into the alley. He breaks a dozen bones with his landing and struggles to stay conscious. His mask is the only thing that keeps him alive as he gets to his feet _inside_ the lingering cloud of gas.

He sees a figure land a few meters away in a golden aura. It looks like a five-fingered quarian, until he sees behind the clear faceplate. His target's eyes are bloodshot and her skin has large patches of angry red burns. Her face is contorted in a visage of animalistic rage that leaves him rooted in terror.

She takes him by the throat and hoists him into the air like a ragdoll. His eyes are bulging as he lets loose a stifled plea for his life.

"Please… it's just business… I was just doing what... I was payed to do!" Shadows gather at the edge of sight and the pressure only increases.

Her reply is growled through gritted teeth, the voice projector in her helmet blasting her question at him, "WHO PAID YOU?!"

He doesn't know how he finds the breath, "The...Wake… bounty… biggest I've… ever seen …" the girl's rage grows ever more terrifying. Blood seeps from her eyes and her teeth are coated in it. She doesn't speak again. Instead she reaches slowly for his mask. "Please… please don't…" he desperately flails at her to no avail.

He takes a deep breath and screws his eyes shut just before the mask comes off. His exposed skin feels like molten iron is being dragged across it. His chest is on fire, desperate to release his pent up air. He manages to resist the temptation, right until the fist slams into his stomach.

The air explodes out of him and he can't help but take a breath. Immediately, his chest catches fire and within moments, he's puking up blood. He's left drowning in his own liquefying lungs for a full minute before a golden glow surrounds him and throws him into the nearby alley wall. Before he can fall to the ground, four shards of metal slash into his hands and feet, crucifying him.

In his last moments, his look up and sees the girl staggering away. She doesn't waste a backward glance as he fades into an agony shrouded abyss.

 _She walks for almost twenty minutes before removing her mask. When she does she falls to her knees and regurgitates a torrent of blood. She can feel her lungs slowly stitching back together but it will be some time before they're back to normal. She eats half the ration bars she has left and downs half her water._

 _She needs to get back to Mirdan and Sara as soon as possible. She can't hunt like this. She needs to heal, get a shield from Keeva, and when that's done she'll go after the Wake._

 _Date_ _: 4.22.2167_

 _Location_ _: Kenzo District - Omega_

 _12 hours before incident_

He picked up her trail at the sight of Brade's failed ambush. The human had been a reasonably competent assassin, but had always let his personal feelings get in the way. He'd always made the mistake of gloating over a dying target, and now it saw him crucified on an alley wall.

Tath would not make that same mistake. His training within The Compact insured his ability to detach himself from his body's actions. He would never give into sentiment until after his target was dead. He would give his prayer over her body and move on, as he always did.

The girl is in the street below. She stumbles from time to time, no doubt from the lingering effects of Brade's chlorine. That she's still walking is a testament to her fortitude, but Tath can tell she's suffering. It's likely that she'll be dead anyway in a few hours, so he feels that ending her swiftly would be a great mercy. He trails her for some time, waiting for the right moment. His focus is absolute, his chosen blade poised for that one... perfect... moment.

There… she stumbles, falling to her knees for a moment, and he knows it's time. A short step from the roof and he braces himself for impact. His blade leads the way. It stabs through her back, right where her heart should be, and rips through the other side. She's slammed into the ground beneath him and he can feel her go still. He doesn't waste time savoring the deed, for even though its is an act of mercy, it is still sad. He quickly moves to the deserved prayer and calls upon his goddess to forgive him and to guide her to rest. He doesn't get far into his ritual.

He's thrown from her body by a golden shockwave. Before his disbelieving eyes, the girl slowly gets to her feet. His blade still stabbed through her chest as she turns to face him. Her eyes are glowing and a look of absolute hate paralyzes him. His prayer has been answered. The goddess has given him a definitive NO.

She staggers over to him and gazes into his eyes for a few moments before taking him in a deep embrace. His own blade slices into his stomach and shreds his intestines. His very soul is flooded with pain and the only thing that keeps him standing is a field of golden light coming from the girl. A blast of power slams him into the nearby storefront. Four daggers are torn from his belt and the girl stabs them, one at a time, through his hands and feet. As the light fades from his eyes he is deeply saddened by the sight of her trying to pull out his blade. He'd wanted to end her suffering and instead he had only managed to magnify it. His last thought is of the prayer he said over Brade's body. It's doubtful anyone will do the same for him.

 _She spends nearly an hour working the blade out of her chest, unsure whether to thank or curse her implants for pulling her heart closer to center. One centimeter to the right and it would have punctured the base of her heart. Instead she pulls the blade from a collapsed lung. Vollo, that beautiful jelly, had worked a medi-gel delivery system into her suit. The blessed medicine surges into the new hole in her chest and goes to work. When the blade is finally out she keeps hold of it though can't remember why._

 _She continues walking through the street, barely staying on her feet. Every breath is a trial. Every step an achievement. The blade scrapes against the street as she drags it behind her._

 _As she staggers down the street, a gang of vorcha led by a krogan in maroon armor step into her path. 'Hold it human! This is Blood Pack territory!'_

 _Without thinking, she sends the blade in her right hand crashing down on his head. His crest shatters as the blade splits his head in half. The lifeless corpse crashes to the ground. His vocha dupes squeal into terror and flee in all directions._

 _She's eaten the last of her food and her water is gone. She's more tired than ever but can't risk sleeping yet. She's got to find Mirdan and Sara. They'll help. She desperately staggers on, completely lost and close to falling. Her vision is going dark and she can feel the shadow inside growing. She's not sure if she can stop it again._

 _Date_ _: 4.23.2167_

 _Location_ _: Kima District - Omega_

 _2 minutes before incident_

John's not a violent man. He's never killed anyone or stolen anything. His only real problem was an addiction to the tables. His gambling debts had kept him trapped on this hellhole station for two years, him and his family. Coming here had been the worst mistake he'd ever made. He wants to do right by them, give them a better life.

That's why he's standing in an alley at the edge of his neighborhood, training his father's old rifle on someone who's never done anything to him. He doesn't want to do it, but his next payment is due soon, and her bounty is the only hope he's got. If he doesn't pay… Lily and Tim will. He has to do it. They'll forgive him right?

He's heard the stories. She's got a body count higher than most mercs. He knows that the last two to go after her ended up crucified, and they were professional assassins. But she's heavily wounded now and it's the only hope he has.

He tries to steady the rifle, but just can't stop shaking. He holds her in his crosshair, a look of desperate exhaustion on her face. She tilts her head up, as if looking straight at him.

Begging for forgiveness, John closes his eyes, and makes the second biggest mistake of his life.

 _She'd been about to collapse when a line of fire tore across the right side of her face. The pain drops her in a heap. Several teeth are knocked free and she can feel air coming_ _ **through**_ _her cheek. She's so out of her mind with pain and exhaustion the shadow is able to force her response. She can barely control herself in her charge at the shot's origin._

 _It's a trembling man in the alley ahead. With the shriek of demons, she barrels into him with enough force to shatter his ribs. He lays on the ground, gasping for breath and begging for forgiveness. She doesn't stop. The shadow inside screams at her 'HE MADE HIS CHOICE!'._

 _She casts her gaze about, looking for something to nail him the the wall with, when a small body tackles her from his prone form. They land in a tangle. The other manages to straddle her chest and starts throwing a flurry of punches to her face, all the while screaming at her 'YOU DON'T GET TO HURT MY DAD!'_

 _The man is reaching out to the figure, pleading with him to stop, to run. His pleas fall on deaf ears. The figure keeps slamming its fists into her head. The pain is soul shredding and she feels the shift inside._

 _The shadow gives her enough strength the fire a biotic blast. The figure is catapulted across the alley and she can hear plenty of bones break on impact. She struggles to her feet, face oozing blood and teeth. Slowly she makes her way over to the figure, intent on obliterating it._

 _It rolls over and the shadow recoils in horror. It's a boy, no older than her. His eyes lock with hers and she sees_ ' _ **deep green eyes pleading for the pain to stop'.**_ _She can hear him struggle to breath with_ _ **'lungs being shredded by what they put inside'**_ _. His weeping breaks her heart as_ ' _ **she cradles her first friend in her arms, desperate to make him stop hurting'**_ _._

 _Her mind is screaming at her. '_ _ **It's him. 033. No, it can't be. I ended his pain. I saw him die. But… but he's here... and suffering more than ever. It's her fault this time. It's Her fault. Her fault. HER FAULT!**_

 _A shriek sounds from the end of the alley and a woman runs to the boy, cradling his broken body and weeping freely. Dozens more voices sound out and people pour into the alley with shouts demanding to know what happened. Eyes turn to Jane and accusations fly as they start throwing things at her. She tries to explain that she didn't mean it but they don't listen._

 _She's about to turn and run when a boot crashes into her back. She's sent sprawling into the alley and the crowd goes wild. More boots start slamming into her and she loses herself in the agony. She's too weak. She can't control it. After fighting so hard to stop it… the shadow breaks free._

 _In a flash of golden power, a dozen people are sent flying. Many are killed on impact and all others are heavily wounded. Buildings tremble in the blast and several walls crumble. She's on her feet a moment later, remaining teeth grinding, eyes wide, her sight flooded with red, rage twisting her features in a bestial snarl as she lashes out in mindless fury. She's not even seeing the same people anymore. Instead of common people from Omega she sees_ _ **'black and white uniforms and sterile lab coats. They're here to take me back! I won't go back!'**_

 _One man_ _ **'an arrogant bastard in a commander's combat armor'**_ _is split nose groin by the blade she still carries. Another_ ' _ **a**_ _**doctor that won't stop with the needles'**_ _is disemboweled by a brutal slash. Two more_ ' _ **the scum that used to watch her bathe'**_ _are shredded by a hail of fire from her SMG. A woman trying_ _ **'to take away all her food when she's starving'**_ _to frantically crawl away is stabbed through the heart. Another_ _ **'the one who never let her sleep enough'**_ _loses her head after screaming for her life. It goes on and on and on. Bodies pile up. No one is spared. He biotics are sailing out in blinding flashes of unrestrained power. Building are buckling and loose wires are starting electrical fires._

 _A tiny voice I'm her head is pleading, shrieking for it to end, 'Stop! Stop! They don't understand!' Her body won't listen. The shadow has full control and it hurts so much, she can't bring herself to take it back._

 _Eventually she turns to the first woman, still cradling the boy. A voice inside demands her death and she starts forward. She's pleading with herself 'please... no. She didn't do anything…' but the shadow doesn't care. It doesn't see an innocent woman cradling her injured son. It sees_ ' _ **033… her first friend… writhing in pain, begging for it to end. And standing above him… the bastard who caused it all'.**_

 _The terrified woman looks on with horror filled eyes_ _ **'he's still smiling at her'**_ _. She stalks closer as the woman pleads for their lives_ _ **'he still isn't afraid'**_ _._

 _The woman's voice quietly sounds out 'please… don't do this…' The voice tears into her mind._

 _ **'Hello 027, lovely to see you again.'**_

 _The blade comes up with murderous intent. She's still shrieking inside 'NO! STOP! STOP!' It's not enough. She lets out a strangled cry of despair as the blade crashes down onto the wretched, kneeling figure._

 _She's weeping uncontrollably as she falls to her knees, surrounded by the broken dead. The dark voice within whispers again, 'we're not done yet…' she doesn't understand… they're all dead. 'No… not all…' it whispers._

 _Her eyes lock on the broken body before her. The boy is still breathing_ _ **'she doesn't want him to suffer anymore.'**_ _Her heart breaks as she pulls the small dagger from her belt._ _ **'He'll be quiet soon. I won't let him suffer anymore.'**_ _The blade quickly sinks in, just like it did so many years ago._

 _All is quiet except for the sounds of rubble falling and fires burning around her. She kneels at the center of her massacre, sobbing like an infant. Her guilt is overwhelming but she knows that her pain... her tears… are little comfort to the mutilated dead._

 _Date_ _: 4.23.2167_

 _Location_ _: Kima District - Omega_

 _2 hours after incident_

They can't get any more out of her. Whatever happened has left her in a near catatonic state. Sara puts her arms under Jane's, trying to lift the girl to her feet. Instead of rising, she finally gives into her injuries and goes limp.

Sara's panic is palpable, "Jane! Wake up! Come on!"

Mirdan consults his omnitool, "She's unconscious… but alive for now. Let's get her to the car and back to the clinic." Mirdan's confidence gets Sara up like a shot as she lifts Jane into her arms. The woman sprints back to the car to secure Jane for the trip. Mirdan is about to follow when he sees something familiar in the rubble near the child's body.

It's a curved dagger, one side razor sharp and the other is heavily serrated. A sheen of blood coats the blade. The child has a puncture wound under his chin. He has a good idea how it happened. Putting his dagger back at it's place on his hip, Mirdan quickly runs back to the car. His mind is full of burning questions, but they'll have to wait. He can hear Sara quietly pleading with the girl, "Just hold on Jane. We'll be there soon. You'll be ok… I promise. Please, just hold on."

The car lifts off and throttles up to full speed as the two doctors desperately rush the brutalized girl to the care she needs.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 - The Hunt Begins**

 _Date_ _: 5.3.2167_

 _Location_ _: Mirdan's Clinic_

It's been almost two weeks and Jane still hasn't opened her eyes. To tell the truth, Mirdan is shocked she survived. Even her remarkable enhancements shouldn't have been enough to keep her alive.

The girl's injuries are healing more quickly than almost any he's ever seen. He's only known krogan and vorcha to heal faster. She stopped needing help to breathe four days ago. Her punctured lung is once again functioning perfectly and the tissue damage from what he assumes was some kind of chlorine based chemical attack, has fully healed. Even the gruesome tear on the right side of her face has fully healed, though a… noticeable... scar has taken its place. Her bones have set nicely and the internal bleeding stopped only a few hours after arriving at the clinic.

Her remarkable healing abilities seem to only be limited by fuel. She was barely alive when they found her, but as soon as she was getting the proper nutrients, her body began repairing itself with astonishing speed. As long her body can provide the energy, Mirdan believes she could heal completely from almost anything that isn't immediately fatal.

Whatever had happened to her had pushed her enhanced body to the brink of total shutdown. She'd shed almost ten kilos and what little fat had been on her body had been burned up to fuel her super charged metabolism. So Mirdan and Sara had been forced to put together a super concentrated mix of nutrients and high calorie paste. This was currently being fed to her through a tube.

Sara is Jane's constant companion. She's refused to leave the girl's side for anything but the most critical of needs. Most would question her devotion to someone who was, in essence, a complete stranger. He knows that Sara is simply passionate about helping people. She's always had a bit of a bleeding heart. It's what kept her working by his side in a place like Omega.

Now they were just waiting for her to wake up. They still didn't know what had happened as the two of them had been too busy keeping her alive, not to mention keeping up with the usual business of running their little med center.

The clinic had been swarmed for several days. Most were the standard fare of Omega. A father that broke his hands protecting his daughter. A gang member knifed in a drug deal. A prostitute with suspicious chemical burns. A turian with cracked plates looking for painkillers. A krogan with a severed hand and an attitude. A vorcha that had been stupid enough to drink omni-gel. A cavalcade of wounded and sick that lasted for days. It was nothing new to Mirdan. He just carried on with his characteristic calm efficiency, all the while keeping people as far away from Jane as possible. She's had a number of biotic flares in her extended sleep, and he didn't want to endanger anyone.

 _She's in a strange place. It's not a new place. She came here several times when she was still in the labs, usually just after they cut her open and added something. It's not a bad place, just strange._

 _It's very dark in this place so her eyes don't hurt here. There's no ground but she's still standing on something. There are two soft lights dimly shining around her, slowly moving in a regular spiral. There's nothing in the distance except a deeper layer of shadow. It's the only place she's ever been where the pain completely fades. She's usually alone here, but this time… there was another._

 _She's never had someone intrude in this private place and doesn't know how to handle it. The two stare at each other from a short distance. It's physical features are almost entirely obscured by the all pervasive darkness. The only things she knows for certain are that the figure is female and it has the same eyes as her. She tries to get closer but the figure drifts away before she can reach it. Eventually she works up the courage to talk. 'Hello? Who are you?' The figure doesn't speak. Instead it tilts its head and keeps watching. Jane pushes on._

 _'I'm Jane… what's your name.' It stays silent, slowly lifting it's arm and pointing at her. 'What do you mean? Are you saying that… that you're me?' The shade drifts closer and she feels a shift inside. A feeling of boundless rage fills her. It's a bottomless, soul quivering hatred that threatens to subsume everything else in her heart. Oddly enough, it's not directed at the phantom before her. Instead, this abyss of primal fury is purely focused on a symbol. The figure nods and pulls something from the shadows around them. It's a blood drenched scrap of cloth with an image of three curved red line._

 _Her rage sharpens further as the figure comes closer. She's speaking through grinding teeth. 'The Red Wake...It's their fault. THEIR FAULT!' the shade stays silent, simply nodding in agreement. Iif they had stayed away. IF THEY HAD JUST LEFT ME ALONE! Those people would be ok… THEY'D STILL BE ALIVE!' the figure reaches out and places a hand over Jane's heart. The guilt melts away and is replaced by fire._

 _The figure stares directly into her eyes. It doesn't blink, not once. 'They deserve revenge…' the shade nods again. 'we go. We hunt down the Red Wake. We make them scream!' She thinks for a moment before asking the shade, 'you'll be with me… right?_

 _She's trembling in her anger as the figure reaches out and gently takes her hand. It feels like she's warming herself by a fire. She stays like that for a while, basking in the sweltering heat of rage, a feeling of serene purpose filling her soul. A set of voices drift through the shadows and she knows it's time to get moving. She needs to gather her gear and begin the hunt._

 _By the time she's done, the Wake will be just another smear on the walls of Omega._

 _Date_ _: 5.3.2167_

 _Location_ _: Mirdan's Clinic_

Keeva's glad she found the place. She'd been trying to reach Jane through the omni-tool she'd given her, but apparently the girl didn't know how to answer. After almost two weeks, she'd decided to go looking. Her new assistant Sirus, sent her way courtesy of Patriarch, could hold down the torrent of new business for a while and she had a special gift for Jane.

Keeva reaches the clinic late in the evening. The front door is closed but the comm pad on the wall is active so she pushes the call button. "Um… hello… is anyone in there?"

A quiet but confident voice responds, "Of course, what can we do for you?"

"I'm looking for a little human girl named Jane. She has dark red hair and glowing-" before she can finish the doors slide open and she's suddenly staring down the barrel of a high caliber pistol.

The salarian holding it glaring at her with obvious anger. His voice is still confident, but now is filled with frightening authority, "state your business with Jane… NOW!"

Keeva's hands are in the air and she can barely keep her knees from buckling. She manages to babble out a terrified reply "please! I'm just a friend! She came to my shop a few days ago!"

The gun stays pointed at Keeva, "why are you here?" There's no give in his voice. She answers as quickly as possible, the words spilling out in a panicked torrent.

"Vollo said that he made a mount for a shield generator in Jane's suit, so I told her I'd make one to thank her for giving me a bunch of the money from selling her guns and she said she'd come back in a day or two but she didn't, so I came looking for her and she said she was friends with a salarian doctor named Mirdan and he has a clinic so I came looking for her and-" his raised hand and lowered gun finally end her frantic explanation.

"Calm down, you've convinced me. However, should you do anything threatening inside, I won't be so… understanding. Jane is inside recovering."

Keeva blinks a few times before responding, 'what do you mean recovering? Is Jane ok?!"

"We found Jane heavily wounded in a destroyed residential section. Some of her injuries are indicative of common assassination techniques."

"Oh Keelah! Will she be OK?"

Mirdan's about to respond when Sara's frantic call sounds out, "Mirdan! Come quick!" He whirls about, sprinting back inside. He's running through the long list of possible problems and making ready for the worst. When he gets to Jane's spot, relief flows through him. Jane is sitting up and Sara has her in a tight hug, a huge smile plastered on her face. Keeva comes trotting in a few seconds later.

The girl herself is not smiling. In fact, Keeva sees the anger from before, when Jane had just finished slaughtering the Wake team. She's not looking at any of them. Her breathing is slow and steady. Sara can't help but pour out her relief, "Thank god. We were so worried Jane. You healed up pretty fast, but when you wouldn't wake up I was so worried."

Jane turns to Sara, her expression softening. "Thank you Sara… I'm ok." she turns to Mirdan and offers a quick smile. When she turns to Keeva, her smile gets even bigger. "Hi Keeva… what are you doing here?"

"Well, when you didn't come visit, I decided to come to you. I've got something special for you." The quarian woman holds up a simple package. "It's the best work i've ever done...well, for something like this." The package is larger than her fist.

Jane takes the box and prys it open. Inside is a small round device with a single glass point on the top. Also inside are a number small square pieces. She has no idea what these things are and simply stares at Keeva after looking them all over. Keeva notices her confusion and takes hold of the circular item, "This is a generator for a powerful personal shield. And these," she lets go of the generator and picks up one of the smaller pieces, "are emitter terminals built for placement all over your suit. Once they're installed, you'll have one of the best shields on Omega." The girl winces slightly at the mention of her suit. "What's wrong Jane?"

"My suit got damaged earlier." The girl has her head hung in… shame?

"That's no problem Jane. I can show you how to patch it back up and while we're working on it I'll go ahead and install your new shield." Jane's smile is back and she slides off the bed. Sara moves to stop her but a look from Mirdan keeps her back. Jane wobbles slightly but manages to stand straight. She stretches her back and arms and several loud cracks issue from inside her joints. She winces slightly at the feeling but doesn't complain. Her and Keeva go to where Sara has laid out the damaged suit and Keeva helps her apply some high quality patches before moving to Vollo's shield mount. The fit was perfect and the unit immediately began drawing from the suit's internal power supply. Once the smaller emitters were in place she immediately stripped out of the pale green gown Sara had put on her, and started pulling the suit back on.

When it was back in place, she breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. "Remember, the shield is powerful but not invincible. If you hear a loud popping noise and see the energy blow out, take cover until it recharges. You'll feel the shield when it reconstitutes, an itching sensation mixed with a heavy taste of ozone. I've also rigged it so that the heads up display for your faceplate will show how much strength the shield has left. You should still avoid getting hit as much as possible. I'd rather not come back and find you back on a cot with new injuries."

Jane's quiet for a minute, then anger coming back full force, "I might not be able to avoid that."

Sara pipes up at that, "What do you mean Jane?"

"I'm going after the rest of the Wake."

"What?!"

"They put a bounty on me. Everything that happened to put me down was because they're paying people to come after me. So I'm going to hunt them down and make them suffer. Was I holding a blade when you found me?"

"Well, yes it's in the storage room, but why is that important?"

Instead of answering, Jane makes her way to the small room off to the side of the clinic. Inside she finds the assassin's blade, along with her SMG. She slides her gun into its holster and picks up the dark blade before returning to the others. "Keeva, do you have something I can keep the sword in when I'm not using it?"

"No, but I can make something for it. I'll get started when I get back to my shop." The quarian is already running through a dozen possible designs in her head. It's not something she's made before, but she's confident she can make something reasonably suited to the job. "How soon do you need it?"

Before Jane can answer, Sara jumps in, "Jane please. You just healed from a horrible experience, and now you want to go back out and fight again? Why? Take some time to rest and recover. They'll still be there in a few days."

"That's the problem. I need to start hunting them soon. They're already sending people after me and the longer I wait, the worse the attacks will get. Not to mention…" she trails off for a moment, "if I don't get after them soon, they'll come anyway, and when they do, you or Mirdan or Keeva might get caught in the way." She's turned her head to the floor, "I… I can't handle more innocent people dying because of me."

Sara is watching her more closely than before, not understanding "What do you mean more? When did you get someone innocent hurt?" This is when Mirdan steps in.

"It doesn't matter. Jane is right. The sooner she can begin her hunt, the better." He turns to Jane and gently places a hand on her shoulder. "I wish you luck in you endeavors Jane. Always remember that you have a safe place to come back to." She takes him and Sara both in a tight embrace.

"Thank you both for everything you've done. I promise to be careful." She turns back to Keeva and takes her hand, "Come on Keeva, let's head back to your shop. I need to learn a better route for the next time I decide to come back." With that the two of them leave the clinic at brisk walk.

As the doors close behind them, Sara turns to Mirdan, "Why the hell are you encouraging this? She's just a little girl. I mean, yes she has those crazy implants, but we shouldn't just be sending her into battle like that."

" _We_ aren't. We are providing a safe haven should she choose to come here. She can make her own choices and has just done so. And like I've said before, trying to force the issue would not end well. The best we can to do is support her as much as possible… and pray for her well-being."

 _They got back to Keeva's shop with little trouble. Jane's been memorizing every twist and turn they take, as well as making note of every landmark. Last time she'd tried going out on her own she'd almost died. Her memories of that day are crystal clear. She remembers the poison in her lungs. She remembers the sword she now carries stabbing through her chest. She remembers the gunshot tearing her face open. She remembers the rampage that followed._

 _Jane can't let that happen again. So she'll make sure to prepare for moving through Omega. She needs to map out as much as possible. 'I won't be so careless anymore.' The thought has been bouncing around in her head for the last few hours. She'll never wander around without a plan again._

 _When Jane and Keeva get to the shop, Jane can barely recognize it. Where before it seemed like little more than a shack with a sign, now the shop has been cleaned up and expanded. An addition has been built onto the west facade and a second story is under construction. The inside is even more impressive. Everything has been upgraded. New, high quality tools are mounted on the wall racks. Over a dozen weapons in varying state of assembly line multiple stainless steel counters._

 _Jane was so fascinated by the wealth of new gear she almost didn't notice the young turian toiling away over what looked like the M-76 Jane had brought in, but this one has been stripped down, the inner mechanisms downsized, and the grip was being remodeled for smaller hands. She was about to ask Keeva about it when the woman spoke to the turian, 'Hello Sirus. Everything OK?'_

 _The young man turns to respond, 'Just fine boss. Been a few bareface idiots looking for a quick steal, but the drones took care of them.' The turian looks to Jane, 'This her?'_

' _Yep. She needs something to keep her blade holstered in. I've got a few ideas and I'll need you to gather up some omni-gel and a full set of fabricating tools so I can get started. When that's done, get in touch with Vollo and have him send some top quality suit patches and some armor mounts.' That last part catches Jane's attention as the turian eagerly gets started with Keeva's assignments._

' _What are the mounts for Keeva? Are you in danger?' Her fist tightens around the hilt of her blade._

' _Actually, they're for you. I can make some special plates for your suit. They won't stop explosives, but they will keep bullets out.'_

' _Isn't armor stiff and harder to move in? The weight's no problem but I need to be able to move.'_

' _Don't worry. What I have in mind are just a few plates to cover your vitals and some reinforcement for your arms and legs. The plates won't slow you down at all.' She likes the idea of having more between her and more bullets. Keeva takes her into the shop's extension. Inside are a host of schematics and sketches tacked to the walls. There are designs for guns, blades, omni-tools, holsters, helmets, and dozens of other potential projects._

 _Keeva points out a series of very high quality sketches, 'These are what I had in mind. They'll be made of a titanium reinforced ceramic. Each plate will have it's own attachment points on your suit. The coverage won't be total of course. For that you'd need a full body hardsuit and those do limit movement to a certain degree. The exposed areas will be at the flex points of your body. A few places, like your knees, will have some overhang to provide cover but try to avoid taking hits as much as possible. The plates are just a precaution. They'll help keep you alive in an emergency. We can also give you some added space to carry more medigel and extra gear. I can also work in a mounting point for your sword once its sheath is done. By the way I'll need to borrow it for a bit to get the measurements.' Jane hesitates for a moment before handing the blade over. 'Thank you. It'll only take a minute." True to her promise, it takes Keeva less than two minutes to run the needed scans with her omni-tool. When finished, she carefully hands the blade back to Jane._

 _As Jane takes back the sword, Sirus comes jogging in with an energetic bounce in his step, 'Miss Keeva, someone's on the comm screen looking for Jane. Says he's got some info on the Wake for her.'_

 _Date_ _: 5.4.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Shop_

The three of them move to the only finished room upstairs, a special comm room Keeva commissioned to make private calls to a number of high profile supply specialists. She'd gotten so many new clients that she needed more reliable suppliers and many of those that she had commissioned demanded the kind of secure communication that an easily hacked omni-tool chanel couldn't provide. The private comm room had plenty of encryption systems to befuddle all but the greatest hackers.

On the screen was the silhouette of a male figure with his back straight and fingers steepled. "Hello Keeva' Kala Nar Talbeth, a pleasure to speak to you. I understand that a certain young woman just arrived at your shop. Is Jane available to speak?" Jane steps forward and the figure claps his hands together, "Excellent. You look just like I heard. So how did you get your eyes to glow like that? Cybernetics? Special lenses?" Instead of answering, Jane just keeps staring with unblinking eyes. The shadowed figure doesn't seemed perturbed, then again anyone selling information on Omega would need to be used to such unusual behavior. He carries on, "Anyway, Patriarch tells me that you're looking for information on the Red Wake. I'm happy to say that I have quite a bit of data on them. Base locations, drug dens, company fronts, slave pens, you name it. For most people, I'd charge a small fortune. For you however, I'll give you anything I find for a small fee of five hundred credits per tip."

Keeva's never heard of a generous information broker, "Why would you give away something so valuable for so little? Like you said the information is worth a fortune. What's the catch?" The figure is quiet for a few moments before answering.

"Jane here is making waves on Omega. I myself have had a few… encounters with the Wake. Giving Jane the information I have is an excellent way to get them to focus on someone else. She's already drawn away much of their attention and solved a lot of problems for me. When Jane starts after them in earnest, well… my issues with them will just melt away. Especially if she's as dangerous as the rumors say."

Jane stares for a while and gives a guarded answer, "I'll pay what you want, if you can give me something useful."

"I'll make you a deal. Half the money before I send the information and half after you kill any Wake members you find. If you accept, send the credits to this account." As the account details flash onto the screen, Keeva can't believe how generous this broker is being.

"Deal." Jane is smiling broadly as she sends payment over.

"Good. Now, you should know that the Wake are getting ready to move a major shipment of red sand at docking bay 261-A. You've got about four hours to get there. I'm transferring the coordinates now." Keeva can see Jane's tool light up with the promised location information.

"Thank you… What should I call you?"

"My clients have given me a number of names. My personal favorite is Orb Weaver, so that will suffice. Call me back on this frequency when you're ready for some more information." With that the screen goes back to its standby image and Keeva turns to Jane.

"So, does that mean you'll already be heading out?" The girl quickly nods, "Alright, I'll prepare a route and send it to your omni-tool. It'll be a one through back alleys and ducts. That way you can move around without being exposed too much."

"Thank you Keeva. I promise to stay out of the streets as much as I can." She takes the quarian woman in a tight embrace before heading for the front door.

Keeva stops following at the door and calls after her, "Good luck Jane. When you get back I'll have your armor mounts and the first few plates ready. The scabbard for your blade should be ready too but I can't guarantee it." Jane calls her thanks back before pulling her hood up and disappearing into the alleyway.

 _She can't believe how excited she is. She is finally on the hunt and can't wait to tear into the Wake. They've caused enough pain for her and now she gets to start making them pay. She locks her face plate into place and makes note of the new shield display that Keeva had mentioned._

 _She reaches the dock about an hour earlier than 'Orb Weaver' said the drugs were being moved and decides to use the time to recon the area. She notes the four separate exits as well as a walkway leading to an airlock. There's no ship yet but the warehouse is already full of mercs moving crates into place near the airlock. They've got a wide mix of weapons but nothing like Jorak and his team. She takes several minutes to plan out what she's going to do. She wants to move fast and kill them all before anyone else arrives._

 _The first thing she does is head for each entrance and uses her biotics to fuse three of them into solid slabs. She doesn't seal the final one until she's sure that everyone is inside. The warehouse has a catwalk up above, but it's really well lit so she decides to avoid that. Sticking to the shadows, she marks out movement patterns for the mercs and looks for someone isolated to start with._

 _Date_ _: 5.4.2167_

 _Location_ _: Docking Bay 261-A_

It's a damn good day for Drulien. His shipment is ready on time, the boss is giving him a bigger cut than last time, and most importantly, no one has asked him about his broken fringe today. He still hasn't managed to find the harlot responsible for his disfigurement and the boys have made sure to chuckle at his expense almost everyday since it happened. But today there hadn't been a single laugh and he was feeling great.

He's walking along the outer edge of the warehouse and decides to step out for a smoke. When reaches the door, he's confused by what he sees. Where before there were two distinct panels, now there's just one lumpen mass. He's about to call over to Beck when two hands grab him by the temples. After that he feels a split second of pain as his head is suddenly wrenched to the side. He can't keep his feet under him and collapses in a heap. ' _Someone broke my neck_ ' for some reason the thought is hilarious to him. He tries to laugh at it but just can't find the air. The last thing he sees is an oddly shaped quarian in a red suit creeping away.

"Hey Beck, you know where Drulien is? He said he wanted to check everything before the ship pulled in." Drak had been looking for almost ten minutes. Drulien wasn't answering on his omni either. The human looks to him.

"Na, haven't seen him. I-" a loud thump sounds out from main office. Drak and Beck jog over to see what happened. When the reach the office, they can't see anything out of the ordinary, except for what's not there. "Where'd Crash go? He was here a minute ago."

"Don't know." Drak pulls up his omni and sends out a signal to everybody. "Anybody seen Crash or Drulien? We gotta go over everything one more time before the ship gets here." Eighteen of them call in to answer negative. Crash and Drulien don't. "The hell is going on? I swear, if Crash is getting drunk again I'll beat the piss out of him."

The batarian was about to go into more detail when a small figure drops down in front of him. The sight of the little red figure is so surprising that he never has time to react. A blade stabs through his heart and rips through his spine. As his body falls from the sword, its wielder spins around and hurls the blade into Beck's throat. The human is nailed to the wall by the impact. The blade misses his spine by less than a millimeter. It's why he's able to watch the red figure close in. It's a small human girl in a suit like a quarian. She is looking directly into his eyes, listening to his gurgling attempts to keep breathing. As she takes hold of the blade, he manages to get his hand around his pistol. If it's his time to die, he's gonna take this little freak with him.

The pistol comes up but she rips the blade out before he can fire. His finger squeezes the trigger, letting off a shot just under her arm. Her answer is lightning quick slash at his face. His world goes dark as the alarm sounds.

 _Dammit. She shouldn't have moved so slow. If she'd just killed him as fast as possible, then maybe the alarm wouldn't have gone off. She'll still try to stay hidden, but now everyone will know something is wrong. To balance that out, she pulls her SMG and shoots out the overhead lights before leaping onto the catwalk. She lands surprisingly quietly and seeks out her next target._

"I knew things were going too well! Didn't I say? Didn't I?! When nothing goes wrong for over a week, then something big is about to happen. Didn't I say Kro?" The other Batarian glares at him with obvious contempt.

"Shut it Doth. Let's check the office. Somebody find Drulien!" Two more mercs start looking around for their supposed boss while the rest head to the office to find the reason for the gunshot. When they arrive, Kro gives voice to all their thoughts.

"What the fuck?!" Drak is lying on the ground, with a single puncture wound dead center of his chest. Beck is much worse. At least Drak was in one piece. The human's head has been cut in half at nose level. The top half, along with most of his brain, is laying in the pool of gore pouring from what's left of Beck's head. Then Doth points to the rafters over the office. Sprawled around one of the beams is Crash's limp body, his head twisted backwards and hands fused together in one solid mass. It's all the keeps the corpse in place.

Kro steps further in and turns to address the group. Then suddenly he sees movement on the catwalk. Before he can raise his weapon or even call out a warning, a hail of small calibre fire pours into their backs. A few had forgotten to raise their shield when the alarm sounded and are cut down in a storm of bullets that never seems to end. When the torrent finally stops, six mercs are dead, and the rest are firing up at the catwalk. A monsoon of gunfire rips into the metal but Kro can tell that their assailant has already moved on. "CEASE FIRE! Hold for a target you idiots." The shots die down as the mercs examine the scene before them. The only thing their wild shots achieved was knocking out most of the remaining lights. Flashlights click on and the survivors start seeking their attacker.

All any of them can here is the sound of their companions' breathing and the halting steps of the few moving forward to look. A crash sounds from the right and six men turn and fire without thinking. The shots tear in crates, the wall, along with Bunt and Blue, who'd been looking for Drulien and had accidentally knocked over a crate on his way back. The two Krogan topple over with dozens of holes in their hides. "DAMMIT. MAKE SURE IT'S AN ENEMY BEFORE YOU FIRE!"

As Blue and Bunt's bodies settle to the ground the sound of metal chopping into meat comes from the opposite direction. Kro turns to see a recent salarian recruit fall screaming to the ground in two pieces. He's been cut in half. A pair of turians lose their nerve and bolt to one of the doors. Kro can hear them banging frantically on the door before a burst of gunfire sounds out. He can hear a body fall and one of them is screaming in agony. The scream is ended with a loud crack. There aren't many of them left. "Screw it. Let's bail Doth… Doth?" Kro turns to where Doth had been, only to find that he's already run. A scream from the right bring him back and he sees a flash of gunfire. Three more fall, two with faces pulped buy gunfire and the third has lost his head.

He's alone. The air is completely still and silent. He slowly makes his way towards one of the doors, but before gets halfway, he feels a shift in the air. He whirls around and sees a figure before him. He hauls back on the trigger and cheers inside. Every shot is on target, center mass. After almost forty shots his rifle finally overheats. It's still standing so Kro pulls out his pistol and fires again. He can see his shots hitting a shield. Who the hell has a shield that strong? With his final shot the figures kinetic barrier finally bursts and he moves for his shotgun. He's enveloped in a painful golden aura before he can grab the gun. The figure steps forward before speaking, "You're the last one. That means you're my message."

"What the hell does that mean?" It doesn't answer. Instead it just turns around and walks toward the front doors. He tries to break free but the golden field drags him behind. When the figure reaches the door, it raises a hand and a blast of energy tears through the fused door. The figure steps outside and pulls him along.

Dumb luck is the only reason Doth is still alive. He'd started running away while the sound of gunfire covered the noise of his retreat. About halfway to the nearest door, he'd tripped and fallen into the wall. Instead of cracking his head on a solid surface, he'd fallen through a false panel and landed outside the dock. After that he'd sprinted to the cover of a nearby shed.

Doth was about to start running again when the sound of shearing metal drags his attention back. A small red figure is walking through the new hole in the docking bay's wall. Behind it, surrounded by gilded energy, is the frozen shape of Kro. The batarian is shouting a dozen different curses at the mysterious figure, but it doesn't react.

Doth isn't really sure what the figure is. It's wearing a suit like a quarian, but it has five fingers and it's legs are shaped like a human's. The figure removes a face mask, lowers its hood, and the face revealed is that of a human female with long, dark red hair. She's just a kid if Doth is right. She's not speaking as Kro keeps letting loose with a torrent of profanity. His tirade doesn't stop until a wave of power blasts from her hand and slams Kro into the warehouse wall. Doth knows he should just run, but terrified curiosity keeps him locked in place.

As waves of energy hold Kro against the wall, four slabs of metal are sheared from a nearby junk heap. They're only a few feet long and each has an end crushed to a point by the same flaxen energy holding Kro in place. Kro sees the four shards floating into place and stops his shouting. The field holding Kro up dissipates and a new wave of power fires the four metal shards into his hands and feet. A terrified thought enters Doth's mind, 'This is what happened to Jorak!' Everyone in the Wake had heard the rumors. That Jorak and his team had been slaughtered by a child, a child bearing a disturbing resemblance to a terrible figure from batarian myth. He'd never given the rumors or the legend they hinted at any credit… until today.

Present just a few meters before him, in a storm of golden light, a dark red mane cascading down her shoulders, and enough power to slay even the greatest among them, was the living embodiment of his people's oldest nightmare. It doesn't matter that the demon is in human form. It's... _ **Her**_. His horror at this revelation sends him fleeing from the scene at a dead sprint. As he runs, he tears off his armor, throws away his weapons, and screams to any who will listen, "Beware! The end is coming! She is here! Judgement comes! Demons walk Omega!" The people he passes simply move out of the way. He's not the first insane man shrieking about some random apocalypse and he certainly won't be the last.

The only passersby who pay any attention are his fellow batarians. They know the name he's screaming. They've been taught since birth to fear the old legend, even if it was just something their fathers used to keep them in line. He claws at his eyes as terror consumes him and blood streams down his face. The name of 'Akshar' echoes down the streets of Omega as a naked madman with three empty eye sockets continues his headlong flight.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 - Unhealthy Attention**

 _Date_ _: 5.5.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Shop_

Jane got back early in the morning, a whole new pile of guns dragging behind her and huge smile plastered on her face. Keeva had been working the entire time, her work keeping the worry at bay. When Sirus had announced that the girl had just passed one of the outer camera stations, her relief had been boundless. Jane was unharmed, her new shield having fulfilled its purpose with flying colors.

"So Jane, are you ready to see your new plating?" The girl eagerly nods and Sirus leaves the room to retrieve the armor plates they had been working on. "We managed to finish the plating for your torso, but the rest will take a little while longer. We'll be able to mount them right away." Vollo had proven as excitable as before and had insisted on rushing the armor mounts down as soon as they were ready. He'd even provided a special tool to implant the mounts into the fabric without having to rework the entire suit. "You'll need to take the suit off for the mount attachments but it'll only take a few minutes. I had Vollo bring some clothes made from a similar material. They won't be as comfortable but if you need to take the suit off in the future for some reason, like making additions, repairs, or medical treatment, it'll be good to have something." As Jane removes the suit and tosses on the extra clothes, Sirus carries in the new plating. Once all the finished pieces have been brought in, he leaves to return to his other work.

Keeva's quite proud of the work she's done. Each plate has been molded to follow Jane's form closely to make getting used to them as quick and painless as possible. "Every plate is made of multiple pieces and as you get bigger, they can be separated and expanded to compensate." As Keeva goes over the various impact and environmental tolerances for the plating, she uses Vollo's special tool to add the mounts to Jane's suit. The girl watches with a captivated gaze as the tool meldes the additions to the suit material in moments, without warping the suit's special weave.

After a few minutes of modification, the suit is ready to go back on and Jane doesn't hesitate. When she's suited up once more, Keeva picks up the first plate and walks back to Jane. It's painted a dark red with black highlights. "Are you ready?" Jane's head bobs up and down with barely contained excitement. Keeva carefully guides the plate into place and the two of them listen carefully for the sound of the mounts locking it into place. When Keeva backs away, Jane gets a good look at her new chestpiece and is positively beaming at what she sees. "Do you like it? I asked Vollo to add it, just to make sure it was as close as possible." Jane's chosen symbol shines out from the center of her breastplate. Instead of the simple yellow coloring from before, this new symbol glows with a shifting prism of color. "If you need to, you can use the built in light suppressor to dim the glow or you can use the small shutter I put in. I've coded the mechanism to respond to you voice so all you have to do is just say what you want." Jane spends a few minutes just playing with the wonderful gift Keeva's given her.

The rest of the plates, while still expertly made and painted her favorite colors, are not as special as the chestpiece. Their installation goes off without a hitch and within fifteen minutes Jane has armor plating to cover her chest, stomach, and back. Each plate follows the curves of her torso closely and the fit is very comfortable. "I tried to keep each plate as light as possible but there's only so much weight you can get rid of before the plate becomes too weak to be any good. The heaviest piece is the breastplate at about three kilos. Once everything is in place you'll be carrying roughly eighteen extra kilos. I'm sorry if it's too heavy."

"It doesn't feel heavy at all. I can lift a lot and these plates don't feel like much at all." The girl is poking at each plate, as if testing the firmness of the material. Seemingly satisfied by what she feels, she turns back as Sirus walks back into the room carrying a one meter long block of metal.

"This is for your blade Miss Jane." The young man waits patiently as Jane takes the special scabbard from him. It's fairly simple in appearance with unadorned sides and a vertical slit running down the length of the block. "May I see it please?" Jane hands the sword to Keeva's assistant and watches as he holds it over the opening running down the block. "We've rigged up a special catch system for the blade. When your suit's on board computer registers that you're putting the blade up, the mass effect generator built into it will active. When the blade makes contact, the field will pull it into place." She watches as he demonstrates. As the blade gets close, the inside of the opening starts to shine with a slight blue hue. The blade quickly slides into place and with a slight click, the blue field disappears. "When you want to draw it, you just pull and it will come free, like so." The blade slides out with almost no effort. "Miss Keeva had the idea to add a special transmitter to the hilt of your blade. It'll read whoever's trying to draw it and lock down if someone you don't approve of tries to take it. May I put it in place?" Jane nods and Sirus uses his omni-tool to fuse the device to her sword. Then he moves behind her. She can feel the slight weight of the scabbard being added and can hear the special mount on her back locking it in place.

Keeva nods approvingly at Sirus' work, "Ok Jane, give it a shot." Jane reaches back and takes hold of the hilt. With only the slightest effort, the blade slides free. She could make quite a swing just from drawing the weapon. "Alright, now slot it back in place." She returns the blade, feeling a slight tug as the scabbard's mass effect field pulls it back into place.

"Thank you so much Keeva. I don't know how to make it up to you."

"You've already done more than I could have ever dreamed. I'm out of debt and well on my way to putting together the perfect pilgrimage gift. I'm happy to help you in any way I can. If you want to thank anyone, it should be Sirus. He did most of the work on the scabbard. I installed the generator but the internal mechanics are all his work. Go ahead and walk around for a few minutes, make sure the plates move cleanly and that the scabbard won't get in the way." The first thing she does is walk over to Sirus and take him in one of her crushing hugs for a moment. The young man looks a bit terrified until she puts him down. After that, Jane runs through a short series of exercises to test her range of movement.

"It feels perfect Keeva. I can't wait to go hunting again. In fact, I think I'll call Weaver and see if he's got anything else for me. Can I use your comm room?" Keeva nods in agreement and Jane heads upstairs to call for her next target.

 _She's almost bouncing with excitement as the transmission is sent out. Her new plating feels weightless and the scabbard will keep both her hands free when she's not fighting. It'll make sneaking around easier than ever._

 _Only a few moments pass before her call is answered. At first she thinks she's used the wrong comm channel. Instead of the shadowed figure from before, now there's just a rendered image of some kind of spider. She's about to close the channel and try again before the figure speaks up and as it does, the spider's image moves, as if the creature is the one speaking._

 _'Hello again Jane. I heard the Wake members at the dock had an… interesting encounter. I trust the result of my information has proven my trustworthiness.'_

 _She can't help but smile as she starts punching controls on her omni-tool, 'I'm already sending the rest of the payment. Thank you for your help.'_

 _'Happy to provide a beneficial service to one of Omega's most fascinating individuals. I like the new plating by the way, very impressive.'_

 _She feels a bit embarrassed by the complement, 'Uh… thanks I guess. So… do you have anymore information. If it's as good as the last tip I'll pay full price up front.'_

 _'As a matter of fact, I have something even better this time.' Jane quickly punches in the payment details, 'Payment received. I really think you'll like this one. You were the victim of a number of assassination attempts a short while back, right?'_

 _Her smile is gone as she slowly nods. She still has the rage from her shadow close to her heart. 'They attacked me, so I slaughtered them.'_

 _'Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. The reason I ask is because I've managed to dig up the name and location for the Red Wake member who posted the bounty.'_

 _Jane's teeth are grinding and she has to struggle to avoid putting her fist through the screen at be mere thought of the one responsible for the… incident. 'Who?'_

 _'His name is Tascarn, a salarian with anger issues. He's a midlevel Wake thug that handles most of their bounty contracts. Take him down, hack into his omni-tool, and you'll have access to their entire network, for a short time at least.'_

 _'I don't think I could really use that. I'm not good at that kind of data work.'_

 _'Ah but I am. Once you have the tool, connect it to this comm channel and I'll pillage their network for you.' She likes the way that sounds._

 _'How much will that cost?'_

 _'Get me into their network and I'll pay_ _ **you**_ _.'_

 _'Deal. Where is he?' The blood is thundering in her ears and her heart is thumping harder with each moment. This is going to be fun._

 _'Right now, he's moving through Tuhi, paying out a few small time bounties, but it might not be the best time to strike.' She cocks her head to the side in confusion. What does that mean? 'If you hit him now, the Wake will know right away and shut down his connection to the wider network. He's always got a few cronies watching from the distance. The best place to take him will either be on his ship or his destination. He'll be heading to one lesser asteroids in the field in about three hours, to a supply dump the Wake set up. It's got a dampening field blocking communications so he'll be isolated. If you can sneak onto his ship before it leaves and stay hidden until it arrives at the supply dump you'll be able to kill him, destroy a huge cache of their resources, and get quite the payday from me for opening their network.'_

' _How will I get back once he's dead? I don't know how to fly a ship and I don't want to test how long the air in my suit will last.'_

' _Just ask Keeva. She can probably rig up an auto return protocol for the ship.'_

 _Jane couldn't think of any reason not to go and said as much. After Weaver sent the coordinates to the dock Tascarn would be using, the channel closed and she headed down to ask Keeva if she could help. In twenty minutes she had compiled a simple return program and uploaded it into Jane's omni-tool. 'Just load that into the ship's nav computer and it'll take you back to the dock it left from. Here's a route from here to the dock. It's not perfect but it'll get you there in time.' She reaches into crate with numerous hazmat labels on it and pulls out some blocks with orange warning labels on them, 'These are some high yield explosives. Plant them when you're clear of hostiles. Each has a built in detonator, just send the trigger signal once you're at a safe distance. The signal is the only thing that can set them off so don't worry about heat or stray bullets blowing you up. Good luck Jane. By the time you get back the rest of your plates will be done.'_

 _She barely suppresses the urge to skip as she makes her way into the duct system._

 _Date_ _: 5.5.2167_

 _Location_ _: Docking Bay 31-D_

"Why do we always get stuck watching the damn ship? Did we do something to piss the boss off? I mean, yeah we kind of lost a couple units of red sand but we still killed most of the Suns that attacked." It was an old complaint from Kard and Tov, though used to it, still got tired of hearing it.

"Be happy we're still alive. That stuff was worth over a hundred thousand. I'm surprised he didn't skin us." Kard had gotten most of the blame but Tov new the truth. He was the one that had forgotten to reset the stash alarm. If he had, they'd have known about the Blue Suns long before arrival. But everyone seemed intent on blaming Kard and he wasn't about to put his own neck on the line for that idiot. So he just tries to keep him from pissing the boss off as much as possible. It's why he never complains about the crap postings they get. Guard the vents, clean the privy, stand by the ship for hours while Tascarn indulges in his twisted games with the locals. As long as he was alive and still had his skin, he was happy.

Kard turned to respond but instead of his typical angry retort, all he got off was a startled shout before a sword sailed into his forehead. The now lobotomized batarian is pinned to the wall by the offending blade and is somehow, through some cruel joke of fate, still alive long enough to see his partner's fate. Tov turns to confront their attacker and lives just long enough to see a muzzle flash as a stream of high velocity rounds rips through his body. Were he still alive, he might have given a bitter laugh over his fate. Once again, he'd forgotten something so simple, so basic and it had come back to bite him in the ass. He'd actually forgotten to active his shields when they'd arrived for duty.

There are no witnesses, after all it was supposed to be a secret dock. No one sees the small red figure's strike. Even the bright flash of golden biotics goes completely unnoticed. Afterwards there is no evidence of any attack, not even a single stray drop of blood. With the way now clear, the red figure heads inside the airlock. The local cameras see only a haze of static as a mysterious EM field scrambles their delicate inner workings. A simple wave of her hand, omni-tool flashing, and the figure has a clear path into the ship. Now it's simply a matter of staying hidden.

 _Date_ _: 5.6.2167_

 _Location_ _: Red Wake Shuttle 'Dumb Luck' 60,000 kilometers outside Omega_

The ship was just as slow and ugly as he remembered. If he had a ship worth anything, he could have finished his inspection yesterday. Apparently that was too much to ask. The Boss doesn't care about Tascarn's time. If he wasn't so attached to his own well being he might have told the uppity batarian off, but then again... he liked being alive and have all his insides, well, inside. So here he was, stuck on a forty year old cargo shuttle, puttering slowly along to the Wake's second largest supply den. When this busy work was done he already had his next jobs lined up. Quite a few bounties to put out and a few big ones to pay off. Hopefully someone had nabbed that little red haired freak. If he could bring that news to the boss maybe that would get him some better treatment.

"Coming up on the dampening field in five. If you got anything to send over comms do it now sir." The turian at the controls was a non factor to him. He rarely learned the names of his underlings.

"Just hurry up and get us there. I'm tired of pissing away my time in this flying heap of trash." They'd been stuck onboard for almost twelve hours and his patience was gone. "As soon as we're back on Omega I'm collecting on a dozen old debts. Maybe breaking a few legs will brighten this sad excuse for a day." The turian says nothing, simply maintaining his focus on piloting the shuttle.

Soon Tascarn notices a creeping feeling of static and he knows the've crossed the threshold. A few hours at the supply dump and he can get back to doing some actual work. He can barely hold his anger in as the ship slowly makes its way to the asteroid base's only dock. With the grace of a drunken krogan, the ship makes contact with the airlock and the docking clamps engage. "I'll be back in three hours. Make sure the ship is refueled and ready to leave by then. I don't want to waste a second more at this place than is absolutely necessary." The pilot nods in acknowledgement and begins refueling procedures.

The bitter salarian stomps off the ship to begin his inspection. For half an hour, the pilot continues with the chores of shuttle maintenance. His attention is pulled away by the soft sounds of small feet. It's a soft pattering sound, one he's heard before. A stowaway! It's not the first time it's happened and it probably won't be the last. He primes his pistol and begins to search the ship. Most Wake members would be cruel and try to draw-out the hunt. Not him. He just wants to eliminate the intruder and get back to work. It's the thought guiding him as he quickly searches the small cargo bay. As he draws near the rear port corner, he hears a small clanking sound come from a storage crate. Pistol raised he makes his way over and sees… nothing. There is nothing out of place. He turns to resume his search and hears the whistling of a blade sailing through the air. He's split in two from crown to groin. The mangled body falls to the ground in a spray of gore as the red figure responsible returns the blade to her back and makes her way into the Wake base.

 _The base isn't complex. It only takes her fifteen minutes to map the place out and start stalking her target. He's constantly shouting at the other mercs in the base, blaming them for screwing up one thing or another. He never seems to suggest a way to fix anything, he just yells that everyone else is an idiot and moves on to the next potential target for his anger. She already wanted him dead for her bounty, and now his behavior was making that desire swell with every moment._

 _There are a number of air ducts running along the ceiling, each feeding from a central station at the heart of the base. Half a dozen control panels sit in front of the station and a single salarian mans the controls. Jane secures her mask and double checks her air recyclers before making her move. As the salarian turns to monitor a panel to the right she leaps forward, clamps her hands to the sides of his head, and squeezes. He doesn't have time to scream as his skull buckles under her grip and his brain is crushed. She can't risk dissolving the body, as the light from her biotics would call over to much attention. Instead, she folds the body as tightly as possible and crams it into the nearby duct. Then she gently pries open the panel under the controls and plants a grenade she got from Keeva inside. She sets it two minutes and makes her way back to the airlock._

 _She arrives just as the charge goes of and the air scrubbers go up in flame. A quick wave of her hand is enough to fuse the airlock doors together. She leaps into the supporting rafters as the alarms begin blaring and she can hear the mercs panicked shouting as they storm about trying to find out what had happened. Several make their way to the shuttle and she shifts her footing to make ready for her attack._

 _Date_ _: 5.6.2167_

 _Location_ _: Red Wake Beta supply cache_

As he watches his underlings scramble for the dock, Tascarn is filled with stomach turning revulsion. They all have hardsuits with air scrubbers, and yet they still run like cowards at the first sign of trouble. He's readying a tirade in his head as he storms towards the airlock. The witless pyjacks are desperately pounding on the door that has somehow been fused into a single lumpen mass. It's a familiar sight. When he realizes where he's seen it before his heart almost stops. "To arms!" His call sounds out far too late.

A small red shape drops from the rafters into the center of the crowd at the airlock, a dark blade falling before it. The screams tear out as the blade starts cutting through a new merc with every swing. Heads are severed, limbs torn free, and blood flows freely. He catches a glimpse at the figure slaughtering his underlings. It's her! The human that killed Jorak and dozens of other wake members. He doesn't hesitate to pull a pair of grenades from his belt. Priming them for impact detonation, he hurls them both into the center of the crowd. A haze of gilded energy surrounds her just before the detonation. The grenade blasts tear apart the crowd and the room goes quiet. Tascarn slowly edges forward, gun at the ready. The human is lying still, face down with a haze of smoke rising from all around her. When he gets to her, he throws a kick into her side. She doesn't move, not even the slightest twitch.

He can't believe it. He killed her and now he gets to collect her bounty. It's with a broad smile that he raises his omni-tool and puts a boot under her side to flip her over. He needs a picture of her face in order to claim the bounty. He gives a small heave and her slight form rolls over. As she does, her blade swings over with her and slices through his knees. Tascarn drops to the ground screaming in pain as blood pours out the stumps where lower legs used to be. The pistol is forgotten as he struggles to stymie the massive blood loss. A fist slams into his visor and it shatters. He paws at his face, trying to brush the shards away from his eyes.

As he does that, the human slowly gets to her feet. Her face is covered in soot and blood. He can see her shields reconstitute as she stands tall. His eyes are drawn to the symbol on her chest. A small shutter is retracting from it and a prismatic glow shines from it, and just below that is a ten centimeter shard of metal sticking out of her chestplate. She wraps her hand around it and draws the shard out. There's no blood on it, not a single drop. Still holding the piece of scrap, she slowly turns a furious gaze to Tascarn's pathetic form and raises her left arm towards him. He's enveloped in a golden aura and feels himself lifted from the ground. She checks her suit for breeches and moves to the maintenance hatch near the airlock and throws an orb of power at it. The door rapidly disintegrates and the atmosphere inside starts flowing out in a storm.

She maintains her position by stabbing her sword deep into the metal of the wall and holding tight. Her power keeps Tascarn's body inside but his hardsuit is breached and his air is flowing out along with the base's. His temperature is dropping like a stone in water and he can feel his skin freezing. His blood is starting to boil as the pressure drops to near zero. He tries to close his eyes but it's too late. Those precious orbs have already burst and the gruesome results flash freeze inside his helmet. He's lost all control of his body and starts convulsing in agony. He finally expires over two minutes into decompression.

 _She carefully maneuvers the corpse out the hatch. Holding tight to the edge of the doorway, she uses her biotics to maneuver the carcass to the nose of the ship. Once it makes contact, she sends a new pulse at the plating around it. The metal softens and the corpse sinks into it. It's not a perfect pose for it but she's too tired to be more precise. Those grenades had managed to break her hasty barrier and her shield, but thanks to her wonderful quarian friend, the shrapnel hadn't torn through her. The plate was dented in and her chest hurts enough to indicate a number of broken ribs, but she's alive and that's good enough for her._

 _With the corpse planted, she moves back into the base and starts planting her charges on anything that looks important, killing the few Red Wake members that were still hiding inside. She's not sure what everything is, but she has faith that Keeva's explosives will be enough. Every charge is in place in half an hour and she returns to the airlock, dissolves the base's door, and boards the ship. True to Keeva's promise, the auto return program was easy enough to load into the nav computer. The ship's engines cycle up and the docking clamps disengage. Ten minutes pass before her omni-tool chimes. She's outside the dampening field and so she goes to work on the salarian's omni tool. Thankfully it wasn't damaged while she was attaching him to the hull. She patches the tool into Weaver's comm channel and watches her own as it monitors a rapid transfer of data. A chime sounds and she activates her comm link._

' _Well done Jane, I have full access and I'm pulling every useful scrap of data. Give me a call once you're back to Omega and I'll let you know how much it's worth' The channel closes and Jane's left alone with the ache in her chest. She activates her suit's medi-gel dispensers and settles into one of the seats in the cockpit. The cool feeling of spreading painkillers lets her fall into a light sleep as the ship slowly makes it's way back._

 _Date_ _: 5.9.2167_

 _Location_ _: Red Wake headquarters - Zeta District_

"Why?! Why the hell is that little monster still alive?!" His underlings are too nervous to answer. He's already killed the last four that had the guts to speak up. "I told you idiots to take care of it! I told you to stop wasting time and take her down and what happens? We lose almost a million in an easy drug deal along with an entire team, our main bouty dealer is melted into the nose of his shuttle and his entire crew gets spaced, and on top of that our second largest cache of guns, goods, and gear gets blown to bits! This little freak has not only murdered my brother and dozens of reliable men, but she's also cost us close to thirty million in damages! So, I ask again, WHY IS IT STILL ALIVE?!" His shout echoes around the chamber as thirty bloodthirsty mercs desperately try to avoid drawing any attention.

None of them can answer. What the hell are they supposed to say? None of them have any explanation. By all rights, the human should be long dead. They'd sent two of their most reliable assassins after her and word is that a couple more had tried to collect on her bounty. Drulien's team had had more than one expert killer, for what little good it had done them. Tascarn had been one of the most feared enforcers on Omega and now he was little more than a frozen, mutilated husk. Jorak himself had killed more battle hardened men than any other member of the Wake baring the boss himself and he had still been butchered like helpless animal. None of them had any idea how to put this human down and none of them are stupid enough to admit that. So they just wait as the boss continues his rage fueled fit.

The man himself turns to his newest second, "Voth! What are we doing to end this problem?!" The human desperately tries to think up a response but can't come up with anything worthwhile and just stares at the boss in bug eyed panic. "Then what good are you?!" His pistol comes up and a single explosive round tears through Voth's head and paints the men around him with a spray of blood and brains. Before the corpse even hits the ground, the boss turns to the next man in line, another human. "Don, I want you to put together a hunting crew, at least eighty men. Hunt the little bitch down and kill her. I don't care how much it costs or how many get killed along the way. You bring me her head or I'll take off yours and find someone else!"

The raging batarian takes the time to glare into the eyes of every man at the table. "Now, all of you, get the fuck out!" The group floods out of the room as quickly as possible. Soon it's just him, his thoughts, and the shape waiting in the shadows. As the last man leaves the room, the shape steps out of the darkness. She's been watching his back for almost thirty years, and never once has she let him down. "What do think Vira? Can he do it?"

"That weakling couldn't kill a crippled varren with a grenade launcher, let alone some biotic freak like this."

"Didn't think so. That's why I want you to shadow them. Keep watch and learn everything there is to find out. Learn her patterns, her skills, everything. When you've got her measure, come back to me and let me know what will work."

"Leave it to me Jortan. I'll give you everything you need to end this little pest." With that, the asari turns on her heel and leaves Jortan to his thoughts.

 _Date_ _: 5.9.2167_

 _Location_ _: Afterlife_

The music is blasting and comfortably painful level, as per usual. Drinks are flowing like water and dancers are entertaining in their own sensual way. To most it was just another night in the club, but to her, it was the night she gets some damn answers. She knows it's her own fault that it's taken so long. She hadn't been active enough in keeping track of the new players on Omega. The Wake had been closer to a total overthrow than anyone else had ever been and she hadn't been watching for new threats. She only knew about this one because Patriarch's minders had finally found the balls to tell her.

The lizard himself was sitting a few feet away, nursing a gallon deep bottle of ryncol. He wasn't worried or panicked. In fact, he seemed quite glad to be there. "So Patriarch, I here tell you have a new pet. A new player on Omega, one with some… impressive abilities."

"Pet's not really the right word. She's more of a new friend."

She carries on as if he hadn't spoken, "I also hear that this new player has been solely responsible not only for the deaths of nearly a hundred mercs, but also the destruction of an entire residential zone." She stands up and starts slowly pacing about, "Now, I couldn't care less about a bunch of nobodies winding up dead, but I do care about the loss of business that such a loss of life causes. The dead don't pay on their debts, the dead don't buy drinks or gamble, and the dead tend to scare away potential customers. Piles of innocent bodies are bad for business." She stops pacing and glares at the old lizard as he thinks up his response.

"If you know about that, then you also know that she was the victim of three separate assassination attempts in the two days leading up the the incident. She got gassed, stabbed, and shot in the face. You know anyone that could take that kind of punishment and keep control, cause I sure as hell don't." He returns her stare, his own lacking any hostility. He was too old to waste time on such displays. "Besides, the mercs she's wasting are all Red Wake. You know how bad they've gotten and now we've got someone completely unaffiliated with us going after them. She's already cost them millions and the more damage she does to them, the more people will start hitting them too."

"The fact that she isn't with us is not encouraging. What happens when the Wake is out of the way?" It's not a pleasant thought. She'd put down plenty of would-be crusaders who'd thought killing some minor pissant drug lord meant that she would be easy prey.

"As long as we leave her alone she'll do the same. Only reason she's going after them is they attacked people she cares about." She isn't really convinced. No one just stops once they start tearing people down. She hadn't.

"Bring her here. I want to meet this Jane for myself." She sits back down on her couch and leans her head back, allowing the music to filter back into the mind. A few minutes of peace and she'll get back to running her kingdom.

"Might take a while. She doesn't exactly stay put for long, but I'll see what I can do Aria." He doesn't wait for her to verbally dismiss him. Her lack of attention for him has already done that. Patriarch makes his way out of afterlife and calls up his new favorite quarian. The young woman had been doing stellar work for the boys he'd sent her way and he was hoping she'd be able to help. He needed to find Jane and convince her to come in for a talk, before Aria decided to remove a potential future threat.

She answers on his third attempt, "Hello, who is… oh Mr. Patriarch. Can I help you?"

"Yes, I need to talk to Jane as soon as possible. Do you know where she is?"

"Is something wrong? Is she in trouble?" The young woman is already wringing her hands in worry.

"No, no. I just need to talk to her."

"Well I got a message from her a couple days ago. She said she'd cracked a few ribs and was going to get some rest at Mirdan's clinic."

"Mirdan? He's that salarian in Doru right, with the clinic?"

"That's right. If you see Jane, tell her that the rest of her plating is done and ready to be mounted."

"Will do. That you for your help Keeva." He closes the line and makes his way to his car. Hopefully that doctor can find his little human friend and he can convince her to come talk with Aria. Patriarch had a bit of a soft spot for kids and this one in particular had proven more than worthy of his attention.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - The Queen's Call**

 _Date_ _: 5.9.2167_

 _Location_ _: Mirdan's Clinic_

"Do you think she'll be ok this time?" Sara couldn't help but worry. Jane had come into the clinic two days before with a bag of guns and four cracked ribs. She'd been exhausted when she'd asked to sleep there. Over a large meal, courtesy of an unsourced credit transfer, she told them about what she was doing. Apparently Jane had friends in the shadows of Omega helping her hunt. After resting and giving Sara and Mirdan an absurd amount of money to thank them, she disappeared into the ventilation system with her bag of guns in tow.

"Judging by her record... maybe." Mirdan may not have been happy about the girl charging off into danger yet again but he wasn't about to try and stop her. Even getting her to stay one extra day to let her ribs finish setting had been a tense affair. She'd only relented when he'd offered to bring in a pile of food. "I have no doubt that she'll survive, but given the decision to continue her hunt, she will most likely keep getting hurt.

Sara's frown deepens as she goes about her work. She'd been hoping Mirdan would alleviate her fears, but he'd never been one to sugar coat harsh matters. They had both gotten back to work when Jane had left, trying not to focus on how reckless she was being. A few people had come by looking for medical help, but all in all, it had been a slow day. It wasn't until the heavy tread of a krogan came stomping in that the two of them were pulled away from the monotony.

The great lizard was a peculiar sight as far as krogan went. He wasn't wearing armor and only carried a large pistol on his hip, so it was doubtful his intentions were overly hostile. He was quite old if Mirdan was any judge and he didn't appear to have any obvious injuries. "Greeting, can I help you sir."

"I certainly hope so. A quarian friend of mine mentioned that a mutual acquaintance was staying here to rest up for a bit. I need to talk to her as soon as possible." Mirdan and Sara are both on high alert. They hadn't heard from Keeva in a few days and Jane did still have a bounty on her.

"Does this friend have a name?" Sara stays further back than Mirdan, a hand hovering over the pistol concealed in her desk.

The old krogan can see the human shifting and has to admire her nerve. "You don't need to worry about me. If you want to make sure I'm not a threat to Jane, go ahead and give a call to my quarian friend. Her name's Keeva and she can confirm that I'm not a danger to Jane. Here's her comm channel."

He raises his omni-tool to give the frequency but Mirdan holds up a hand to halt him, "We already have it. Sara, give Keeva a call and ask her about…" he gestures for the krogan to identify himself.

"Patriarch."

That was a shocker. He'd known about Aria's pet krogan but never thought he'd meet him. "Ask her if Patriarch is indeed a friend of Jane's." Sara goes to work and gets an affirmative from Keeva in minutes. Once she relates the news, Mirdan relaxes a bit. He's still quite nervous for the girl. Patriarch seldom spends time looking into matters outside Aria's demands. "I take it your interest in Jane is an extension of Aria's own."

"To a certain degree. At first I was merely trying to satisfy my own curiosity, but after meeting her I thought it a good idea to encourage her hunt. The Wake's been making some moves lately and her little crusade is just the thing we needed to throw a wrench in the works. Not to mention meeting Keeva was a huge boon to our boys' tech."

Sara steps forward with a worried look on her face, "So what's changed? Jane's not in trouble with Aria, is she?"

The old krogan's face shows his own concern, "Not yet, but Aria doesn't like letting potential threats have free reign. I need to bring Jane to her and convince Aria that she doesn't need to worry. If we can't do that, Aria might decide to get rid of her, just to be safe." He knows it would be a bloodbath, but even the girl's extreme power wouldn't be enough to take on all of Omega.

Mirdan manages to articulate Sara's concern, "Why do you want to help Jane? What is she to you?" It didn't really make sense. Patriarch had once been the nominal king of Omega, and if the rumors are to be believed his rule was even more bloodthirsty than Aria's.

Patriarch hesitates for a while before answering, "I've never liked seeing kids suffer. Call me soft, but I breaks my hearts when the young are trampled underfoot. It's probably one of the reasons Aria was able to take Omega from me. We krogan are one of the few races that truly understands just how important children are, though few of us are responsible enough to act on it. Jane may be able to take on entire squads of mercenaries but that doesn't change the fact that she's still just a kid."

Mirdan and Sara are stunned by the answer. Neither of them had ever heard of a krogan with such a sentimental view. "Jane's not here right now. She came in with a few cracked ribs but left as soon as they set. We're not sure where she is now, though I'd be willing to bet she's after another Red Wake group. Someone sent her a massage before she left and she mentioned getting back to the hunt." Sara hopes she hasn't made a mistake in trusting so much information to the old krogan.

"Damn. I was hoping to get here before she left. Any idea where she'll go after she hit's her next Wake target."

"She'll probably go to Keeva's. Jane said she needed to get her chestplate patched and pick up the rest of her armor." Sara had been on the verge of panic when Jane had walked in with jagged hole in her chestpiece, but had calmed down at the lack of blood. "That plating saved her life, stopped a piece of shrapnel from piercing her heart." The old krogan nods to himself and turns back to Mirdan.

"Will you let me know if she comes back? I need to get in touch as soon as possible." Mirdan agrees and takes Patriarchs offered hand. "Thank you both for your assistance, I'll go to Keeva's and wait. Hopefully Jane shows up soon." The old krogan heads out to his car and speeds off to the quarian's shop.

 _Orb Weaver had given her something a little different this time. She was after a Red Wake slave den. There were supposed to be more than two dozen people that these pricks were about to sell. Her blood boiled at the idea of people being treated like livestock and she'd decided that these Wake members there were going to suffer way more than the others she's killed._

 _She arrives at the den late in the day and watches from a few stories up. It's a small place with three floors and only two ways in. There is one large window at the front of each level and a pair of guards watching the front door. She's already checked for duct work leading in and come up with nothing. The back door is a heavy duty security door, like the bulkheads from the labs. She can get through it but only with a lot of noise. She's not going to get in completely quietly, so she decides to forego any attempt at stealth and shoots for the straightforward approach. A quick pulse of her biotics is enough to hurl her across the street and through the uppermost window. Inside the room is a pair of Red Wake thugs thrashing one of their slaves, a salarian covered in ugly bruises. The Wake mercs are thrown across the room as she lets loose a blast of power from her hands. The two men slam into the far wall, alive, but with dozens of broken bones. She doesn't stop to check the salarian. She needs to move fast and doesn't have the time._

 _Three more mercs are thundering down the hall, the one in front leads with a heavy shock prod in hand and he swings as soon as Jane's in range. She dives forward, rolling between his legs before leaping up and hurling her sword through the base of his spine. The blade bursts out his gut in a spray of blood and bowel as the other two twist to engage. Her SMG pours a torrent of fire into the turrian to left and then she shoulder barges the human on the right. She can feel his ribs collapse and slams her right fist into the wall to arrest her momentum. He's sent sailing down the hall in boneless heap before she turns her attention back to the turian. She'd broken his shields and gotten him to duck, but he was barely injured with only a couple holes in his torso. He fires as she makes her move, a shotgun blast grazing her left side. Her shield holds but she still feels the sledgehammer impact. The pain loosens her hold on the shadow and it lashes out with a fist. Half the plates on the alien's face are shattered and he goes limp, blood pouring from a number of cuts on the now bare right side._

 _She pulls her blade from the mewling form of the leader and sprints down the stairs to the next level. Almost a dozen mercs are waiting and she's forced to throw up her best barrier to hold back the torrent of gunfire. Only once it's in place does she notice the sting in her left arm. A small stream of dark red blood is coming from a bullet hole in her bicep. They'd actually gotten through her shields. She can't go that way so she heads back up the steps, dropping a proximity grenade behind her. As she reaches the room above the mercs, she hears it go off and at least one new scream fills the hall. She gathers an orb of energy in her left hand and blasts through the floor and leaps down. The merc squad is in disarray as she starts lopping off limbs. Four mercs are slain before any of the others can respond. The main threat is the krogan charging her. She doesn't have time to build up her own charge and is forced to meet him head on. She's strong, but not very heavy. It's a fact made abundantly clear to her as his foot powers into her chest. The damaged plate is dented further and she's hurled through the wall._

 _Her right arm is dislocated on impact and the explosion of pain almost makes her black out as the krogan stomps after her. She gets to her feet just as he brings his massive shotgun to bear. She throws up another barrier as the claymore goes off, almost breaking through her desperate shield. As the krogan readies to fire again, she can feel her arm get pulled back into place by her implants. She then gathers as much power around her as possible. When he gets his aim back, she throws herself forward in a blaze of light. The impact hurls both of them back into the mercs' checkpoint. She gets to her feet first and slams a gold wreathed fist down on his crest. She's spent a lot of power already and the blow isn't nearly as hard as she wanted. Instead of pulping his head, she merely cracks his crest in two. He shoves her away and clamours to his feet. In his rage he reaches out for her and takes hold of both her hands, trying to crush them with brute force. She can feel her bones grinding and knows her hands are about to break. To compensate she surrounds her arms in biotic power. Slowly she forces his arms away from his center and yanks him towards her. Expanding her golden aura, she butts her head into his gut. The agony of impact has her seeing stars but she also hears him gagging in pain. Her vision clears and she can see him doubled over on the ground, retching his guts up. She biotically pulls her sword back to her hand, raises the blade over her head as high as she can, and pours all her strength into the swing. The blade powers through his armored back and out through his stomach. The two halves of krogan slump to the ground in the ankle deep pool of blood gathering in the room._

 _The last six mercs have finally found their aim and start pouring fire at her. She ducks behind the krogan's top half and desperately tries to think of her next move. She locks her eyes on the still groaning krogan's back and grabs hold of fold in his armor. Hoisting the top half of the krogan up, she uses him as a shield and charges at the mercs as quickly as she can. At three meters, she hurls the half krogan at them. The grotesque shield slams into the group and sends four to the ground. The two still standing are quickly disemboweled by a powerful horizontal swipe. The others fare little better as rams her sword into each of them in turn. Once they're gone, she moves to ground level._

 _The two mercs from the front door are waiting, along with the local commander. He's human and an absolute hulk of muscle with a pair of hand cannons trained on the hallway. Shots from the three mercs slam into her shield as she dives behind a nearby couch. Their fire quickly tears the furniture to pieces. She focuses what's left of her power and sends a pulse of energy to the floor beneath them. The bulked up brute dives away in time but his last two lackeys fall through the new hole, dropping into the ten meter deep warehouse the next level down. Their screams of pain drift up after the sounds of shattering legs._

 _She jumps up hoping to take the leader by surprise but he's already waiting. He squeezes the triggers and a pair of shots blast towards her. Her shields are already weakened and the first shot tears them down entirely. The second glances off her right leg and she goes to one knee. He tries to fire again but his pistols are overheated. He throws them down, sprints over, and grabs a fistful of her hair. He raises a fist up and swings for her face. Taking hold of the falling fist, she turns into him and hurls his over her shoulder. With his arm still in her grip, she twists it around and forces it against his back. Before he can react, she slams a punch into his spine and a final massive crack sounds though the building. Back broken, the brute falls to the ground sobbing in pain as the fighting finally stops._

 _Her suit's been pumping medi-gel into her since the first gunshot wound and now her dispensers are almost empty. She needs to wrap this up and get going. She moves quickly through the building, a heavy limp from her wounded leg slowing her down. She finds almost thirty people locked in cages throughout the building and once she's broken their chains she hands each of them a gun from one of the mercs. After that, she gives them all the credits she looted from the bodies and directions to Mirdan's clinic. As each of them offer their thanks and leave, some being carried by others, she sits down on the low slung table at the ground floor, and eats the rest of the food she has on her. She'll need fuel for what she's planning to do._

 _She spends the next hour pulling guns and mercs into the street. She piles the underlings, living and dead in a heap against the wall and the guns into what she thinks is some kind of sleeping bag. When she pulls the hulking human out, he's pleading for his life but she has no sympathy for animals like this. They're just as bad as the doctors from the labs._

 _She uses biotics to shape four new stakes, hoists the massive bastard into the air, and nails him to the wall. He barely feels it but still wails in terror. She's not done yet. One of the mercs had been carrying a flamethrower but hadn't gotten to use it. She dissolves the top of the fuel tank and pours the contents onto the merc pile. Taking up her new bag of guns, she retreats to a safe distance before turning back. She meets the eyes of the giant prick in charge and maintains eye contact as she sends a pulse of fire from her omni-tool into the pile. It quickly catches light and the mercs' screams are redoubled in volume as they're burned alive. She doesn't stay to watch. After gathering up her other bag of guns, she makes her way to Keeva's. She really needs to pick up the rest of her plates and hopefully Keeva's got some food._

 _Date_ _: 5.12.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's shop_

Patriarch had been waiting three days before Jane had showed up, covered in blood yet again. Keeva hadn't been surprised at that, but she had poured out her concern at Jane's disheveled state. The girl was bloody, bruised, her plating had multiple cracks. "Are you ok Jane? You look a lot worse than the last time you came."

The girl doesn't answer at first. Instead she drops two large bags of guns in front of Keeva and heads for her panty. A few minutes of digging around and she returns with enough food to feed two krogan. At first he thinks she had gotten food for all of them but them she starts tearing into it all with the manners of a vorcha. It would disgust him if he hadn't seen so many of his own people eating in the same way. He looks to Keeva, "Is this normal or should we be worried?"

"It's fine. She did the same thing after killing Jorak. Her biotics take a lot of energy and she needs to eat a lot to refuel, in fact half the food I keep in there is for her in case she comes in after a big fight." Jane is still powering through her mound of food as Patriarch looks on. She downs every last scrap in twenty minutes and chugs a huge bottle of water to wash it down. When she's done, she lets out an almighty belch that could put him to shame. Her feast done, she rests her head on the table before for several minutes. Patriarch is about to start talking before Keeva waves him off. "Just give her a few minutes. She'll be fine."

She's proven right when Jane finally sits up and turns to her, "Hey Keeva, you can have all those guns. Weaver gave me a bunch of money and I don't need them."

"Thank you Jane. I've already got some customers picked out. I'll patch up your plating as repayment and get the rest of your armor. Go ahead and change out of the suit for a while so I can add the mounts." The girl doesn't hesitate and strips out of the suit right in front of them. Out of decency, Patriarch turns his head until Jane finishes changing into some simpler clothes. Keeva takes the suit into the next room to make her modifications and Jane finally turns to the old man with a surprised look on her face, as if she had just now noticed him.

"Hello Patriarch. Why are you here?" Her glowing eyes pin him in place with an unblinking focus most would find unnerving. The old man simply stares back and relates the situation to her. She doesn't react in the slightest, no fear, no anger, not even the slightest hint of nervousness. "Why should I go talk to her?"

"Look, I know you aren't planning anything against her. She's left you alone so you plan to do the same… right?" The girl nods and he continues, "Aria's always been paranoid about new players on Omega. She sees you as one and has heard just how dangerous you are. It makes her think that you might become a threat once the Red Wake have been wiped out. So, she wants to talk to you, get to know you a bit. It'll help allay some of her concerns."

"Why would I be a threat?"

"It's something she's had to deal with more than once and it's made here wary of pretty much everyone with power around here. I just want to take you to her so you can talk. That way she won't send anyone after you, just to make sure you won't be a danger later." At the mention of Aria sending someone, a look of rage contorts Jane's face into an almost bestial visage. She moves forward, takes him by the collar, and actually hoists him into the air.

"If she comes after me I'll slaughter her!" Her eyes are heavily dilated and he can feel the growl churning in her throat. It's a sound that could make a feral verran piss itself.

"Woah, woah little one. No threat was intended or issued. I just wanted to help clear things up. If you come and talk to her, we can work everything out and stay friendly." She glares at him, still holding him above her, for a full five minutes before finally setting him down.

"Fine."

"You'll come with me to see her?" Relief washes through him and his old hearts beat a little easier.

"Yes, but only once my plates are in place." She's returned to her seat and crossed her arms. Just as she settles in, Keeva returns with a cart in tow. On it is a small pile of armor plating and Jane's repaired suit. Jane's smile returns as she lays eyes on the bounty before her.

"Here they are Jane. Get suited up so we can get them all mounted." She tears the clothes off and is back in her suit in record time. She smiles ear to ear as Keeva stars mounting the rest of her plates. It takes about half an hour before she's done. The old man has to admit, even as tiny as she is, the plating makes her look quite formidable. Each plate is carefully molded to follow her shape. They're all painted a deep red with black highlights and he can see small shield ports in almost every plate. "I've improved the power systems for your suit to handle the expanded shield grid. It'll be even stronger now. I've also worked in some extra pouches along the beltline for grenades, tools, and a few extra doses of medi-gel. Each plate is just as strong as your chestpiece, which I've mended for you." Keeva gives a strong tug at each place to make sure they've all mounted properly. Satisfied she steps back, "So, how does it all feel."

"It's perfect. I can feel the extra weight, but it's so light it won't slow me down at all." Jane starts running through her normal exercises to test her movement and finds nothing out of the ordinary. She draws her sword and starts swings it about. After a few minutes, she's returns it to her back and lifts Keeva up in a bear hug. "Thank you Keeva."

The breathless quarian pats her on the back, "No… problem… what friends are for." She takes a massive breath as Jane finally releases her. "Sirus had some ideas for a new helmet, so I sent him to pick up a few of the more delicate components. Check back in a week or so. I promise that you'll love it." Jane's still got that goofy grin on her face as she nods in agreement.

She turns to Patriarch and announces, "Now, I'll go talk to Aria." The two of them head out after Jane promises the be back the next week. Once in his car, they lift off and head out to meet with the queen of Omega.

 _Date_ _: 5.12.2167_

 _Location_ _: Afterlife_

She has to admit that, for a child, the girl certainly looks formidable. Clad in a form fitting suit with deep red plating, a dark sword clamped to her back, and expensive looking SMG at her thigh, the girl looked every bit the killer she'd heard about. As she gets closer, Aria notices a number interesting features. Her dark red hair is worked into a single intricate braid down the middle with the rest left to flow down her shoulders. She walks with slight limp, a glancing hit from a gunshot if she's any judge. Aria can see the girls dark purple eyes glowing as they rapidly scan the crowd.

Once the girl arrives in Aria's private lounge, she notices one final feature on her face. A large angry scar runs from a spot an inch from her lips all the way back to her ear, evidence of one hell of a facial wound. She doesn't see too many kids carrying that kind of injury and it just reinforces her opinion. This is someone she needs to get a read on. As Jane and Patriarch step in front of her, one of her men steps up and tries to shove Jane closer. In a move almost to fast to see Jane grabs hold of his arm, throws him to the ground, and stomps on his elbow. His shriek of pain is drowned out by the music but her threat is not. She takes hold of one of the salarian's horns and pulls him close, "If you ever touch me again I'll rip your arms off and beat you to death with them!" Half a dozen rifles are leveled at her but she's completely unfazed.

As entertaining as the sight is, Aria has more important things to do, "Let the idiot go. He's a waste of your time." The girl meets Aria's gaze and nods before lifting the salarian to his feet. He's then thrown from the room by hard punch to the gut. A pair of Aria's men carry the hapless fool out as she sizes up Jane. The girl has yet to blink and is completely unfazed by Aria's attention. "You've got guts, I'll give you that. Not many would be so calm in your position." She stays silent and cocks her head to the right. "I wanted to talk to you, learn a little about you. I'm quite curious... how does a little girl like you slaughter so many and barely have a mark to show for it?"

Jane's face twitches a few times and her eyes narrow. She hesitates for a while before answering, "I was in a lab for a long time. The put things inside me, changed me." A medical experiment then. Which begs the question?

"And what happened to the people that changed you?" The girls pupils are slowly dilating and Aria can feel the build up in ambient dark energy.

"I got rid of them." She doesn't elaborate further so Aria moves to her next question.

"So why are you still on Omega? With those people dead, you're free to go home. Why stay?" The twitching comes again but the biotic energy fades. The girl's look of anger sinks into one of confused sorrow.

"I don't have a home. I grew up in the labs." It's the kind of thing Aria has skinned people over. She didn't have many personal conduct rules but growing people for experiments had always pissed her off. That this kid could not only survive but thrive after that kind of upbringing was quite intriguing.

"So what do you intend to do with your freedom?"

"I'm going to hunt down the Red Wake and kill them all." There's no wavering in her voice. It's not a promise of hope. It's a declaration of fact stated with absolute conviction.

"And once they're all dead?"

Jane's eyes fall to the floor and the look of a killer fades from her face. Now she looks more like frightened child, confused about the strange world around her. "I don't know. I hadn't thought about it."

Aria decides to test the child's nerve before sending her away. "Tell me Jane, if I were to try and stop your hunt, what would you do?" Her eyes narrow once more and Aria can feel a massive spike in energy. The girls hands tighten into fists and she bares her teeth.

"I'll kill you too." It's exactly what she had been expecting.

"Nice to meet someone with a backbone for once." The girls hostility fades immediately and Aria has to struggle not to laugh at the befuddled expression on Jane's face. "Tell you what. I'll offer you the same deal as everyone else on this station. You follow Omega's only rule and I'll leave you in peace."

"What rule?"

Not many people had ever needed to ask. It was one of the most common bits of knowledge on the station, "It's a very simple rule." Aria sits back and looks Jane straight in the eye, "Don't fuck with Aria."

Jane stares for a bit before answering, "Why would I do that?"

Aria can help but smile at her, "Just keep it in mind. Leave me alone and I'll return the favor."

"Ok." Patriarch leans close and asks her to wait outside.

Once she's outside the lounge, he turns back to Aria, "Well? What do you think?" The hope in the old lizard's voice is not something she's heard very often. He always had been soft towards children.

"I meant what I said. She obeys the rule and she's fine." She stands and squares up in front of the old man. It's the same position they had been in when she had broken him so long ago. "But let me make one thing clear. If she so much as breaths at us wrong, I won't hesitate to break her and then I'll make **you** throw her out the airlock."

The old lizard nods his understanding and walks away. She returns to her couch and lets the music flow over her once more. She tries to focus on more important matters, but her thoughts keep drifting back to the enormous surge of energy she had felt coming from Jane. She still wasn't sure about the girl and a thought keeps bouncing around her mind. ' _Was this a mistake?_ ' It's an idea that stays with her for the rest of the day.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 - Making Progress**

 _Date_ _: 6.24.2167_

 _Location_ _: Zeta District_

Everything's falling apart. Every week Don reads more reports wailing about more money lost and comrades slain. His original hunting crew of eighty men has been whittled down to less than forty. The little freak had ambushed his men on four separate occasions, slaughtering each team that managed to catch up with her. How could one human do so much? How had she slaughtered so many veteran mercs with almost no help? He had no idea how to answer that question and Jortan's patience was running out. Don needed to do something, win something if he was going to keep his head on his shoulders. The boss had never been one to make idle threats.

Don's men had spies in every district, watching for signs of the red armored girl. At first he had sent strike teams after every rumor but she had been waiting every time. She was letting them catch a glimpse just to lure them in and it had worked for a while. Half of them were slain before he realized what she was doing. Now, he's desperately scanning the information his sources have gathered, feverishly hoping for a break. As he's pouring over the data his second, a salarian named Morfan, is listening to a new call over the comm. He drops his hand from his aural canal and gestures to Don, "Boss we got another tip. One of the boys in Kima says a red armored girl is walking down the main street. Should we send a team?" Don thinks it over for a bit, but before he can answer Morfan pipes up again, "Got another call, this one from Fumi. Our guy says a human girl with long red hair is eating a diner. She's got the right dimensions for our target. Hold on… another call, someone here in Zeta saying a human female just killed one of our dealers with a biotic attack."

It's been the same for weeks and at first he'd gone after every lead. Most were nothing and he'd killed more than one idiot for giving him crap information. The few that had been legitimate lead right into her waiting blade. She'd played them like chumps. Don needs to change things up before Jortan decides to replace him. "No, don't send any teams out. Send a single guy in disguise to each one and have him report back. I doubt any of them will pan out. We need to shift our strategy. Trying to chase her down'll just get us killed or worse. No, we need to wait until she settles down to rest somewhere. You know, hit where she sleeps." Morfan nods vigorously and sends out three men to check the leads.

"So, how are we going do that. The only times we've found her have been when she's let us." It was almost like this was some kind of twisted game to her.

"We're gonna have to pull a couple tricks to do it. First thing I want you to do is hire a team of freelancers and give 'em some of our armor. Then post them at a junk outpost with orders to guard it. After that, we let some transmissions slip out claiming that we got something critical to the Wake locked up there. Once she shows up to trash the place we make the next move." He's actually getting pumped over the idea. This could really work.

"But won't that play right to her strengths? I mean, she'll wipe out freelancers no problem and we've tried luring her into traps before. She's always played us, so how will this time be different?" The salarian had always been pretty smart but couldn't see where Don was going with this.

The human himself is swiping through a list of low priority bases to use, a twisted smile creeping across his face. "It's simple Morfan. We do it different this time. Before now we've always charged in guns blazing, but like you said that just plays to her strengths. We won't be waiting for her this time, but we will prepare a few surprises for her all the same." They'll need to spend a while setting everything up. If the freak catches wind of what they're doing through her bizarrely powerful network, then the whole thing will be a bust. "After she's done with the faux base, she'll need to rest up and we'll trail her back to her home. Once she's bedded down, we hit her with everything we got."

 _The last month has been good for Jane. She's destroyed four Red Wake supply caches and taken down three separate slave dens. The Wake has also lost another hundred men to her, with nine of them nailed to walls. Keeva's been selling Jane's loot for her and the two of them have built up a small fortune between them. Jane didn't really need all the money but Keeva insisted on an even split at a minimum. Jane had agreed on the condition that Keeva would start charging for her help._

 _She was happy to see Keeva's shop expanding. With more than a dozen employees and a brand new vehicle bay, Keeva was now the go to tech expert for a huge chunk of Omega and Jane was more than happy with what she got out of it. Keeva had modded her armor with an advanced med system and she'd upgraded the plating constantly. She now had ports to hold multiple guns, including her new favorite. It was the M-76 she'd pulled from Jorak's hands. Keeva had managed to size it down to fit Jane's frame and she'd made good use of it. She had to put up her sword to use it but it let her cut through an entire squad of Red Wake in her last attack, so it's worth it._

 _Orb Weaver had given her a whole list of targets and she'd been working her way from one side of Omega to the other. He'd mentioned that the Wake were trying to hide something big and he was working on finding out what it was. She hoped it was something that would really hurt them._

 _She was on her way to Keeva's to pick up her newest piece of gear. Keeva had talked about it for the last month but had ended up keeping hold of it to 'make it just right'. Afterwards she was thinking about spending a few days resting. She'd found a small alcove hidden away in the Carrd district. It was a nice place to find some peace._

 _Date_ _: 6.27.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Shop_

"Sorry it's taken so long, but I just had to get it right." Keeva's holding out Jane's long promised helmet. It's got Jane's usual color scheme and is made of the same material as her plating. There are small controls built into the side, each with a unique rune stamped on it. The front looks like a stylized skull and it's most distinguishing feature is the glowing amber visor at eye level. "I'll need to make some changes to the collar of your suit but it won't take long." Once Keeva's got the suit she takes it to her new armor works and makes the needed changes with an hour's work. Once Jane's back in, Keeva hands the helmet to her, "Alright Jane, let's test it out."

Jane slides the helmet over her head and the two over them can hear it's clamps locking it into place. It's dark for moment until the helmet's start's drawing power from the suit. The visor lights up and the shield emitter starts glowing. "So how does it work?"

"There are controls installed in the sides. It has built in optical zoom, upgraded atmospheric filters, and receivers to link with your weapons to monitor heat buildup. Your HUD will still display shield strength alongside that. The simplest way to put it is that this is a major upgrade on what you already had." Jane has already started poking at the controls and Keeva can see her flipping between different display modes by the slight shifting on the visor.

"I know that you can see into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums, but this will expand on that. It also has a motion tracking system built in. As you use it more, the software will learn what you want by tracking eye movement and vital signs." Jane turns to her in confusion, at least what Keeva thinks is confusion. The face plate covers Jane's expression. "What I mean is that, in time, you won't even need the controls on the side. The helmet will 'learn' to recognize when you want to change the settings and react accordingly." Jane's hops up and down excitedly.

"Can I disengage the face plate?" She pushing buttons randomly.

"There's a button by your right eye. Press it and the visor and mouth cover will retract." Jane finds the control and presses down. There's a slight hiss of escaping air as the face plating retracts and reveals Jane's wide grin. "The suit will read whoever hits those controls. If it isn't you, they won't work."

"Thanks Keeva. Did you take the cost out of the gun money?" Keeva wishes Jane hadn't insisted on paying for help. She had adamant about it and refused to take her share of the gun sales otherwise. With anyone else, Keeva would be confused at that but she had a good idea why Jane insisted. She doubted that Jane had much else to spend her rapidly growing supply of credits on.

"Yes Jane and here's the rest of the money." Jane doesn't even check her omni-tool as Keeva transfers the remaining fifty thousand into the girl's account. "So what are you doing today."

Jane sheepishly rubs the back of her neck, like she does whenever she's embarrassed, "I was thinking about going back to my place and resting for a while."

"You meet that spot in Carrd, right?" Jane nods and continues looking embarrassed, "That's good Jane. You're always running all over the station looking for a fight. You need to take a real break every now and then."

Jane gives Keeva a small grin before turning and heading out.

 _Date_ _: 8.17.2167_

 _Location_ _: Zeta District_

Morfan scans his strategy table for anything he might have missed. The trap was finally ready and they'd been sending out clues for nearly a month. They would have been ready sooner, but Morfan's predecessor had kept delaying. Don had been so worried about screwing up that he'd held off too long and Jortan had decided to change things up again. Morfan doesn't like to think about what had happened to the human.

Now, the task of taking the freak down had fallen to him. He'd immediately begun putting out the bait and double timing the prep work. It's paid off and now they were just waiting on her.

The best news was that they had managed to narrow down the location of her home to somewhere in Carrd. They had secretly moved most of the hunting crew into the district under various disguises. Morfan knows they're ready and has let Jortan know about their impending strike. He won't end up like Don.

 _Jane wakes to the sound of her omni-tool's insistent chime. She has a call incoming from Orb Weaver. Hopefully this is the one she's been waiting on. He'd kept mentioning something big but hadn't been able to nail it down yet. She accepts the call and sees the odd image of a spider again. 'Jane, I've got it. I found the place they've been trying to hide. It's in a junk field in Kenzo.'_

' _What are they hiding there?'_

' _I still can't get a read on that, but they've been trying to bury this info for months now. They've even executed half a dozen of their own for letting word of it slip out. Whatever it is, it's very important to them. I'm sending the details now.' The coordinates load into Jane's omni-tool and she immediately starts mapping out her potential routes. Once she's chosen one she sends payment and her thanks to Weaver. After gearing up she sets out to hit her latest target._

 _Date_ _: 8.20.2167_

 _Location_ _: Kenzo District_

It's working. It's actually working. Morfan almost can't believe his eyes. The girl they've been hunting is making her way through the scrap heaps of Kenzo, trying to sneak up on the false Wake team guarding their 'precious' cargo. Without turning, he addresses his adjutant, "Send word to the others in Carrd. The plan's going as hoped and they need to be ready for when she gets back. No comm chatter and no moving through the open. If anyone screws this up, I'll make sure Jortan knows exactly who blew our best shot at taking her down." The man gives his affirmative and takes off to deliver the orders.

Morfan hasn't taken his eyes from the scope. The girl is almost to the outer pickets guarding the base and he needs to be ready for the right moment.

 _The first one never sees her. He has his head turned to the right when Jane hurls her sword from the opposite direction. The blade spears into his throat with almost no resistance. His spine is severed and he falls to the ground like a puppet with cut strings. She quickly moves up, retrieves her blade, and moves on. He's no threat now. The next falls with a single stab to his heart. The third sees her as she strikes but loses his head before he can call out. She spends twenty minutes cutting down mercs one by one, quickly closing on the target._

 _But something's wrong. She's always been able to slice through them but this time it's too easy. These mercs are lazy, sloppy. They're leaving huge gaps in their patrols and the mercs themselves poorly outfitted. Usually she takes every piece of gear she can get, but these idiots only have a bunch of cheap crap. Their armor is the lowest quality she's ever seen and most of it doesn't even fit. She hasn't taken any loot yet... none of it has been worth anything. Also, none of them have any of the usual tattoos or ritual scars. There's only one explanation. They aren't Red Wake members and this is a setup._

 _It's not the first time they've tried, but it is the first time that she hasn't known going in. She spends a moment debating her next action and decides to bail out before the trap is sprung. That's when the first charge goes off._

"Shit, she's leaving! Blow the first sequence!" A line of fire erupts in front of the girl and she's enveloped in a wave of fire. Several seconds pass before the fireball clears and she's revealed, safely shielded behind a golden barrier. Morfan can't help but spew out a dozen curses and slurs at his luck. She'd almost been inside the primary ring of charges before she'd found them out. "Blow the rest before she leaves!" A second wave of fire, much larger this time, washes over the girl with similar results. She manages to maintain her barrier throughout the remaining five detonations, but Morfan can tell she's tired afterwards. It'll make her easier to take in Carrd but his decoys still won't be able to stop her. Then again, they were never meant to.

He can see the remaining freelancers moving to engage and can't help but laugh at the sorry sight. Twenty men are charging across an open junkyard at target they know nothing about, thinking that they'll squash this tiny intruder like an insect. They aren't even laying down steady suppressing fire. Hell, half of them have drawn stun clubs and are moving into melee range. Morfan loads his rifle with the most important part of the plan. As the insects rush to their deaths, he gets ready for his own strike.

 _It's been awhile since she's been this pissed off. These idiots are too easy. Their guns can barely scrape her plates and her shields have only been drained by 3_ _%_ _. She's actually put her sword back in it's scabbard and moved in barefisted, hoping for some kind of challenge as most move to attack with clubs. The first to reach her actually stops his charge and takes the time to build up a full swing before bringing it down on her shoulder. She doesn't try to dodge or even stop the blow._

 _The club makes contact with her plating, sending a surge of electricity into her armor, and accomplishing… nothing. The charge is so weak that it doesn't even spread to the other plates and her suit blocks the jolt entirely. The rest of the mercs see this and slow to a stop, a mix of befuddled and terrified looks plastered on their faces. She gently takes hold of the club and pulls it from the man's slack grip. Before he can react to being so easily disarmed, she twirls around and slams the club into his forehead. The moron's skull bursts like an over-ripe melon, spraying blood and brain over everyone nearby. The mercs are slowly backing away, some even dropping their weapons from numb fingers._

 _Her rage at this insult of an attack is close to boiling over. She gathers her power in both hands and raises her arms towards the nearest targets. Waves of energy radiate out and half a dozen men simply dissolve into dust. Eight others turn to run and the remaining five drop to their knees and start begging for their lives._

 _She draws her rifle and levels it at the fleeing mercs. A stream of high calibre fire tears into their backs, dropping them all. One of the kneeling fools takes her distraction as an opportunity to strike and dives at her. She sidesteps and slams a fist down into his back. The man's back is pulped and he lands in a paralyzed, weeping heap. The rest are too terrified to run and just watch as she slowly walks over to the only one brave enough to try and attack. His broken back has shards of bone sticking out and blood seeping through. She slowly presses her figures to either side of his spine and pushes them through his flesh. His shrieking echoes across the junkyard as she wraps her fingers around his vertebrae and pulls. In a spray of gore, she tears a segment of his spine free._

 _She walks over to the last four survivors and drops the repulsive trophy in front of them. It's a struggle to force words through her rage but somehow she manages, 'Which Wake member hired you?' These pathetic weaklings just tremble in fear and she decides more motivation is needed. She stomps over to the batarian on the right and places her thumbs over his top eyes and drives them in. The man screams in pain as she stabs her fingers through those tiny globes. 'TELL ME OR I'LL TAKE THEM ALL!'_

' _Morfan! It was Morfan!'_

' _What species is he?!'_

' _Salarian!'_

' _Where is he?' The man tries to pull away as he answers._

' _I don't know. I swear. I swear! They just paid us to guard the junkyard!' She believes him. The Wake isn't stupid enough to tell some throw away freelancers anything about their members._

' _Leave all your weapons and armor here and start running. You so much as glance back and rip your heart out!' She plants a boot on the man's chest and shoves as hard as she can. The batarian is sent flying into the nearest junk heap as the rest of the mercs start ripping their armor off as fast as possible. He gets back to his feet and still manages to strip faster than all the others. Once naked he sprints away, screaming about someone named Akshar._

 _The others are about to follow when a shot rings out. She feels something slam into her shoulder hard enough to spin her around. Turning to the source of the sound, Jane sees a shape almost two hundred yards away turn and bolt from the scene. It's gone long before she reaches the spot. There are now tracks and no scents. Even her enhanced visual filters come up with nothing._

 _She runs a systems check and sees that the shot failed to penetrate. It barely even scraped her plating. Aside from an odd increase in plate weight, nothing seems to be wrong._

 _She returns to the yard to find the other mercs gone and a pile of guns and armor where they once were. She digs through, finds a few decent pieces, and then uses a warp to destroy the rest. The entire affair has been a waste except for the name of her next target. She'll give the name to Weaver and when he finds Morfan, she'll make him scream. Holding her barrier through so much fire has been fairly tiring and she heads home to go back to sleep, hoping that her migraine will fade back to its normal level of slightly agonizing._

The plan might not have gone as well as hoped, but he'd managed to accomplish the most important part. The signal is strong but still distorted by whatever jamming tech she uses. They'll need to be close to pick up the tracking signal. Morfan hops in his squad's car and signals his adjutant to take the scenic route to Carrd. On arrival he gets the best news that he's had all year. The girl was spotted moving between two separate ducts ways and the tracking device was still transmitting. They just needed to wait for her to stop and they can finally slaughter this parasite.

 _It's late when she finally gets to her home. It's not much but she likes it. She has a couple small rooms in the ruin of an old store. She'd found it during one of her hunting trips and had been using it ever since. There were crates to keep her tools and guns in. She'd even found an old bed in the back room. It was built for an elcor and that meant she had lots of extra room. It was the softest thing she's ever slept on and she couldn't wait to get back to it._

 _She only removes her helmet and flops face down on her giant bed. In moments, she manages to drift off to sleep._

"Everyone stay quiet and move in. We only get one shot at this." She'd finally stopped and Morfan was ready to move. "Torq, take team one thru the front. Basq and Quelt, take teams two and three through the sides. Four stays here and watches the front. This is it boys, let's take this freak down." The three chosen teams move to their designated entrances. The fourth is setting up a heavy support weapon and Morfan himself cracks open a special case he'd called in from the armory. His favorite weapon is inside and he can't wait to use it.

 _Her dreams are more terrible than she can ever remember. She's standing on a storm wracked plain with lightning flashing down in a torrent. The cacophonous sounds are driving her mad with pain and blood pouring from her ears. Her eyes are scorched by the blinding flashes but she can't close her eyes. Her skin feels like someone is dragging knives across her. The smell of ozone is flooding her nostrils and she is having trouble breathing. She can taste blood at the back of her throat as she feels it filling her lungs. Why is this happening?_

Torq is leading from the front. He's going to be the one to cap the little bitch. They've swept all but one room and he's almost drooling over the kill to come.

 _The storm is getting worse. The lightning is blasting holes in the ground all around her and she's fallen to her knees. The pain is overwhelming her. She's desperate for anything to stop the unrelenting agony. A feeling of intense heat settles on her shoulder. Shifting her gaze up, she comes eye to eye with the her inner shadow._

There she is! She's face down, asleep. He can hear a slight snore drifting from her prone form. Drawing his hand cannon, Torq draws a bead on her head and steadies his aim.

 _The shadow is staring straight into her eyes and the fire is filling her heart again. It wouldn't have come to her if everything was ok. She focuses on the shadow as carefully as she can, trying to figure out what's wrong._

 _As she gets back to her feet she finally gets something. She has the overwhelming feeling of another presence in her room. There is someone in her room!_

 _Without trying to open her eyes, she forces out a blast of biotic power. The presence disappears but agony fills her as fire tears across the top of her head. Her eyes snap open and she finally sees what the shadow was warning her about. There are almost a dozen people struggling back to their feet. They're heavily armed and armored in red. The Wake! She leaps up and throws out her barrier just in time to stop a hail of gunfire. She can't hold it forever and needs take the offensive. She floods her barrier with power and lets it blast out. The golden wave flattens her attackers and she launches herself towards the door._

 _Once outside she bolts to her weapons crate and takes up her blade. As she turns back, a turian rounds the corner and opens fire. Jane dives forward and rolls behind her attacker. As she rises back up, she slashes into his back. The merc falls with his spine severed and she moves out. Her place has no lights and she takes full advantage of the shadows. The mercs fumble about with no light but their own flashlights. She charges down the main hall, swinging her blade in a whirlwind of slashes. Limbs and blood fall like rain as she makes her way through the crowd. She takes dozens of shots, punches, and kicks before she makes it out the front door._

 _Waiting for her is a heaving support weapon and it's already firing. Every shot hits with the force of a shotgun blast and they're coming three every second. Her barrier has collapsed and her shields are being shredded. She has no choice but to face it head on. At a distance of twenty feet her shields are at half strength. At ten they've failed. At two a shell blasts through her right side, but she is finally in range. A single swing of her blade slices the gunner's head in half. She takes his place and swings the weapon to bare against the gunners squadmates. Where her shields had held for a time, their's break instantly. Each shell blows another merc into gory pieces. In moments the entire squad is shredded and she turns the weapon on her home. The heavy shells blast holes in the walls and after two minutes of constant fire the building finally collapses the rest of the way._

 _She fires until the barrel of the weapon begins to melt. Once it can no longer fire, she uses a warp to destroy it and moves to the rubble of her former home. There are a few moans issuing from the heap of metal and plastic. She seeks out a survivor and pulls a mutilated batarian from the ruin. His legs are gone and his face is a scorched ruin, but he's still breathing. 'Are you one of Morfan's?!' The broken wretch manages to nod, 'WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS MORFAN?!'_

' _Over here freak!' She snaps her head toward the sound and sees a lone salarian kneeling by the ruin of the support gun, with a rocket launcher on his shoulder. She lets the batarian drop and sprints towards the salarian as a rocket rips free off the launcher. Her vision narrows and time slows down. She can see the rocket blazing towards her in slow motion and she jerks to the side, swinging her blade as she spins. When the blade makes contact with the warhead it detonates. The explosion hurls her into the air and she slams to the ground more than thirty feet away from the blast site._

 _Her plates are cracked and she knows dozens of bones have broken. She is barely able to stay awake as the sound of the launcher being reloaded reaches her ears. Jane desperately struggles to her feet and charges at the salarian. He remounts the launcher and readies to fire as she gathers every scrap of biotic power she can. Before another missile can sail out, she slams her fist into the ground and a nova of power blasts out from her body. The wave destroys everything nearby and the salarian is catapulted into a nearby wall. The area goes quiet, with only the sounds of falling dust and moaning mercs filling the air_

 _Jane falls to her knees in absolute exhaustion as her injuries finally catch up with her. Blood is streaming down her head from the furrow caused by the first Wake thug's pistol. She puts a hand to her side and doesn't feel plating or even her suit. Instead, she feels a bleeding mass of muscle and when she looks at it, she can see a hint of intestine poking out. The horror at this is almost enough to force a blackout, but her shadow comes to the rescue. The primal rage that had sustained her in her darkest moments once again comes out to save her. It's helped along by her medi-gel system, which is now in overdrive, trying to save her failing life signs. It gives her the strength to gather the dead and go to work._

 _She decapitates the underlings and piles the gruesome aftermath into one massive heap and the seeks out Morfan. He hasn't survived his encounter with the wall. A nine foot spur of metal has torn through his chest and his heart is mounted at the end of it. Instead of separating them, she simply tears the metal spur from the wall and carries it to the pile. Once there, she stabs it into the center of the heap and backs away. The salarian is mounted three feet above the pile, with the metal 'spear' stabbed through the grotesque mound. It's good enough for now. She gathers what's left of her gear, slides her helmet on, and stumbles into the ducts. Hopefully Mirdan and Sara can help._

It's pretty much what she expected. Morfan did better than her initial estimate but he was still a ruined corpse and the girl is still alive, although she's been beaten to hell. She has to admire the kids endurance. She'd seen krogan dropped by less.

She follows from a distance, never getting too close. If the girl was in good shape, then she would know she's being tailed. But as she is now, Vira has no trouble staying out of sight. Jortan doesn't just want the girl. He wants her family, her friends, anyone that's been helping her, and now Vira is in a perfect position to find all of them in one fell swoop.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 - Loss**

 _Date_ _: 8.21.2167_

 _Location_ _: Mirdan's Clinic_

 **Mirdan**

Mirdan is proud of his stitch work. In a few days, Jane will barely have any marks left. She'd staggered through the front door with a large tear in her side and a gouge across the top of her skull. Part of her intestines had been exposed and she was delirious from blood loss. He and Sara had spent hours patching her wounds and setting close to thirty broken bones. Once everything was back in place and regenerating, she'd actually tried to get up and leave. Sara was having none of that however and had demanded Jane stay long enough for her flesh to knit back together. Jane had offered no resistance and was currently sleeping on a cot in the corner.

They'd sent her cracked plating to Keeva for repair and set her weapons aside. Her rifle and SMG were heavily damaged, and her sword was even more broken than she was. The girl had barely reacted to the news that Keeva wouldn't be able to fix it. Instead, she'd just gone back to sleep. Sara had been keeping a close eye on her monitors for the last six hours, gently singing to Jane the whole time.

 **Vira**

While the two doctors had been intently watching the girl, another figure was watching them, via small surveillance drone. Vira could scarcely believe her luck. She's not only found out who's been patching the little demon up, but now she also knows the identity of her weapons dealer. All she needs to do now is to find out if the girl has any family on the station. A little subterfuge is all it will take.

She'd chosen to wear some non descript clothing for this operation and it'll help sell the deception. Vira draws a dagger from her belt and makes a few shallow but long cuts on her arms. She then makes multiple tears in her clothing and drags her nails across her skin to simulate defensive wounds. Dabbing her hands in her own blood, she smears it in a few places to enhance the effect. Once she thinks that she looks like enough of a 'victim' she drops her weapons into a small alcove in her current hiding place and starts to stagger towards the clinic. She really needs to sell the look if this is going to work.

When she gets close enough she intentionally starts to hyperventilate and calling out. "Help me! Goddess, please help!" An older salarian steps out after a few moments and upon seeing her condition, he takes her hand and quickly guides her into the clinic.

"Remain calm and let me know what happened." He works quickly, cutting cloth away from the largest wounds and applying medi-gel, all while running a background scan with a specialized omni-tool.

Her breathing is at just the right place between panic and terror to sound convincing. "I was trying to get home from work. It was really late so I took a shortcut through one of the alleys and some creep started harassing me." She even manages to force out some tears to supplement her current look. "I didn't really think about at first, I mean, it's Omega," she herself had actually done it before, "but then he pulls out a knife and starts swiping at me. I… I tried the stay away but…" She holds up her arms to show the cuts. "After cutting me a few times, he seemed to lose interest in his game. He started stabbing at me… he tried to kill me." The salarian is nodding at everything she says. Hopefully that means he's buying it.

"It's a common occurrence on this station. He was most likely on some kind of psychotropic drug or he was trying to earn his way into one of the more vicious gangs. How did you get away?"

"I'm not really sure what happened. One second he's trying to stab me and the next he's cutting himself and foaming at the mouth." It's something she'd seen happen to a turian who'd ODed on something.

"He most likely took an overdose of Srath or Lyf. They can cause extreme swings in behavior with small doses and have been known to induce suicidal behavior and seizures with larger amounts. You were likely victim to the final stages of his use. You are fortunate to be alive." She nods and lets her breathing returns to normal.

"Can I stay here for a little bit? I just wanna make sure he's not going to be waiting for me." She looks up at the salarian with her best pathetic victim look and the old man's expression softens.

"Of course. I can contact a friend to help you get home safely if you like."

"Thank you, that'd be perfect." This friend would of course need to have an accident along the way. The old salarian finishes patching her cuts and gives her a small dose of painkillers.

"A few days bed rest would be best for the healing process but if you need to get back to work right away I can give you something to help with the pain." She carries on through the rest of his offers of assistance and once he's done and moves on, Vira stands up under the pretence of stretching her legs. She walks around, pretending to be moved by a number of other patients in varying states of health. There are turians with plate damage, batarians sick with skin disorders, and even a milky-eyed krogan complaining about how dark it is. Only one patient truly catches her attention.

Placed in the corner is a cot surrounded by monitors being watched by a young human woman. Her objective doesn't look like much in her current state. The girl is covered in bandages, most of which are stained with blood. She has numerous braces holding broken bones still and as Vira watches, the human doctor begins attaching another and replacing soiled bandages. This woman treats the girl with a tenderness Vira has rarely seen outside of parents caring for their children. She'll likely be the easiest to get information from. The salarian is rumored to have been in STG so he'll be pretty tight lipped, but the woman is probably just another bleeding heart.

Vira gathers her thoughts and moves behind the woman. "Goddess." She plasters her best horrified look on her face as the doctor turns to see her. The woman's eyes are bloodshot, the result of tears and sleep deprivation if Vira's any judge. "What happened to her?"

"She's was attacked." The human doesn't seem to keen to talk about it.

"Who would do this to a little girl?" She does her best to sound like a mortified bystander and the human eats it up.

"A band of thugs. They attacked her while she was sleeping, but Jane's a lot tougher than people think." That was a hell of an understatement.

"Will the poor thing be ok?" Vira is memorizing all the girl's injuries for potential weaknesses to exploit and she's dismayed at what she sees. When she'd be tailing the girl earlier, this 'Jane' had been ghost white from bloodloss. Now, she's already regained her color and several cuts and bruises Vira had seen are fading before her eyes. She can even see the swelling around several broken bones rapidly shrinking. Her visible dismay only convinces the doctor of her concern.

"Oh she'll get better, and when she does she'll rain hell on the people that did this." The doctor doesn't look happy at this. In fact, she seems positively distraught over it. "She'll charge right off into another fight and eventually end up back in this clinic after another brush with death." The woman is emotionally compromised and Vira pounces on it to get what she needs.

"What about her family? Aren't they coming to get her after... this?" She waves at Jane with a faux look of horror and the doctor just eats it up.

"We don't think she has one. We found her dying in the streets a few months ago and no one's come looking. I wish she had family to help her. I wish we could do more than just stitch her up after her latest fight." The woman is fighting back more tears and it takes all of Vira's self control to keep the disgust off her face. If it wasn't for Jortan's insistence at being in on the girl's death, Vira would do it right now. As it is, she has all the information she needs and gives a platitudinous goodbye before walking back to the salarian.

"I'd like to try and get home please." She wrings her hands together to help sell the frightened patient look.

"Would you like an escort? I know a few mercenaries that can be trusted." She nods despite grinding her teeth behind closed lips. The salarian makes a call and an hour later a turian in an impressive set of jet black armor arrives. "This is Daforan. He doesn't talk much but he's one of the most reliable men I know. Just let him know where you're going and he'll get you there safe and sound." The doctor gives a slight smile before moving back to help the surly krogan she'd seen earlier. She looks to the imposing turian's faceplate as he addresses her.

"Mirdan's paid my fee up front. Where to?" she gives him a fake destination and the two of them set off. Once they're far enough from the clinic she turns to him with a broad smile, her scared civilian look entirely discarded.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but you've been caught up in something unfortunate." He turns to her in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He tries to step closer but is enveloped in a powerful stasis field. She can hear his growling rage as she steps right in front of him.

"It's nothing personal. I hope you understand that." She gathers an orb of biotic energy in her hand and throws it into his chest. The push crushes his torso and sends him flying over the railing. She doesn't bother watching him fall. She knows that the nearest surface is almost two hundred meters down. Vira goes to the alcove with all her gear, arms up, and opens a comm link to Jortan. "Good news boss. I've got her location and she's still heavily injured."

"Good. What about friends and family?" She can hear him almost drooling over the idea of finally getting vengeance.

"No family to speak of. She's just some runt from the street. There are a few people that've been helping her though. She's with two of them now and the third is some suit rat running a junk shop."

"Alright, send the coordinates on where she is right now. I'm sending five squads and I want you to move in as soon as they're ready. I don't care what you do to her helpers, but I want her alive and broken at my feet when I get there." She'd heard about the running battle with Aria's whelps in Zeta, but she wasn't worried. By now he was just gloating over breaking their offensive. "We'll deal with the suit rat later."

"Understood. We'll be done in no time." It won't take long to gather everyone. Things had been heating up with the Blue Suns and Aria for a while now, and Jortan had organized several rapid strike teams across the station to help keep up the pressure. In less than an hour, she'd have a force more than strong enough to break the little monster.

 **Jane**

 _Hitting that missile was a mistake. She had never had a missile fired at her and had just acted on instinct. She'd always struck out when something came at her before and usually it worked. Now, she's been beating herself over the head with embarrassment ever since the blast. When she'd limped into the clinic, Sara had been beside herself with worry and Mirdan had echoed the sentiment in his own way. She'd felt terrible for making them worry so much. She didn't want them to be hurt by her mistakes._

 _She'll just need to be more careful. It's the main reason why she didn't really resist when Sara demanded she stay. Maybe waiting a little longer to heal would help her avoid any more surprises. So, she's spent the last six hours just resting and relaxing. Weaver had sent her a few messages apologizing for what happened. She'd already forgiven him and refused to take the money back. He'd insisted on making it up to her and was already looking for a real target, promising to make absolutely sure about it this time. She'd thanked him and gone back to sleep._

 _As she lay there, Jane allows the sounds of the clinic wash over her. She hears complaints over pain and sickness, words of thanks, calls asking for advice, intruments beeping and clicking, the creak of people settling into and standing up from cots, and the steady breathing of Sara and Mirdan as they go about their regular business. She feels safer knowing that the two of them are there._

 _Eventually she hears Sara talking to someone about her. It sounds like an asari and her sense of smell confirms it. She hears the woman's concerned questioning and Sara's heartfelt response. She'd normally be regretful over the obvious worry she's caused Sara, but this time she's distracted by something else. The asari's questions are all what someone would expect from a concerned bystander, but there's something off about her. Jane can tell she's not completely genuine. In fact, it just sounds like she's digging for information. If she wasn't so tired, she'd do something about it. Instead, she just listens closely and holds the memory tight. She'll need to be able to identify the asari later._

 _Soon the woman leaves and she can hear Mirdan arrange an escort home for the asari. She accidentally falls asleep for a few minutes but manages to force herself awake after a while. When she is fully lucid, Jane sits up and starts pulling out I.V.s. Sara tries to intervene but Jane doesn't stop this time. 'Jane please… you promised to wait a little longer.' She wishes she could but she's not sure there's time._

 _'That Asari was lying. She wasn't attacked by some drug addict.' Mirdan has come over and is listening intently._

 _'What do mean Jane? She was covered in blood and cuts.' Jane could smell the blood and knows that she hadn't been in real danger of bleeding out._

 _'Mirdan, call your friend back and make sure he's ok.' The salarian doesn't hesitate to make the call. The three of them wait through several attempts and when that fails, Mirdan hacks into the turian's biomonitors. Everything reads a flatline. Daforan is gone._

 _Mirdan bows his head in sorrow, 'He was a good man.' Jane nods before gathering up her rifle. She looks to the shattered remains of her sword and can't help but be saddened by it. The blade had been a huge boon in her hunt. Maybe Keeva can help make a new one._

 _Mirdan has moved back to the main area and is ushering their patients out, encouraging them to seek shelter with a friend a few blocks over. Most go quickly and the few that resist bolt once he informs them that the clinic is likely about to be attacked. Even the old, half-blind krogan puts on a surprising burst of speed at that. Sara and Mirdan gather a few essentials while Jane wolfs down almost a dozen ration bars. She'll need the extra energy for what she thinks is coming. There's no way the Wake would give up so easily when she's this badly hurt. When the three of them are ready they make for the front door. Once outside, Jane has only a second to react to the sight before her. Dozens of Red Wake mercs open fire and she feels multiple shots burn across her skin before she throws up her barrier. 'GET BACK INSIDE!'_

 _She can't hear the response as she holds against the deluge of firepower. She backs through the open door and manages to slam the close control as her barrier fails. She can hear the thunder of hundreds of shots slamming into the door, but she knows it'll hold for a little while. Mirdan had purchased a heavy duty bulkhead as his clinic's primary security. She needs to help them get away before doing something about the Wake. 'A couple weeks ago I made a tunnel from the vents in the back. It lets out a few blocks from… from…' she trails off when she sees what's behind her. There's a heavy trail of blood on the floor, and it leads to the sight of Mirdan cradling Sara's near limp body. There's a massive hole in her stomach and she's violently convulsing. Jane runs over and drops to her knees, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Her words pour out, 'No, no, no, no. Sara...I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry… I… I didn't mean… I didn't mean to let this happen.'_

 _The woman reaches out and takes Jane's hand. There's blood seeping from the corners of her mouth. Her skin is already cold and her grip is terrifyingly weak, 'It's… not...not your fault Jane.' Jane can hear Sara's heart slowing and her tears are flowing freely now, 'I'm glad I got to… to be your friend...Jane… this isn't your… not your…' and she was gone. Sara's heart has stopped and Jane's is broken. She's lost one of the few people who really cared about her and it's too much. It's too much! She can feel herself losing control and this time she doesn't try to stop it. She sees herself on the shadowy plain, twin orbs of light dancing around her. Her shadow is there and she can see tears of fire trailing down it's face as it approaches. It takes her hand in its own and she sets her rage free._

 **Mirdan**

He can hear the sound of something massive being repeatedly slammed into his bulkhead. Likely a battering ram or a krogan with a siege hammer. His door will hold for a while, but he doesn't really care.

He'd always known that he would be the one slain in their work. He would be the one dying on the floor with a hole in his stomach and she would be the one to comfort him in his last moments. She would be the one to carry on after his death. She would be the one to live on and help others for years to come.

Now, he cradles the body of his most beloved friend as she grows cold. It should have been him. It's all he can think of. This was supposed to be the place where his life ended and she was supposed to leave for somewhere better. And now she's gone. He doesn't cry, even though his heart is broken. He's too old for tears. He does feel the sorrow though. It's bone deep and makes his chest ache. In fact, it's getting hard to breathe, very very hard to breathe. It's then that he notices the golden light flooding the room and its source.

Jane is bathed in her peculiar biotic light and a look of abyssal fury has contorted her features. The air is rapidly being replaced by ozone and ambient static is arcing off multiple surfaces. Her hair is drifting around her in an invisible current of energy. He recognizes the signs from the first rampage he witnessed. Jane is losing control and she might not recognize him anymore. He gathers up Sara's body and makes for the tunnel Jane spoke of. He uses his omni-tool to blow off the large grating and in moments he's moving through a surprisingly spacious tunnel, the cacophonous sounds of battle spurring him on.

 **Vira**

She can't help but gloat to herself. Soon the Wake's biggest threat outside Aria will be gone and they can get back to taking over. Her vicious joy is almost enough to push away the pain of withdrawal. It's been weeks since she last melded and it's starting to get to her. Maybe Jortan will let her feed on the girl. She's already powerful, and melding with this little monster would be enough to make her stronger than any justicar. She might even be able to take on Aria herself. That delicious idea keeps her smiling as Karg slams his huge hammer into the door over and over.

Most doors would have crumbled by now but Karg doesn't seem to mind. He just keeps hammering away and laughing like a maniac, while the strike teams goad him on. The general feeling of jubilation almost makes her miss the strange feeling coming from the clinic. She senses, in a way only a biotic can, the massive build up in power. She's never felt such a potent surge of energy and she tries to call out a warning to her men, but it's too late. The door and Karg are blown away by one of the most powerful biotic blasts she's ever scene. Men twenty meters away are knocked to the ground and debris from the shattered wall impales more than one. Karg scrambles to his feet, multiple armor pieces falling from him in scraps. He hefts up his hammer and charges at the breech as their target finally reveals herself.

Vira has an epiphany in that moment. It hits her as Karg makes his last swing, an overhead strike that would flatten anyone. The hammer sails down at a speed most would find impossible to follow. The strike force can't believe their eyes.

Karg, a battle hardened merc with centuries of experience, has missed. The hammer is embedded in the ground, inches from the girl. She's bathed in golden light and has a hand on the haft of the weapon. Karg is struggling to pull it free, roaring in the girl's face the whole time. Vira knows it's useless. She knows that they've made a terrible mistake.

 **Jane**

 _The krogan is growling and roaring at her as he strains to pull his weapon free, but her grip is iron. The shadow is in full control and she revels in it. She can feel her power feeding off her body but she doesn't care. As the krogan takes one hand off the weapon to raise a fist at her, she pulls on the haft and tears it from his grip. The krogan is pulled off balance as she spins about. The head slams into his gut and catapults his broken body thirty feet away. His torso has been utterly crushed and he dies choking on his own ruptured innards. The mercs don't fire. A couple even run away. It's all the opening she needs and mercs start dying._

 **Vira**

She can't believe what just happened. Karg is a bloody pulp and her men aren't shooting. "Fire dammit! Fire!" a couple raise their weapons at the terrifying apparition before them but more than one throws their gun down a runs away screaming that damn demon's name. They'd tried suppressing it, but a growing number of their batarian members were fearful that the girl really was this 'Akshar'. Finding Doth preaching about it had only made things worse. "GET BACK HERE YOU COWARDS!" she tries to rally them and fails. The girl exploits the pause by gathering a huge sphere of energy and hurling it into their midst.

Vira recognizes it as an extremely rare skill and calls out, "Everybody down!"

A few obey the call and drop to cover. Those that don't are exposed to the full force of a literal biotic flare. A massive blast of golden light surges out and blinds the twenty men who'd been looking at it. Their eyes are scorched and they fall to the ground screaming in agony. In one attack, a third of her men have been rendered useless, but the girl isn't done yet. She charges across the open ground, the massive hammer trailing behind her and a howl of rage filling the air.

 **Jane**

 _The hammer is heavy, even for her. She has to supplement her muscles with biotics and the result is absolute carnage. The her first strike is an overhead swing down onto a gawking turian. She can hear his plates and skeleton shatter as the massive weapon flattens him. His squad mate tries to shoot her as she winds up for another hit. His shots bounce off a powerful kinetic barrier and her next swing breaks him in two. A third loses his head in a powerful lateral swing._

 _Every strike hits like a meteor. Every blow obliterates body parts. Here, a batarian's legs are torn off at the knee. Here, a human takes an uppercut and losses everything from the center of his chest on up. Here, three men are killed in a horizontal swing that crushes them into a single gruesome mass. She swings again and another man is flatten into paste. Her biotics speed up her attacks to superhuman levels and she moves across the field in a blur._

 **Vira**

She can't believe what she's seeing. The girl is using an ability that Vira has only seen extremely powerful asari perform. She's actually using biotics to warp across the field to attack. Many who see such a feat assume it's some kind of teleportation, but in truth it was far closer to the method mass relays used to hurl ships between systems. That a human child is using it is one of the most disturbing things that Vira has ever seen.

Vira's been firing her rifle almost non stop, along with a couple dozen others who'd followed her example. Their shots are sailing through open air. She's moving too quickly to track and Wake troops are dropping like flies. Karg's hammer weighs nearly fifty kilos and she's swinging it around like a toy. The insane velocity she builds up on every swing makes a mockery of shields, armor, and flesh alike. Vira knows that she isn't strong enough to stop her like this. She needs to disappear and wait for the little monster to use up her energy.

As the girl tears into yet another squad. Vira orders the last of her men into the fray and then makes her escape. She ducks into the shadows, the sounds of massacre trailing her the whole way.

 **Jane**

 _There aren't many of them left, apart from the blinded ones still writhing on the ground. She'll deal with them later. She's still looking for the leader but it seems that the asari has fled. That just spurs Jane into even greater savagery. She no longer strikes to kill. Now she's deliberately crippling her enemies instead. She crushes legs with sweeping blows from the hammer and uses strikes from its rounded base to break spines. After only five minutes, she's the last one standing on the field._

 _She's coated in a new layer of blood. Her breathing is ragged and uneven as she tries to reign in her rage. She manages to get a small measure of control back and moves to take care of the wounded. She needs to make sure the Wake understands that she's not done with them. Using her biotics to pull metal scrap from the surrounding buildings, she fashions a dozen ten foot high totems in a large circle, fusing them into solid structures with careful bursts of power. She crushes the tips into narrow, sharpened points. Once completed, she moves to the first of the dead. The krogan is extremely heavy but her biotics let her drag his mangled corpse into place at the base of one of the totems. She drives a loose piece of steel into the structure through his throat. She does the same with all the other mercs that have already died. Each of the dead is given a place at the base of a totem and a shard of metal through the throat. Now for the survivors._

 _Most of them are pleading, begging for a chance. She doesn't care. Sara deserved a chance, they don't. She makes sure to look each of them in the eye before lifting them into the air. She guides them through the air until they're hovering over one of the sharpened peaks. Once in place, she simply releases her control and the mercs are impaled. Most die in seconds as she continues raising more into place and repeating the process. It takes nearly an hour to complete the job. She stands in the middle of the ring of totems, breathing deeply, trying to find some measure of peace. It never comes. Every breath is accompanied by sight of Sara's dying form. The memory is already tormenting her. She leaves her new monument to revenge behind as she enters her tunnel and heads off to find Mirdan._

 **Vira**

She never thought she could hate someone so much. In minutes, Vira has watched the Wakes best chance at victory burned to ash. She could barely contain herself as she watched the girl build her gruesome message. Eventually Jane moves back into the clinic and enters a tunnel in the back. She follows her from a safe distance. Jane is obviously exhausted, but whatever is fueling her incredible burst of power is still keeping her going. Vira is careful to keep her biotics completely under wraps. She can't let the demon know about her until she's ready. She'll wait until the strain of using so much power drives the girl to her knees. Then Vira will take what she's due.

 **Mirdan**

He reached the end of the tunnel with little difficulty. It let out in a warehouse roughly two hundred meters from the clinic. Once arriving, he gently laid Sara's body on the ground and kneeled down next to her. He's never been an overly pious man, but he still knows the mantras of his faith. Her offers a few of his most comforting prayers, imploring Sara's spirit to one day find its way into a new form through the wheel of life. He's still praying when her hears a familiar tread coming from the tunnel. He raises his eyes to the sight of a thoroughly disheveled and heartbroken Jane. She's covered in blood and grime. Tears cut trails through the filth on her face as she slowly makes her way to Sara's side.

When she reaches the two of them, she falls to her knees and finally gives vent to her feelings. Mirdan doesn't know what to say and just moves to her side and embraces her. He holds the girl as she sobs uncontrollably into his shoulder. As he holds her, he notices just how severe her condition is. Jane had already been in bad shape, but now it's far worse. Though none of her new injuries are serious, the strain of using so much power so quickly has ravaged her body. She's almost ten kilos lighter and blood is seeping from her ears, nose, and the corners of her eyes. She's trembling in his arms and he knows she needs sustenance, soon. He reaches into his satchel to give her a ration bar. Before he can, an iron grip clamps down on his shoulder and he's biotically thrown across the room. Mordan crashes into the wall hard enough to break bones. He's struggling to stay awake and failing. The last thing he sees before passing out is a leather clad asari grabbing Jane by the throat and hoisting her into the air.

 **Jane**

 _She can't breathe. Shadows are gathers at the edge of sight, and she's to exhausted to fight back. The asari strangling her is the same one from earlier. Her nails are digging into Jane's throat and her teeth are bared in a vicious snarl. 'You not getting away this time you little monster! You might have slaughtered the others, but you used up too much energy. Now, I'm going to make you suffer.' The asari tilts her head back and the shadows around them deepen. Jane's already intense migraine explodes into a soul deep agony that nearly stopped her heart. When the woman returns her gaze to Jane, her eyes are soulless black pools and her voice is a bottomless abyss, 'Embrace eternity.'_

 _It feels like something is dragging its claws across her very being. Her soul is being violated. She is back on the shadowed plains of her mind and the asari is standing over her. The storms from her nightmares slash across the skies and her senses are on fire. She feels like she's being torn apart and the asari is laughing insanely as she draws on Jane's suffering. 'Go ahead and struggle! I love it when my prey fights back.' She slaps her hands to Jane's temples and lifts her up. Small motes of light pass from Jane and drift to the asari. Each tic of light deepens her agony and Jane can't help but shriek into the sky as the asari tries to steal everything from her. 'So much power! I knew you were strong, but this… this is so much more! You have no idea what you're really capable of!'_

 _Jane needs to fight back. She survived the implants. She survived the experiments. She survived poison gas, toxic food, broken bones, being impaled, shot, stabbed, and blasted with explosives. She will survive this. Jane reaches deep within and sends a call out. The answer is a growing shadow behind the asari and Jane feels the leviathan of rage inside her roaring for blood. She grabs hold of the asari's wrists and wrenches her hands from their place at her temples._

 _The asari isn't laughing anymore. She's growling through grinding teeth, 'You can't escape this you little freak. You might be a monster out there, but the mind is my hunting ground and you're nothing here.'_

' _You said I have now idea what I'm capable of. Well, neither do you!' Jane plants a hard kick into the asari's gut and sends the woman hurtling into the shadows behind her, Jane's shadow taking hold of her. The wraith takes hold of the asari's arms and forces her to her knees. The creature's grip burns her and she screams in pain as Jane closes in._

 **Vira**

She's never had the tables turned on her like this. No one has ever overpowered her in one of her melds. Now she can feel her strength being ripped away and flowing into the human. Her form is becoming more bestial, more demonic with every moment. Great wings of shadow extend from her back and her gaze pierces Vira down to her very soul. "You say I'm a monster out there. I don't know if that's true. I might be a monster out there… but in here. IN HERE, **I AM A GOD!** " A dozen different tones are overlapping the girl's voice, each one ripping away another shard of Vira's life. Everything she is, everything she ever was, and everything she could have been is being torn away in a tidal wave of suffering.

The girl reaches her and wraps both hands around Vira's throat. It feels like a collar of blades has been affixed to her neck and she's slowly being beheaded. She feels her spirit being subsumed in an ocean of dark and terrible sensation. Jane lets loose a piercing howl that echoes through what's left of Vira's mind. She's bathed in fire as the girl finally draws out the last of her life.

 **Jane**

 _She's never felt so wrong. The feeling of absolute repulsiveness at what she pulled from the asari leaves her ill. She drops the husk of what used to be a person and staggers into the corner. She heaves for several minutes, puking up a puddle of blood and bile as memories that aren't hers flood her mind. When she finally makes her way back to the scene, she gets a good look at what's left of the asari. Her eyes are blackened pits. There are trails of crusted blood leading from her ears and nose. The body smells like it was recently on fire. She doesn't bemoan the asari's fate but she does hate how it came about. She feels completely violated._

 _As she regains some composure she sees Mirdan slowly picking himself up and limping over. She can tell he's badly hurt and helps him inject a heavy dose of medi-gel from his satchel. Once he's settled into a comfortable position against a crate, Jane gives a call to Keeva. The quarian woman doesn't hesitate to offer help and promises to be there in minutes. After hanging up, Jane returns to the merc's repulsive corpse._

 _Shoving her disgust aside, she takes hold of an ankle and drags it back through the tunnel. She moves through the clinic and walks to the center of her totemic circle. Jane makes sure the body is dead center before drawing the dagger from the asari's belt. With steady, forceful cuts, she carves her symbol into the asari's chest before stabbing the blade through the corpse's throat. She doesn't stick around to admire her work. She returns to Mirdan just as Keeva's gunship lands outside._

 **Keeva**

Any other day Keeva would have been giddy over getting to use her new toy to get around. It had been a hell of a good day when she'd gotten hold of it. It'd been a scrap heap when she'd bought it, but now it was a work of art. She'd remodeled it to be a heavily armed transport and it could carry up fifteen people. She thought about selling it for a huge payday but in the end she'd had decided it was too much fun to sell.

She's not having fun right now. Jane's call had her stomach in knots and she was terrified that she might be too late. That the clinic was attacked was bad enough, but it sounded like someone had been hurt. She jumps out right behind her guards as the gunship settles to the ground.

Half a dozen heavily armed mercs form a perimeter as Keeva heads for the door. She's halfway there when she sees someone coming out. Her guards take aim with a multitude of high powered weapons, but Keeva calls out, "Stand down! It's them." She is about to run to their side when she gets a better look at who's coming. Her suit's sensors are only picking up two lifeforms and Keeva's heart skips a few beats when she see's why there aren't three. Mirdan is limping heavily towards them and Jane is next to him. In her arms, is Sara's bloody body. Jane's gaze is completely vacant as she heads to the gunship and gently lays Sara down.

"Thank you for coming Keeva." She gives a half-hearted hug and then turns to help Mirdan into the ship. Neither says anything else as Keeva and her men re-board and the gunship takes off for Gozu.

 _Date_ _: 8.22.2167_

 _Location_ _: Mirdan's Clinic_

 **Jortan**

It isn't possible. What he is seeing just can't be real. He had sent his most trusted agent, backed up by the best warriors the Red Wake had ever fielded. They'd had the best weapons, the best armor, and their target had been brutalized. And now he stands in an abattoir, with his men playing the part of slaughtered cattle. There are totems with corpse impaled on and about them. There is so much blood that is sloshes about the boots. Chunks of viscera are scattered in gruesome heaps. Heads are crushes, organs hanging out, limbs pulverized, but even all that isn't what truly disturbs him. No what has him rooted in fear is the body in the place of honor in this repugnant temple of slaughter.

He's never seen bodies like it before. Vira's victims had always look like withered husks after she had fed, but they'd never looked like this. Vira looks like she's been mummified. Her flesh has been completely dried and her skin is flaking off in Omega's air currents. Her eyes are blackened holes and she has scorch marks in her ears, nose, and mouth. The little monster has made Vira's attacks look positively gentle.

He's never felt so lost. The legends had never held any sway over him. He'd spent twenty years leading the Wake and has always laughed in the face of doomsayers. Now, he believes. Now he knows that Doth was right and he has to stop it. He will stop it. Jortan calls over his newest second, "Kratch, I want you to call in five hundred from operations outside Omega. I don't care what they're doing or how much it costs. I want them here immediately. I want them armed to the teeth and I want tackers scouring this station all day everyday. We have to stop her before she grows up. We have to put her down before she destroys us all. Money doesn't matter any more." Kratch looks at his boss for a moment, wondering if he's finally lost it. Then he walks away to start calling in their army.

Jortan stays in the hideous circle for hours just remembering the all legends, all the stories his father had told him. He whispers to himself the whole time, "When darkness dies and the mighty fall. When even demons become fodder and death stalks the the land, woe be upon you unworthy mortals. For the darkest one descends upon you. Flee, flee, flee ye pathetic wretches, for your sins have damned you. Flee, flee, for the time of Akshar is come."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 - Reforged**

 _Date_ _: 8.23.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Emporium_

 **Mirdan**

She seems so peaceful now. No worries or fears. No nervousness over late supplies or difficult patients. No deep seated ethical quandaries to puzzle through. Her face is perfectly serene. That soul deep serenity that only lifelessness can bring. He's spent most of the night repairing the wound and cleaning her body. Keeva mentioned a seamster who could make her funeral shroud and had made arrangements for his visit. Mirdan hasn't spoken since arriving. He's spent all his time at the side of his dearest friend, soul searching, trying to find some meaning in such a tragedy. He's come up with nothing and it weighs him down in sorrow.

For the first time in over thirty years, Mirdan has no idea what to do. When he'd first come to Omega it had been out of a desire to spend his last years doing good and Sara had been the shining light to guide him in this hope. She'd come to him after his darkest day, the day he'd led the STG raid on a sex trafficking hellhole in batarian space. The horrors he'd seen there had almost broken him. He'd spent the time after in a fugue of heartbreak over the defiled bodies of so many innocents. He'd been ready to end it all when he'd happened upon a smiling flaxen haired human calmly helping one of the rescued victims adjust a leg brace. She'd been so kind, so happy. Her simple desire to just help others reawakened the old drive to do the same in his heart. The two had worked together for nearly five years since then and she had kept his spirits high all the while.

He'd intended to leave everything he had to her in the hopes that she would continue helping the innocent for decades. And now she's gone, and he's completely lost once more. He doesn't know what to do for himself. He doesn't know what to do for Sara. He doesn't know what to do for Jane.

The girl herself has become totally withdrawn. She's spent all day in Keeva's fabrication room, only emerging for the barest essentials. When addressed she says nothing and simply stares with vacant eyes.

 **Keeva**

Keeva is completely of her league. She's lost loved ones before and has never handled it well. She has no clue on how to help Jane or Mirdan through it. She's tried talking to Jane, but she never responds. She just keeps moving about like she's in a trance. Keeva's scans have told her that Jane is using numerous, extremely complicated tools to work on… something. The only time she tried to get a peek into the fabrication room, she'd almost been blinded by a pulsar bright amber glow coming from within. Whatever Jane was working one, she was employing her biotics with extreme intensity.

She was using so much power from Keeva's generators, the shop has experienced numerous blackouts. She has taken dozens of Keeva's best tools to aid in her work. She's taken in biotically sensitive alloys for ancestors know what. The only thing Keeva could do is make sure her pantry was stocked and the power stayed on. She'd called Vollo to help with Sara and he had sworn to be there as quickly as possible. Vollo was a bit of a diva but had a soul deep respect for the dead. He'd even promised to have a stasis pod delivered to preserve the body until proper arrangements could be made.

To pass the time, she'd busied herself with finishing the repairs to Jane's armor and guns. She's repairing cracks, upgrading shielding, and adding new mods to the guns. As she finishes applying a new paint job to the chestplate, an ethereal voice drifts into the room. "This one humbly requests permission to enter."

"Hello Vollo, please come inside." The hanar drifts in at a stately pace, his typically colorful silk trailing replaced by dark black strands. He has a small stylus and tablet grasped in a pair of tentacles, likely to write down Sara's measurements. "Thank you for coming Vollo."

"This one would never disrespect his friends by refusing to aid in such a tragic time. With the deepest humility, may this one tend to the fallen." Keeva nods and leads him to Sara's current resting place. As he approaches her prone form, he raises a tentacle to his frontal horn, as if stifling a gasp. Mirdan takes a moment to make 'eye contact', but he remains quiet. "This one has no desire to add to the honorable doctor's sorrow, but may this one say a short prayer for the spirit of the loving fallen." Mirdan nods solemnly and Vollo begins, "This one humbly implores the glorious enkindlers to take the spirit of the beloved fallen into their loving embrace. This one prays for her everlasting peace and joy in the warm presence of those who sit on high. May her spirit forever rest in the love that all may find in the embrace of the enkindlers."

Once his prayer is finished, he begins drifting about whilst writing on his tablet. The screen rapidly fills with dozens of figures and sketches. "This one shall endeavor to provide his best service. To fulfill this oath, this one must ask a terribly personal question. May this one continue?" Again Mirdan gives a nod, "Excellent. Please forgive this one's impertinence. Tell this one about Sara. Who was Sara?"

 **Jane**

 _She stands on her shadowed plain as rain lashes down from the sky. It is frigid and cuts to her core. She stands side by side with her dark reflection under the storm wracked sky. The sound of thunder crashes down, beating a regular, metronomic rhythm. She feels her biotics constantly firing and knows that she's not seeing what's actually happening. She sees a lightning scorched anvil before her. She and her shadow each have a hand upon a great hammer and each strike upon the anvil lets loose another peal of thunder. There is something on the anvil, a blurred shape glowing under her attention. She doesn't fully understand what's happening but she doesn't fight it. She feels a deep sense of purpose. This is right, it is meaningful._

 _With each strike, a memory flashes before her eyes._

 _CRASH… a golden haired friend dying on the ground._

 _CRASH… a cannon tearing a hole in her side._

 _CRASH… a bullet tearing across her face._

 _CRASH… a blade stabbing through her chest._

 _CRASH… poison flooding her lungs._

 _CRASH… her first friends dying by her hand._

 _CRASH… a man in a lab coat smiling at her hatred._

 _Each memory spurs on the next strike, her rage fueling her labors. A cacophony of voices guide her as she shapes the item before her. They're indistinct on their own, each shouting a bevy of unknowable words. Alone each is nonsense, but together they form a coherent plan of her goal. Some are loud and angry. Some are quiet and kind. Some roar mindlessly, while others whisper sweetly. Each is unique. Each offers something the others can't and she simply flows with the river of voices._

 _She's heard them before. Anytime she's tried to take something apart to learn about it, a few of them have come to help. But they've never been so loud and so numerous. The uproar has her migraine soaring to new levels of agony, but she doesn't care._

 _All that matters is that she carries on. All that matters is that she finishes what she started._

 _Date_ _: 8.26.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Emporium_

 **Keeva**

The sounds coming from Jane's project are growing louder and sometimes the entire shop shakes. There is now a perpetual glow coming from under the door and they have to be careful to turn away when she comes out. She only comes out for a few moments each time, for food or drink. She never speaks, never acknowledges anyone and Keeva is growing more frightened every day.

 **Mirdan**

Her trance is deeper than he's ever seen. He noticed her fall into this state a few times before, when working on her weapons or armor, but she's never gone this deep.

He rarely leaves Sara's side but Keeva has been asking for help with Jane. Nothing they say has any effect and any attempt at physical contact is rebuffed by a short biotic pulse.

The most disturbing thing she has done occured the day before. She had entered the room where Sara was laid out and had used her biotics to draw a small mote of blood from the woman's body, before returning to her work. She's completely unreachable and Mirdan shudders to think about what is happening to her.

 **Jane**

 _The anvil is cracking and the hammer is melting. The storm grows more intense with every strike. Lighting is blasting the ground in all directions. The voices are becoming clearer with each moment. She gathers a drop of Sara's blood and crafts a container to house this tiny reminder of a true friend, and she works it into her project's shape._

 _She and her shadow work in perfect tandem and the item upon the anvil becomes clearer with every strike. Her project is nearing completion and it spurs her on through the agony of exhaustion. The taste of blood only pushes her harder. The rage boiling within is being sharpened to a razored point and she pours it into her work. It's almost finished._

 _Date_ _: 8.29.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Emporium_

 **Keeva**

Vollo has returned. He drifted in with a large mercenary escort, a tightly sealed container carried by two of them. They place it in the newly finished lobby of Keeva's still growing emporium before Vollo addresses them, "This one thanks the honorable mercenaries for their assistance. The noble warriors will find a substantial payment has been sent to their accounts." Several check their balances and their eyes nearly pop from their skulls. "Now, with the utmost respect, this one kindly requests that the virtuous mercenaries depart. This is a sad task, and the fallen deserve respect." Most just nod numbly as the walk away, several gawking at their account balances.

"How much did you give them Vollo?" Most mercs wouldn't be so visibly dumbfounded.

"This one felt the sum of twenty thousand credits each would be an appropriate expression of gratitude for their assistance." Keeva's stunned. That means that Vollo had, by his own volition, spent nearly two hundred thousand on an honor guard for someone he'd never known.

She struggles to articulate her astonishment, "But Vollo, why would you spend so much? There wasn't much danger for you." The hanar flashes several times before answering.

"This one may have been unfortunate enough to have never known the merciful Sara, but this one's friends did. This one has seen the terrible sorrow this tragedy has inflicted, and it has moved this one's unworthy heart. Forgive this one's brash declaration, but it is obvious to this one that Sara was a beloved friend. The fallen deserve respect and this one will not, forgive the vulgarity, spit upon the memory of Sara by offering anything less than its utmost efforts." It's one of the most impassioned declarations she's ever heard Vollo make. Vollo picks up the shroud's container and follows her.

It brings a tear to her eye as she guides the lovable jelly into Sara's resting place. Mirdan is still by her side, carefully ministering to her stasis pod. "Mirdan, Vollo's back. The shroud is finished." The old man turns to them with haggard, bloodshot eyes. He almost never leaves Sara anymore, and Keeva's almost as worried about him as she is about Jane.

"This one has endeavored to capture the spirit of the dearly departed. May this one reveal the fruit of its labor." Mirdan gestures for Vollo to continue and he doesn't disappoint.

 **Mirdan**

The hanar has made something truly wondrous. The shroud is made from a darkly beautiful silken material and has dozens of images hued in subtle yet perfectly chosen colors. Images of wounds healed and hearts mended adorn the edges. The symbol of Sara's faith, a humble wooden cross, is just below center. The place of honor, in Mirdan's opinion, is perhaps the most perfect representation of his beloved friend. In the center of the shroud is a beautifully wrought image of a pair of hands and in those hands is a bright red, bleeding heart.

Sara had always been the one to pour out love and hope to any in need, no matter how much personal pain it caused. She never shied away from helping those in need, even when they had been rude or even cruel to her before. She'd mended broken bones for a human that had mugged her days before. She'd helped a turian supremacist recover from an acid attack from an angry mob. She had even held an old batarian's hand to comfort him in his final hours, a batarian who'd spat on her days before when she first told him that she'd be giving him medical care. These people had never shown her an ounce of decency, yet when they needed help, mercy, or even just a hand to hold in their most terrifying moments, she didn't hesitate.

Mirdan can't help shed a tear over such a beautiful reminder of Sara's loving nature. "It is truly a master work my friend. She would love it." Mirdan gently takes the shroud from Vollo and carefully spreads it over the top of Sara's stasis pod. He'll wrap her body later. The three of them stand in stately silence, just living in this moment of absolute peace.

The peace is so absolute that Mirdan finally notices something. The sounds coming from Jane's project have stopped and the shaking of the walls has ended. Mirdan and Keeva turn to the door as a familiar tread echoes from the hall. Standing in the doorway, covered in days of uncleaned grime, with bleeding hands, and a face flushed with blood, is Jane.

And in her hands is something amazing.

 **Jane**

 _It's done. It's finally done. Jane has finished what she has worked so hard to forge. Soon she'll return to her real work, but first she needs to lay some things to rest. First she needs to say goodbye._

 **Keeva**

She can barely believe her eyes. Jane is holding something far beyond what even the best quarian weapon smiths are capable of. She's holding a sword of incomparable quality. The blade is a full meter long with a slight curve to it. The forward edge is perfectly smooth and razor sharp but it is the back of the blade the is truly intimidating. There are several vicious serrations along the back, each sharpened to a razors edge. The blade would likely pierce a body cleanly, but upon being removed, it would rip free in a torrent of gore. Some kind of script is engraved along the length of the blade, but she can't understand it. It's written in unfamiliar alien runes.

What makes it even harder to read is the dark black blade. The blade is so dark that it seems to absorb light from its surroundings. There are strange lines running down the length and these twinkle slightly under the lights. Keeva's auto-scan software picks up abundant amounts of biotically sensitive alloys. These materials will allow her to channel her power through the blade. In the base of the sword, inside the pommel, Keeva picks up a powerful stasis field, and within it is a single drop of human blood.

Jane walks up to Keeva and extends her arms, "Keeva, will you hold my sword for a moment." She puts her hands under the blade and Jane lets it settle into her grip. Keeva is almost driven to her knees by the surprising weight of the sword. It has to weigh almost thirty kilos, but it's perfectly balanced. As she regains her own balance Jane moves to the pod and casts a tiny mote of biotic power to lift the shroud.

She looks into Sara's serene face for several minutes before raising a hand to the surface over her face. She lets loose more power and carves a rune over Sara's face. Keeva's auto scan takes several seconds to identify the symbol as an ancient krogan rune. There are numerous meanings but the most meaningful, the most agreed upon, makes Keeva's heart ache. Jane has carved a symbol for 'mother' over Sara's face. Tears clean twin trails down Jane's face as she moves the shroud back into place. Keeva holds the blade out and Jane takes it back.

 **Mirdan**

Jane turns to him and gives him what he's been so desperate for these last few days, "Mirdan… you need to leave Omega. The Wake knows you've been helping me, and they'll be coming after you." He almost argues until Jane drives it home, "Please take Sara home. Please don't make her rest in this terrible place. Don't make her rest on Omega." It takes him a moment to understand. It's a way forward, at least for a time. It a new purpose. Perhaps taking Sara home can help him find a new reason to keep going.

He steps up to Jane and looks her in the eye, "I promise you, Sara will make her way home."

 **Jane**

 _Her heart feels hollow as she takes both Mirdan and Keeva in a crushing hug. She holds them for several minutes, all three of them staying quiet. After setting them down she turns to Vollo. 'Thank you for making something so beautiful for Sara. How much does it cost. I'll pay whatever you want.' The hanar has dozens of rapid flashes before answering._

' _This one did not create this piece of art for its own benefit. This one believes the honorable fallen deserve love and respect. This one refuses to accept any monetary compensation for its effort. The only payment this one will accept is the continued friendship of the lovely ones before him.' She beams a broad smile at him and takes a few of his tentacle in a hug. He makes several more flashes before she releases him._

' _Keeva, where is my plating.' The quarian leads Jane into her favorite armor workshop. Her plates are mounted on a mannequin, and they're more wonderful than ever. They're thicker and the coverage is more extensive than ever. She can see several are connected with hydraulic machinery._

' _I've been upgrading everything I can. It's more durable than ever and now it has powered joints. It will boost your strength and speed even further. The new shields will recharge faster than ever.' Keeva runs through several other minor improvements as she helps Jane into her armor. It's heavier than before, at least until the servos start pulling power from the new generator Keeva's added. After that, the armor is feather light. A new plate provides better cover for her neck and by extension, the pink friend she keeps tucked into its place at her back. Despite all the damage that she had personally taken, her hanar was still in one piece, even if it was a little dirty._

 _She slots her new blade into her scabbard and is relieved that it fit despite being made for a different sword. 'You should leave too Keeva. They might not know who you are yet, but eventually they'll figure it out. I can't lose you too.'_

 _Keeva takes Jane's hand to answer her, 'Jane, I do intend to leave Omega, but only when my pilgrimage gift is complete. That will take a few months. Until my gift is ready, I'll be right here, helping you every chance I get.' Jane looks sad as she nods._

 _After she's fully geared up she steps to the exit, 'Goodbye Keeva. I'll stay in touch.'_

' _Good luck Jane.'_

 **Mirdan**

He's gathering his things and getting ready to call in a few favours to get him off the station with his precious cargo. Jane marches into the room, her armor more imposing than ever. It's still a mix of dark red and black highlights, but the plates are thicker and she's a little bit taller inside them. Her weapons have been repaired and remounted. She's almost certainly about to resume her crusade, "Mirdan, is there anything you need from your clinic."

He shakes his head, "By now it will have been picked clean. Besides, it's doubtful that I'll return... It's time to move on." He hangs his head in sorrow as Jane steps closer and embraces him again.

"Thank you... for everything. Goodbye Mirdan." She slots her helmet home and steps back into the streets of Omega.

 **Jane**

 _She makes her way back to the clinic through her tunnel and is mortified by what she sees. The clinic has been torn apart and everything worth anything has been stolen. Even the trash has been taken. There's literally nothing left to take but that's not why she's here._

 _She'd come for Sara. The body was with Mirdan and Keeva but this was where she died. This is where her spirit is, so Jane came to say goodbye. She offers up a few prayers to spur her spirit into the beyond. She starts to leave, but a sound stops her. There a high pitched whine coming from outside, along with several cackling laughs. She steps outside to find the source._

 _There's a pack of vorcha inside the remains of her totem circle. Some are eating scraps of flesh from the defiled corpses still mounted on the towers. Three of them are circled around an animal, each taking turns kicking. The terrible mewling is coming from whatever the Vorcha are abusing and it pisses Jane off. She stomps over to them and several turn to hiss at her. One particularly brave piece of shit steps forward, 'Leave filthy human! This our food. This our find!'_

 _It swipes its claws at her and she grabs its wrist. It angry growling warps into a hideous shriek as she crushes its wrist. As if falls to its knees, the others turn in confusion at this strange turn. She grabs its shoulder in her left hand and with her right, she rips the arm free. The rest flee in terror as their leader falls to the ground pouring blood from the ruined stump. Jane moves to the poor creature they hand been abusing._

 _It's a varren, and a fairly young if she's any judge. It's scales haven't even fully formed, the pale grey skin is still soft and thin. Its back legs are broken in multiple places and there are deep cuts all along its back. One of its eyes has been reduced to a bloody mess. The poor creature struggles to crawl away and she can feel the terror radiating from it. Its suffering so much it hurts to witness. She draws her sword and raises it to put the poor thing out of its misery. Before she can drive it down, one of the voices inside calls out. Her mind is filled with memories that aren't her own. Images of a similar creature are prevalent and she puts up her blade._

 _She kneels down next to the whimpering varran and injects a heavy dose of medi-gel and gathers some energy in her hands. Following the voice's instructions she uses her biotics to pull the creature's bones back into their proper shape and she uses tiny bits of energy to fuse them together. She carefully removes the ruined remains of its left eye and adds medi-gel to all of its cuts. It's whimpers are slowly disappearing as she heals its injuries. When she's done, the varren shakily gets to its feet and look at her with its remaining eye. It keeps low to the ground, almost bowing to her. She tries to wave it off, 'Go on. Get going." It just stares at her, drooling into a puddle beneath it, until a scraping sound drags both their attention to the side._

 _The vorcha she'd maimed is desperately trying to sneak away. The varren looks to her panting with its tongue hanging out. The strange memories are telling her that it's actually looking to her for approval. She points to the vocha and growls. The animal lets loose a high pitched howl before charging over. Its prey shrieks in fear as her new friend bounds over. It crouches in front of the vorcha, growling with its teeth bared. She walks to stand behind the vorcha and the varren looks to her again. She nods and the creature unhinges its jaw and takes its prey's entire head into its maw. The vorcha struggles the whole time, right until the varren clamps down hard and rips the head free._

 _It swallows the head whole and plods over to Jane. She gives it a pat on the head before heading out. It whimpers as she walks away, so Jane turns back and waves it on. It yips excitedly and bounds after her, the two of them taking off into ducts, leaving behind the ruins of Mirdan's clinic._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 - Dark Legend**

 _Date_ _: 8.29.2167_

 _Location_ _: Afterlife_

 **Aria**

The queen is not happy. She's put up with a lot over the last few months, indulged a number of people's personal crusades, but this is beyond the pale. She'd commissioned Orb Weaver to record as many of the girl's battles as possible. She wanted to keep an eye on her development and scout out any exploitable weaknesses. Not only has this newest video revealed just how powerful and difficult to kill the girl is, but it has also shown just how good the Red Wake is at keeping secrets. She'd had no clue that there had been an Ardat-Yakshi on the station working for the Wake. Aria had always made it a personal goal to track these monsters whenever possible, but this one had slipped through unnoticed. This asari had never come up in her reports on the Wake. How many more monsters do they have up their sleeves?

That alone would be enough for concern, but the thing that well and truly had Aria apprehensive was the creature's fate. She'd never heard of someone escaping an Ardat-Yakshi after they began a meld and yet, this little human girl had. What's far worse is what she did in response. It looked as if the human had reversed the meld and fed upon the asari. The resulting corpse was little more than dry husk, not fit even for the lowest scavengers of Omega. For a child to reverse an Ardat-Yakshi's attack so completely she would have to have a will beyond anyone Aria had ever known and enough power to challenge even her.

Her apprehension is why Patriarch is back before her despite their ongoing trouble with the Wake. "Tell me, why shouldn't I kill her? She's tearing through mercs like paper and when she runs out, I doubt she'll stop. A killer that powerful doesn't just stop when they finish a goal. They seek out a new one and start all over again. So, I'll ask again. Why shouldn't I kill her?" The old man carefully gathers his thoughts before responding.

"Because trying and failing to kill her would probably destroy the station." Aria's scowl barely conceals her true feelings. She had already known that but was unwilling to admit it. "Right now she's only hitting people that we can do without. She's focused on it like a laser. But, if we interfere, we'll dilute that focus and she'll probably go wild. Ya we could probably kill her eventually, but the damage she would do before that… we'd probably never recover from. Why shouldn't you kill her? Because, in the end, it would cripple us." She glares at the old lizard for a while, mulling over what he's said.

"So what should we do? Just let the little monster run around shredding people until she gets bored and picks a new target?"

"The best thing to do is let her keep up her hunt. Then when the Wake is completely crippled, we find some way to convince her to leave the station. Hell, I've got a few alliance contacts that we could trick into coming for her. All we'd have to do is tell them she's an escaped slave that's been fighting her captors. Their high command would go nuts over a PR boost like that." It's a decent idea and, even though she hates to admit it even to herself, she doesn't have a better one.

"Fine. We leave her alone for now. But I want her off this station as soon as the Wake is finished. You hear me. The second she finishes them off, **I want her gone.** " He nods his assent and leaves her to her thoughts. She spends hours ignoring the bleating of her men as they ask for advice on a dozen different and meaningless issues.

She needs to step things up around Omega. The people need to know that she's the one who's pushing out the Wake. They need to believe it with every fibre of their being… even if it's a total crock of shit.

 _Date_ _: 10.2.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Emporium_

 **Keeva**

She's almost finished her pilgrimage gift. In a few weeks she'll be ready to return home, but she's honesty not sure she wants to, at least not yet. She's doing so well for herself. With the huge amount of business she does, she could probably buy a brand new starship and use that as her gift. It would take at least another year though, and things are starting to heat up on the station.

She knows that more than a dozen full scale gun battles are raging in Gozu and Kima right now. Aria's been throwing men at the Wake for weeks and to the casual observer it looks like she's winning. Keeva knows truth. Weaver has been giving her updates on the real battles being fought. The people of Omega are becoming more fearful all the time. Every week brings to light a new massacre, and the Red Wake aren't the only ones dying in droves. Entire gangs have been found torn to pieces. The Dredge had been blasted into space when the outer wall of their base had vanished in a golden haze. Toffrath and his Marauders had been eaten alive in their own arena after their pet klixen had been set loose. Teravin, Kenzo's Green Prince, had died a week later, reduced to a limbless torso covered in bite marks. These were but paltry distractions compared to the Wake's loses. Their hideouts were repeatedly being reduced to hideous abattoirs. The dead in these places were often disemboweled or skinned, sometimes both. Jane's symbol always ended up drawn or carved somewhere, often made with blood or something torn from a body.

Keeva herself had almost been caught the week before. A Red Wake informant had spotted her moving through the markets in Tuhi. She wasn't in danger until she made the mistake of taking a call from Mirdan. Apparently, the Wake's spies had memorized all the details available about Jane and her associates and the call had been enough to prove that Keeva was one of them. She'd bolted as they approached and had almost been caught when Jane had shown up. The girl hadn't been by in weeks but she had kept sending in loot for sale, and asking for some strange gear to be made in the process. Jane had commissioned new plating and shield units but the designs hadn't made any sense, at least until she'd seen her in the market.

Jane's been changing. She's far more imposing than before. She hasn't gotten much taller but her demeanor has shifted to a far darker place. She doesn't talk as much, her temper is short, and she never stops her hunt. The bodies she leaves behind are never in one piece and she usually nails up at least one target torn into four. She's even started to paint her face before going into a fight, usually from the vial of blood she takes from each major kill.

Another, far more peculiar change, is Jane's new companion in the field. It's the animal currently drooling a river on her floor. Jane had somehow befriended a varren and the two had torn into the mercs chasing Keeva with wild abandon. Once all but one was dead, Jane took hold of the survivor, broke his legs, and dumped the salarian in front of her pet before calling out a command, "Tor'sund!" At that, the beast unhinged its jaw, tore the screaming merc's head off, and swallowed it whole.

Jane's varren is positively terrifying. The girl insists that it's still a juvenile, but it already has tusks as long as Keeva's hand. The spines on its back form two rows and each has a luminescent tip. Her varren's talons are constantly digging furrows in the plating on Keeva's floor but Jane always uses her biotics to fix the holes. It's sporting dark red scales that are still coming in and it has blue striping on it's belly. The odd creature only has one eye, a large orb that glows faintly and is constantly shifting in color. Sometimes it shines bright blue, and other times it burns in a fiery red. Jane says that it shifts with the brutes mood. Right now it is a mute violet and the animal is panting heavily as it stares blankly ahead. It really is an odd looking varren. Despite learning commands from Jane with shocking ease, the animal seems a little… dumb. She's seen Jane toss food to it and instead of catching it, the food will smack into its face, slide to the floor, and then the creature will notice. It also has a disturbing tendency to lick it's own eye.

This limited intelligence makes it quite pliable, at least for Jane who is currently working a special harness around the beast's body. After getting all the straps locked in place, Jane starts mounting the peculiar armor that Keeva has been making. It's not as advanced as Jane's, but that hadn't been the point. The girl had just wanted some sturdy plates and shields for her disturbingly large 'little buddy'. The plating was heavier than Jane's but the animal was more than strong enough to heft it. Jane would undoubtedly run it through training to help it learn to handle the new weight. She'd also asked Keeva to add some mounts on the back plates so it could carry a satchel for loot. Keeva was _definitely_ looking forward to receiving deliveries via drooling varren. The creature left behind so much spittle that Jane had dubbed the lovable oaf 'Spits'.

"The armor is heavier than yours, but these plates will deflect almost anything short of cannon fire. The shield is just like yours. If a shot can't kill you, then it can't kill Spits." Jane offers one of her increasingly rare smiles and gives the animal a scratch under the chin. "Where are you off to now?"

"Fumi. Major Red Wake troop landings are inbound and I've got something special planned." She leaves without another word. Spits rubs against Keeva's leg for a moment before sprinting after Jane.

 _Date_ _: 10.3.2167_

 _Location_ _: Fumi District_

 **Kratch**

"How long?"

"First ship is landing five. Two through ten are reporting some kind of nav glitch. They'll be an hour late." Kratch can't believe this crap. Delay after delay after delay and Jortan was constantly blaming him. Pirates hijack a weapons shipment, it's Kratch's fault. A thresher maw eats a batch of slaves, it's Kratch's fault. The little monster inspires a cult, it's Kratch's fault. That last one really pissed him off. How the hell was he supposed to stop that. Doth and his maniacs were running around Omega, screaming about how she was the avatar of some demon god. The psychos were getting in the way left and right. Some were even stepping between her and the Wake, foiling more than one assassination attempt again at the girl. Kratch had ordered them gunned down on sight, but more were popping up every week. Doth's bounty was only eclipsed by the girl herself.

She's killing them faster than they can believe. Their best estimate put her kill count at seven hundred eighty Wake members and almost half that from their supporting gangs. She has killed so many, that it was almost impossible to find new recruits. Most of Omega knew that the Wake was being hunted to extinction. Jortan's increasingly crazed behavior wasn't helping. He's taken to praying… praying, for some kind of divine intervention and the boys aren't amused. Defections are rampant, but even that doesn't seem to stop her. She's killing anyone and everyone that they associate with. Gun runners, drug dealers, slavers, snitches, even the few landscapers they had commissioned, had all been slaughtered like animals.

Kratch has had to resort to bringing in even more brothers from outside Omega. The five hundred Jortan had summoned were almost spent, most of them rotting in yet another of her increasingly brutal temples or inside the belly of that horrible beast of hers. The varren had become part of her legend, with her cult declaring it the 'Hound of Akshar'. It was almost as feared as her sword. The more insane mercs said she wielded a blade of sharped void and could steal your soul with a single cut. Her cult had taken to calling it 'Abyss' and the name had stuck.

These new arrivals made up half of the Wakes remaining strength. Twelve hundred men, spread throughout ten ships. They'd worked hard to try and keep this landing secret but that had yet to work. Somehow, she always knew when they were getting reinforcements. She'd wait until the landing and sneak onto a ship. The narrow confines would let her tear into them while their numbers couldn't be brought to bear. This time would be different. They'd sent men to the docking bays in Carrd with orders to make ready for reinforcements. Kratch had personally sent out a few lightly encrypted signals to indicate where these pseudo reinforcements would be landing. While the human is distracted, Kratch can unload the real reinforcements.

The thought is the only thing keeping him calm as the first transport approaches the dock, "Bay 03 control, this is Wake transport 22-1, request permission to dock and offload passengers."

Kratch's response is clipped and irritated, "Yes, yes dammit. Just pull in and drop. We don't have all day." The pilot copies and starts pulling in. At fifty meters Kratch sees something out of place. At first he thinks it's a trick of the light, as a small red dot pans across the side of the transport. His mistake doesn't become apparent until the missile slams into the ship. It was aimed with perfection, striking right at a critical power junction. The port engine is blown off in a shower of wreckage and the eezo core shines through. Kratch is struggling to figure out what to do when three more missiles slam into the now exposed core. The ensuing blast sends a spider web of cracks flashing across the glass of the dock's control room.

Air can be heard hissing out and Kratch slams his helmet on. He and his guards run for the door, tripping over themselves whilst making their escape. Kratch struggles to get out from under his men before the sound of metal slicing through meat stops him. He looks up and sees a dark red pair of armored boots and a abyssal black blade stabs into the ground. A brutal grip seizes him by the throat and he comes face to face with the creature that has haunted his nightmares for weeks. Her faceplate is retracted and he can see the blood painted across her features. She holds him by the throat for several minutes, never fully cutting off his circulation. Her varren circles, leaving a trail of drool behind it. Its tusks are painted in gore of multiple hues and its tongue is constantly lolling in his direction. So… this is the day he dies. "I won't tell you anything freak, so you might as well kill me." The grip tightens and he can feel his windpipe buckling.

"Who said I needed you to tell me something?" She keeps her unblinking eyes locked with his. "I've been patched into your network for weeks. You idiots have been telling me everything I need to know."

His mind reels. Weeks! If that's true… "Then why… Why am I… still alive?"

"That's a good question Kratch. Why are you still alive?" She loosens her grip just enough for him to breathe easier.

"The fuck is this? Some Kind of power play. You like playing god you freak? Why don't you trot off back to whatever hell you came from and take that filthy monster with you?!" The varren is snarling at him, but the girl just lightly smiles as she draws her blade from the ground and holds it beneath his groin.

"No, I just needed you to talk for a bit. My mimic software needed some more samples." With that she release her grip on his throat and he falls onto the blade. It's quick, but he feels every instant as he's effortlessly sliced in half from crotch to crown.

 **Jane**

 _She's already moving on as the two slices of weakling fall to the ground. Kratch had been a particularly pathetic enemy and had let her into his comm network with barely any effort, thanks to his lax attitude towards security and several helpful cyber attacks from Weaver. It was insulting that this idiot had been the one tasked with stopping her. Just another boost to her already towering fury. She has what she needed from him however, and now the payback for such a grievous insult was possible. She'd been getting ready for it since Weaver had warned her about the new shipment of grunts and now she finally gets to cut loose. It took weeks to capture and move so many varren. Not to mention the other special surprises._

 _She cycles up her mimic software for transmission and calls to the rest of the expected transports. She carefully chooses what she's about to say as she watches the splatters of frozen gore drift from the shattered remains of transport 22-1. It warms her heart to see so many of the bastards dead, but the main course is still to come. Her voice is altered by Keeva's latest tech upgrade, 'Transport convoy Wake 22, this Bay 03 control, please respond.' Kratch's voice is sent through and she waits for a response._

 _She doesn't wait long, 'Bay 03 control, this is convoy Wake 22, are we still clear to make our approach?' She can barely contain her laughter as she responds._

' _Negative Wake 22, Bay 03 is currently on lockdown. Transport 22-1 is currently under attack by enemy forces. We are rerouting you to a secondary site, code name Hudson. Sending coordinates and confirmation codes now. On arrival disembark immediately. You'll receive updated orders then. After acknowledging this, go radio silent. We cannot risk any further contact before arrival. Confirm command.' She's trembling with excitement over the coming slaughter. She's a little concerned over just how good it feels to tear into them, but she doesn't think much of it._

' _Bay 03 control, we acknowledge new objective. On route to Hudson. Going silent.'_

 _The channel closes as she reloads her launcher and slides it back into Spits' satchel. Spits just happily stares, and once the launcher is secure the two of them sprint away. They only have an hour before the ships arrive and she doesn't want to miss a single second of the fun to come. Besides, she has a very special call to make before it begins._

 **Jortan**

Soon he'll have an army large enough to finish this. He hasn't had any proper sleep since he'd realized just what he was fighting. To think that it would be him, Jortan Vesk, to stop the end of all things. He just needs his army and he can drown to demon in blood. It doesn't matter how many die. All That matters is stopping the demon.

Kratch is a little late on his call but Jortan can let it slide this time. So long as everything moves along just fine.

His command center is bustling as his men prepare for the huge influx of new blood. They'll need to sort out proper command lines and make sure the outsiders know their place. Once the demon is dead, he might even have enough men left to resume the war against Aria. He kept the bitch busy with pseudo fights here and there. Thankfully she was still so full of herself that she hadn't figured out how weak they really were and soon it won't matter. He's worked himself into a good mood by the time one of his underlings patches in a comm feed claiming it's from Kratch. He puts the video feed up on the main viewer, but there's a problem. That sight on the screen isn't bay 03. It isn't even one of their docks.

The scene before them is of a large, oval shaped area stretching for about a hundred meters from end to end. It looks like an arena, with ten foot high walls rising from the ground and tiered seats above that. At the end opposite the video feed, he can see nine troop ships docked with a surprisingly spacious airlock network. Men are marching out of each ship in disciplined ranks, forming up in good order at the center of the arena. "Is there audio? Get the feed going!" His heart is pounding a ferocious beat as a terrible feeling settles in his gut. No… no it can't be… _Her_ doing. The sound starts coming through and for a moment he relaxes. It's just Kratch calling out orders, but he still couldn't reconcile the change in landing site. Maybe something had happened at 03.

Kratch sends out another call to the assembling mercenaries, "Attention, attention. All units assemble by squad in the marked area. Orders will soon be dispersed, but first we prepare for an address from our leader." What? He hadn't said anything about making some speech to these idiots. "Jortan has something important to tell you." His heart skips a beat as the speaker steps into view. She's using Kratch's voice, but it's _Her_.

"Don't you Jortan?" The creature that he's been fighting against for months is standing in a staging area with his army, a disturbing smile on her face. "No? Well then, let me tell **you** something. Six weeks ago, your bastards murdered someone special to me. She was the first person to ever behave like a mother towards me. She was the first person that ever loved me as something other than a science experiment. Sara is dead because of you." He can feel the color draining from his face. He knows this little monster isn't stupid. She's got something planned. Something bad.

"I want you to know something. This transmission is being routed to every add sign across five districts. Millions will hear what I'm about to say and they'll see what's about to happen." She takes a few steps back from the camera. Jortan gets a good look at her and her hideous pet. The girl and her varren are adorned in red and black armor. In one hand she's holding a blade of the deepest black and in the other is a small device with a red cap.

She stands tall and declares to half the station, "The Red Wake are my prey. I'm going to hunt them down and slaughter them all. Anyone who helps them will die. Anyone who gets in my way will die. Anyone who sides with them **will die** … And to the lovely scum themselves. Run… hide… fight… it doesn't matter. One day you'll look over your shoulder and I'll be there. One day you'll look into the shadows and I'll be there. One day you'll wake from a nightmare about me and **I'LL. BE. THERE.** There is only one way that you will survive my hate. Throwing down your weapons is not enough. The only way to live is to turn on the rest of the Red Wake. You want to live, bathe in the blood of the Wake scum standing next to you, and pile their heads in the street. I demand blood."

Jortan's men are eyeing each other suspiciously. Several keep their hands on their guns. The girl's eyes are glowing brightly and her smile has grown even more manic "And for Jortan, I've got something special. Watch closely, you don't wanna miss this." She flips the cap on the item in her left hand and he finally realizes what it is. "A gift for you." The girl depresses the trigger and the arena is engulfed in fire.

 **Jane**

 _Best two hundred thousand she's ever spent. Keeva had sent her to an explosives expert and Jane had bought dozens of charges. Claymore's, thermite charges, plasma geyser packs, and old school C-4. It's brought about of the most beautiful sights Jane's ever seen. Dozens of charges blow in deluge of fire and shrapnel. Hundreds of men are torn into pieces. Heads and limbs are sent flying in all directions. Blood paints huge swathes of the arena floor in a riot of color. Screams sound out as men are burned alive._

 _She can hear the survivors calling for help and few authoritative voices demanding that their men get to cover. It's chaos down there and she's just getting started. She looks to her scaley buddy and asks, 'So Spits, should we introduce them to our friends?' Spits stares blankly at her panting heavily, as he drools a torrent on the ground. 'That's what I thought.' She uses her omni-tool to trigger her next surprise. Howls sound out from the dozen animal pens built into the arena walls as nine packs of varren bolt from their confinement. She'd had a hell of a time tracking down enough healthy varren for this little show but it was totally worth it._

 _The packs of brutes had been reasonably well fed, but as Spits had shown her, varren always had room for more. Especially after you sprayed a special chemical formula that mimicked their mating pheromone. She'd stuffed olfactory suppressors into Spits' nose to keep him safe. It would drive the animals into a reproductive frenzy in the presence of female's, but without them, the varren would go berserk and tear apart any other animal nearby. While the surviving mercs still had numbers on their side, the smoke blinded them to the incoming threat and most had been deafened by the blasts. The already loud screams redoubled in volume and terror as the packs crash into the mercs. Men are shredded by the beasts' wild rampage as Jane turns back to the camera, 'I'd love to chat some more, but I'll be joining the fun now. Don't worry Jortan. Some day, I'll make sure to pay you a visit.' With her call finished, she dives into the arena with Spits right behind her as they charge into the fray. The camera is still rolling as she slams into the first merc._

 **Jortan**

Intellectually, they all knew how dangerous she was, but none of them had ever seen it live. Her first target is a batarian trying to rally his men. An overhead strike from Abyss effortlessly cuts him in two. Next to that, her varren is busy biting another man's legs off. They two of them move deeper into the melee, the varren tackling and mauling anyone that tries to get behind her. Several men line up clean shots on the beast, but to Jortan's bug eyed astonishment, every shot bounces off a thin blue field. Even her damn varren has a shield! "Somebody, send fire support…" His own voice sounds like it's coming from a mile away. None of his men respond so he starts shouting, "Dammit you idiots! Get the gunships in the air and strafe that arena… NOW!" A few men move to comply and Jortan goes back to watching the massacre.

The camera has been smoothly tracking her movements. Currently the girl is sawing a krogan's head off with her blade's serrated edge. The krogan is desperately struggling but her varren is gnawing off his arm. Once the last scrap of tissue is cut through, she holds up the grizzly trophy and wildly howls into the air. The wild varren all around her keep their distance. They can recognize an alpha life form and keep clear. Ten minutes in and Jortan can finally hear the engines of his gunships over the line.

 **Jane**

 _She hadn't been expecting it, but she is ready for it. She lets out a huge blast of biotic energy to give her some breathing room. Spits sidles up to her and she pulls her reloaded launcher from his satchel. The gunships are already strafing the arena as she scores a target lock. The missiles spear out in rapid succession, each hurtling towards a different target. Two slam home and each sends a gunship crashing town in a fiery heap. The third screams by and detonates harmlessly. The surviving gunship had dodged and now banks around for another pass. She drops the spent launcher and throws up a barrier. The gunship's cannons tear twin lines through what's left of the mercs, killing dozens. A surge of rounds slam into her barrier and it almost breaks as the ship flashes overhead._

 _She needs to end this quick. Those cannons are draining her too easily. She triggers her final surprise and yells to Spits, 'Kalta!' The animal sprints away to the high ground, to hide in one of the safe areas she'd made for him. She needs him protected for this to work. The ground is starting to shake as her final surprise approaches. Jane almost couldn't believe it when she found it in the cages below._

 _Toffrath must have spent a fortune to care for the creature and the records she found indicated that the entire arena had been built with this animal in mind. The gunship swoops in one more time a hovers thirty meters away from her. She can see its missiles cycling into place as its engines shake the ground beneath it. She stays perfectly still and braces for what's coming. A flurry of missles are set loose and flash towards her. She knows better this time. Once more time slows to a crawl and she starts working out their flight paths. Most sail right past as she leaps out the way and she traps the last in the line within a biotic bubble. The rest detonate well away from her as she hurls the golden bubble back at the gunship. It blows apart just before reaching the aircraft, doing little damage, but finally luring Toffrath's pet out of the ground. In a geyser of dirt, a juvenile thresher maw breaks from the ground and slams into the gunships belly. The great worm's mandibles stab through the plating and shred its crew. The gunship tries to pull up, but the maw belches a torrent of acid before letting go. The animal crashes to the ground and quickly burrows back into the dirt as the gunship spirals out of control and cannons into the arena wall. Its remaining ordinance cooks off and hurls fire and shrapnel a hundred meters. The surviving varren bolt away through the new opening in the walls and the last squad of mercs still moving manage to climb out of the pit._

 _She leaps up there herself and cuts off their retreat. One raises his gun and fires, bouncing a dozen bullets off her shields. She casts out her power and pulls him to her. A fast slice of her blade removes the batarian's hands and she fuses the stumps with a warp. The rest throw down their guns and put up their hands. They'd heard her declaration but apparently didn't get it, 'You know that's not enough!' They look at each other in horror. 'The last two left standing get to leave! Refuse and you share this one's fate!' She rams her black blade into the batarian's stomach. She holds him still and makes eye contact with each of the survivors as she rips the blade out. The serrations drag most of his intestines out in a flood of blood and viscera._

 _It breaks their hesitance and one of them stabs a dagger into the chin of the man next to him. The rest of the squad draws their knifes and they tear into each other. They stab, kick, punch, and bite their fellow mercenaries. Men are gutted and throats are slashed. When only two are left, she calls Spits over. The varren crouches next to her and lets loose a bone rattling snarl at them. The turian survivor pleads with her, 'Wait! You said we could leave!'_

' _You're not done yet.' She points to the bodies and drags a finger across her throat. The two men balk at this. It's too much for the human and he tries to run away while the turian stays rooted in place. She glares at the turian and shouts, 'Tor'vath!' Spits runs down the human and latches onto one of his legs. The man falls on his face and tries to get away as Spits proceeds to savage his legs, swallowing the pieces he rips free. The man keeps screaming as he's slowly eaten alive._

 _Spits keeps on eating as she reminds the turian of the needed task, 'Get. To. Work.' He picks up a dagger and starts sawing off his comrades heads. Once they're piled up, he stands up on shaking legs and looks at her with haunted eyes. She stomps over and gently kicks him in the chest. He's hurled to the ground and she straddles his chest. He tries to plead but she puts a finger over his faceplates, 'Don't worry… you'll be fine. I just want to give you a little present to remember today. I'll be gentle." She pulls out her own knife and brings it to the man's face. Her left hand holds his mouth shut as she goes to work. The knife has a special reservoir of maw acid that seeps through a spout at its tip. The acid takes her careful carving and burns it into his plates. Without it, the plates would heal, but the acid will make sure it stays for life. Most surgeons on the station would recognize it and refuse to help. It might get them labeled as a Wake collaborator._

 _Once her symbol is beaming from his forehead, she stands up and pulls him to his feet. He is struck mute by pain and fear, and he's soiled himself. 'Go on. Get going. If you're still here in five minutes, I'll let Spits eat some of your fingers.' The turian looks over at her varren who has finished his other meal and is currently glaring at him whilst licking the blood from his tusks. It's all the encouragement the man needs to bolt away. He scrambles to the exit and disappears. 'Come on spits, let's see if there's any good loot.' She presses a final trigger on her omni-tool. A signal is beamed into the underbelly of the arena and the maw returns to its pen. The signal will keep the creature away while she scours the field._

 _These mercs weren't as well off as the usual fare. Most had basic garbage common to any other freelancing idiot. The only good gear comes from the officers. She recovers a few claymores and even three mattock rifles. The real windfall comes from the armor mods. She scores some high quality medical mods and dozens of medi-gel shots. Some of the bodies even have some expensive jewelry. Vollo has mentioned more than once that he'd pay for some high quality jewelry. She fills one Satchel with stuff to sell and mounts it on Spits' back before writing instructions down on it. She'd been teaching spits some safe routes through Omega and it was time to really test him. 'Hey Spits.' The big oaf turns its head back and happily drools while waiting for her to continue, 'Vitha Keeva'. He lets loose a howl before sprinting out of the arena. Hopefully he keeps to the routes she taught him. She fills a second satchel with few item she wants to keep. When she's done, she walks back to the camera, waves goodbye, and destroy it with a casual wave of biotics._

 _She quietly sings to herself as she heads back to her new base. The song is the one Sara used to sing to her. It doesn't make her happy but it does help her maintain focus. In battle, she could ignore the pain in her torso, skin, and head. When the fighting ended the adrenaline would dissipate and she would have trouble putting one foot in front of the other without lashing out at everything around her. It was always bad, but ever since that fucking asari had forced her way into Jane's mind, something has changed. She's hearing the voices more frequently than ever and she keeps seeing memories that aren't hers. The fact that she barely sleeps anymore isn't helping. She's not sure, but it feels like there's something she's supposed to find on Omega. The voices keep pushing her on, goading her to keep searching. She's taken to praying for something to show the way. She doubts it will help but Sara had always done it and it seemed to help her stay happy. Jane keeps on singing as she makes her way into the ducts. She'll contact an animal sanctuary to come rescue the baby maw later._

 **Jortan**

He's lost. Even the fucking beasts bow to her whim and it's shattered the Wake. That transmission had gone out to almost every man in his army and now most of them were ripping off their armor and slaughtering each other. The men with him in the command center were his closest confidants and only two had turned. Once they were dead, the rest had looked to him for instruction. There was only one thing to do, one way to recover and eventually stop her, "We have to fall back." No one argues. They know how bad things are. "Tell everyone in Zeta to start packing up. Talk man to man. Zero comm use or she'll find out. We take everything that isn't nailed down and we regroup with the rest of the Wake off of Omega. We'll rebuild and then come back for the monster."

Hassen is the only one that doesn't get to work right away. The human had been a good foil for him, the 'devil's advocate' as he called himself. He was an expert and finding the flaws in plans and Jortan knew what he was going to say. "You know she'll find out. With Aria pressing all over and spies turning on us left and right, you know this will take a while if we want to avoid being caught."

"Ya I do, but it doesn't matter. Do whatever it takes to keep this quiet. Deploy everyone outside of Zeta who's still loyal. Tell them we snuck in twice as many men elsewhere and that the offensive is about to begin. Tell them whatever they'll believe." Hassen nods and gets to work. He'll make it off this station and rally a new army, maybe from Khar'shan itself. Even if he has to sacrifice the every last one of his men to make it happen.

This day will mark the station for years to come. It was the day that Akshar killed an army with a wave of her hand.

 _Date_ _: 10.3.2167_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Emporium_

 **Keeva**

She's reading the manual for her new plasma welder when she hears the door open. She turns to see who it is and is greeted by the sight of a varren face less than a foot from her own. She almost leaps out of her skin and falls off her stool onto her backside. It's not until she gets a better look that she realizes that it's just Spits. The varren is staring blankly ahead as Keeva gets back to her feet. His satchel is full and there's a note tied to one of his spines along with a small black bag. He keeps panting and drooling as she takes the note. It reads 'Hey Keeva, got some more loot to sell. Go ahead and keep whatever you want. Once the satchel is empty, please make sure that the black bag is still tight and closed. It's some stuff that Vollo offered to buy. All you need to do to send Spits on his way is say _Vitha Vollo._ He'll know what to do. P.S. please give him a melon before you send him on his way. He's been a good boy.'

Keeva carefully empties the satchel and re-secures the black bag. After that she pulls one of the 'water melons' than Jane had paid for and sets it front of Spits. He drags his tongue across the melon and then clamps onto it. He pulls the entire thing into his maw and swallows it whole. He gently nuzzles her hand and she gives him Jane's command, "Uh… Vitha… Vitha Vollo." Spits howls lightly and sprints away. He's out of sight in moments. Her cleaning drone gets to work on the puddle of drool left in his wake.

A beep from her omni-tool gets her attention. The scans she'd taken of Jane earlier have finally been analyzed and the results are bizarre. She heads to her comm room and punches in the channel Mirdan had given her. The two had kept in touch and she was glad to see that he seemed to be rebounding, though Sara's death still haunted him. "Ah Keeva, lovely to see you again."

"Hello Mirdan. I just finished running Jane's latest scans through the programs you left." Mirdan had asked her to keep up on Jane's med scans so he could monitor her health. "You were right. The implants aren't finished yet. The original eight are slowly expanding but that's not the reason I called. There's a new formation in her brain. I ran it through every piece of software you left and they all point to one thing. Jane has grown a ninth implant." Mirdan is sitting stock still and his eyes are roaming in all directions as he tries to puzzle through it.

"Are there any indications as to what this new implant may do?"

"The analysis says that the growth is similar to the portion of an asari's brain responsible for allowing a meld between two individuals, but this growth is far more complex."

"If this is true, then Jane may be able it initiate a meld. She may even be capable of far more than that. I have a colleague in asari space. She's something of an expert in the field. Send me the data and I'll speak with her. Hopefully this is something she can help Jane learn to use safely or at least keep it under control." The salarian starts to give his customary goodbye, but Keeva isn't done yet.

"Wait, there's more." Mirdan is listening intently, "I'm not completely sure, but if I understand the data then Jane has had at least three more implants sprout in the last month. These new bio structures are growing in her liver, lungs, and brain. None of them have reached maturity yet and I have no idea what they'll do when fully grown."

"I may need to involve my nephew further as his analytical skills are greater than my own. Tell no one any of this. She has enough problems. Keep scanning her at every opportunity. In fact, I'm sending you a new bio monitoring program. Convince Jane to let you install it into her armor. It will let me keep track of her development even after your pilgrimage is complete." The two finish exchanging data and programs then make their customary goodbyes. Keeva tries to get back to work but can't really focus. Jane's been getting more violent and more distant. Maybe it's the implants. Maybe they're rewriting her mind for something. The idea keeps her wringing her hand for the rest of the night.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 - Denied**

 _Date_ _: 2.17.2168_

 _Location_ _: Zeta District_

 **Jortan**

They're almost done. All the Zeta weapon depots have been emptied and the slaves have been loaded up. The last members outside Zeta are falling in droves and Aria's scum are scrambling to take credit. His men had managed to hold them off for months despite being so heavily outnumbered. The only reason each bastion of resistance eventually fell is because the girl kept showing up. Aria's swine couldn't kick over the weakest checkpoint, but the demon would charge in and rip the place apart in seconds. She had stormed the Carrd cell and decapitated nine men with three cuts. She'd gunned down forty men in the last real fortress in Kima. People were actively avoiding Kenzo these days. Its cell had been splattered across the streets. Fumi still smells like burning krogan guts.

Everywhere a battle was going well for the Wake, she would appear and slaughter them. She had taken to mounting the heads of his captains on spikes carried by her varren. She isn't even trying to move quietly anymore. The demon now marches openly through the streets on her way to the next battle. No one takes potshots at her anymore. No one even thinks about trying to cash in on her bounty despite the fact that it has grown to almost fifty million.

Jortan only has eighty men left under his command. Doth and his fanatics have converted every other survivor and they are throwing themselves into battle in support of the monster. He knows that time is running out. Until now they've managed to keep their evacuation secret, but it has slowed them down horribly. They only used the comm to send false intel out. It worked for a while but now she knows. He's already gotten word that she's on her way to Zeta, with her monster in tow. The few men to try and stop her were cut down without slowing her for a second. Her cult has been pushing the last of the Wake ever since word got out. One of his own had sold them out and killed six of his Wake brothers to buy his freedom from the demon's hunt. If he ever finds the bastard, the man will wish he had stayed to be slaughtered by the monster.

They only have a short time before she arrives. His outer pickets are using mortars to try and delay her, but she is moving too quickly. Jortan has made arrangements to meet with the rest of the Red Wake leadership at a remote base. They'd set it up years ago as a staging area for raids into human space. They just needed to get away first.

 **Jane**

 _This is it. She's finally going to end it. One of the Wake's own had contacted her to offer Jortan's location. He'd traded that along with six Wake heads for his life, and now Hassen is boarding a ship heading for Citadel space. She'd thought about killing him anyway but keeping her word is more important than a another dead idiot. Spits is bounding along side her with his tongue hanging out. The varren has been a loyal companion to her for months and she's glad to have him in at the end._

 _She'd met with some psycho who kept calling her Akshar. This 'Doth' and his cult were under the insane delusion that she was some kind of demon god. Jane had almost killed them on principle. The very idea of someone worshipping her was perhaps the most disgusting thing she'd ever heard. The only thing that stopped her was the promise he'd made. Doth had sworn to fight her enemies until his dying day and had offered to lend the strength of his followers to anything she wanted, literally anything. So she'd told him to launch an attack on the Wake in Zeta. He and his maniacs had gleefully obliged and were currently hurling themselves against every hint of Red Wake resistance across the district. While they weren't making any headway, they were keeping the majority of the enemy in place._

 _As they kept the bulk of the remaining Wake forces embattled, she and Spits were charging down the central avenue. A few squads are trying to stop them but they can't turn from Doth's hoard for more than a few breaths without being torn apart. Hassen had made it clear that Jortan was getting ready to flee and that they had finished loading the last of their gear and goods. She only has one chance to catch him. The place she's moving towards doesn't look like much, which is probably why so few people knew about it._

 _It looks like any other rundown, shithole warehouse on Omega. The paint is peeling, the metal is rusted, and there are flickering neon signs advertising booze and whores. She can see the truth in the faint traces of E.M. radiation visible just below the surface. The warehouse is protected by hidden kinetic barriers and heavy-duty bulkheads. It doesn't matter though._

 _As she and Spits come into range, a pair of heavy duty auto-cannons deploy from hidden alcoves. She calls to Spits as they start to cycle up, 'Spits! Tash'va!' He turns sharply and bolts down the alley to their left as she puts her barrier up. The canons pour out a deluge of fire. These weapons aren't the usual eezo power guns. They're launching solid shell ammunition, and each shell tears up a huge chunk of scenery on impact. She can feel every impact on her barrier like a kick in the teeth. She dives into cover behind a nearby wall as the guns track her movements. The cannons are rapidly tearing her cover apart. If she wasn't under a time limit, she'd wait for them to exhaust their ammunition. As it is, she needs to move, now. She can hear the howl she's been waiting for and she dives back into the alley and rolls to get her feet under her. The cannons are already following her as she pours everything into her barrier. She ducks and weaves around the lines of tracers as the guns start glowing under the continuous barrage. It's time to make the next move. She activates her helmet's vocal amplifiers and sets them to maximum, 'Sul!'_

 _Another howl sounds out and Spits charges in from the side and tackles the cannon on the left. He savages the machinery, ripping out wiring and vital components, and the gun stops firing. The second spins to fire on this new threat which gives her the opening she needs. She draws her rifle and lets loose with a hail of AP rounds. The gun falls to the ground in a dozen pieces and she runs to the door. Spits is still chewing on the wreckage of the first gun, trying to find something good to eat. Jane draws her swords and forces a surge of power through its conduits. Twin trails of gold flash into life as she draws her arm back. She slashes diagonally across the bulkhead four times and launches a push into the wreckage. The bulkhead disintegrates and she jumps in._

 _She charges down a hallway, smashing at least twenty automated turrets along the way, bisecting the the heavy combat mech barring her path, before reaching another bulkhead. This one gets the same treatment and she steps into a semi-spherical room at least 30 meters across. There are sockets along the wall for dozens of monitors and control panels. But there are no monitors, no panels. What is there, is a pile of explosives. She floods everything she has into another barrier as the room disappears is a wall of fire._

 **Jortan**

He takes a lot of satisfaction at this minor victory. She'd actually fallen for the bait. After Hassen had turn on him, Jortan had moved to a temporary control shack. Now that the demon is distracted, they can finally make their escape. He and his last pawns make a beeline to their landing pads.

 **Jane**

 _She feels something nudging her face. Hot breath is billowing through her hair and something is whining nearby. As she slowly cracks an eye open, Spits' blank stare greets her. Seeing her regaining consciousness, Spits starts licking her face and hopping excitedly. She scratches his chin and wipes the drool off. Her HUD shows that she's only been out for a few seconds but this entire thing has been a distraction. Jortan planned for her arrival and she had fallen for it. Her rage almost takes over as she opens up her senses. She can hear, smell, even taste the history of this room. Though it's diluted by the smell of fire, she can detect three trails from people that spent a tremendous amount of time in this room. Following her senses at first she staggers, the sprints after the trails._

 **Jortan**

She's already up and after them, but he and his are loaded into the gunships and the engines are cycling up. He can hear the howl of her varren and the screams from the last Wake squad left on the ground. He turns to the pilot and screams, "Go! Go! Go! Get us the fuck out of here!" The pilot throttles to maximum and his gunship starts to lift off alongside its sisters. It's then that he sees three missiles sailing after them.

 **Jane**

 _She's hit the center's tail and right hand gunship's port engine. The one on the right explodes and the center crashes back to the ground. The missile on the left detonated short and its target is struggling to stay airborne. Smoke is pouring from an engine. The fallen gunship had been the most heavily decorated so she assumed it was Jortan's. She sprints over and slashes the rear hatch open on. Jane climbs into the wreckage and starts sifting for the batarian scum. The cockpit has the mangled corpse of what used to be a turian, so she goes back to digging through the wreckage. She finds a batarian with a severed arm weezing under a sheared off support strut. The man is old and blind in all but one eye. His tatoos are mishaped, dragged down by old, sagging skin. It's not him. She grinds her teeth in fury and grabs him by the throat, 'Where is he?! WHERE IS JORTAN?!'_

 _He smiles through a dozen cracked teeth and manages to whisper, 'Wrong ship bitch…' Rage fills her heart and she crushes his neck. She drops the worthless scum back into the wreckage and runs outside. The third gunship is powering away despite trailing fire and smoke. Her launcher is spent. She can see a figure standing on the rear embarkation ramp waving a vulgar gesture at her. She can hear his voice taunting her._

' _Better luck next time freak!' The ship throttles to max and disappears into the distance. Keeva's gunship had been crippled a week ago and she doesn't have access to another ship, so she can't pursue. Jane can't keep it down anymore and lets out a howl of rage and hatred that shakes the street. Spits adds his own howl to hers and the two sound out for an hour. The few people still in the district burrow deeper into whatever hole they're hiding in as the unholy shouts fill the air. Waves of biotic power lash out and level a dozen nearby buildings. She's failed._

 **Jortan**

His gunship barely makes it to the frigate and he immediately calls for a full burn to the relay. He's already drawing up his messages to rally the rest of the Wake. He's also thinking up what he'll say on Khar'shan to get his way. He'll need an army of his own fanatics to win the next fight. He storms onto the bridge and takes his chair as the ship hits the system's mass relay and is hurled across the galaxy.

 **Jane**

 _She spends hours kneeling in the dirt. She doesn't know what to do. Weaver tried to call and offer help, but she's too ashamed to accept. Spits, oblivious to her shame, is enthusiastically eating the bodies the Wake left behind._

 _She's lost in thought when she feels something new. The voices had all stopped at once and she can feel the air vibrating. A high pitched ringing sound rattles he ears. Her guts are trembling as she gets to her feet and her sight shifts deep into the UV spectrum. Everything is tinted a heavy violet as she follows the disturbance. Spits carefully pads behind her, confused but happy to be there._

 _She can see strange whorls of energy drifting about and the further she goes, the thicker they get. She follows the trail back to the ruins of the Red Wake command center and it leads her to the north wall. She can hear something behind the surface, something hidden by the stone at the base of the wall. She wraps her fist in golden power and slams it into the surface. Cracks flash out for five meters but the stone is still intact. So she slams it again and again and again. On the fifth strike the stone crumbles to dust and a bizarre panel is revealed. There are intricate patterns carved into the surface and for some reason they look familiar. There's a slot at the center of the panel and several of the voices suggest her next course of action. She takes hold of her blade and stabs it into the opening. Jane can hear rumbling behind the panel but nothing else happens. She tries to draw it back but the blade is stuck fast. Her anger gets the better of her and she floods her power into Abyss, intent on smashing her way through. As biotic energy flows into the blade, the panel lights up in blazing gold and the entire wall starts dissolving. Abyss finally comes free as a long tunnel is revealed._

 _Jane is so mesmerized by the sight that she almost misses the footsteps approaching from behind. She whirls about, a surge of power lighting up Abyss. The blade comes around at the perfect angle for decapitation, but she stops at the last instant. It's just Doth, a look of pure serenity on his face. 'Please forgive my intrusion Lady Akshar.' As she scabbards the blade, Doth bows deeply and continues, 'The Red Wake has been broken my lady. The last of them have either paid the price you demanded or they have been slain.'_

' _Why are you bothering me?!' She finally feels like she's doing what she's supposed to do here, and this fool is slowing her down. The clawing in her mind is driving her mad and his interruption is making it worse._

 _Doth doesn't flinch at her anger and why would he? He thought she was a god of vengeful death, so of course she'd be angry. 'A thousand apologies eminence, but your followers wish know. What do you want us to do now?' She could kill him. She doesn't need them anymore. Jane spends several moments struggling with the burning desire to cut him down. In the end she decides to instead capitalize on his subservience._

' _You want a purpose?' He nods and bows deeper. 'I want you and the others to go back out into Omega and live peacefully. Help people in trouble. Be better than the people that came before. But the most important thing you can do is to keep watch for the Wake. Never allow them to return. No mercy, no respite, and no forgiveness. If you fail,' she gathers a haze of power around her and glares at him, 'I will end you all.' The cavernous space trembles as she lets her power bleed away. 'Now go, leave me alone.' Doth maintains his groveling as he backs away and leaves her in peace._

 _She turns back to the tunnel before her, a thousand whispering voices urging her on. She starts down the hallway, with Spits nervously trotting behind her. The hall stretches for almost a hundred meters before terminating in another carved panel. This also has a slot and she plunges Abyss in without hesitation. Again the rumbling sounds behind the panel and she channels her biotics through the blade. The panel dissolves into dust and an ornate, glowing chamber is revealed. She's still dissipating her built up energy as she steps in. Once all the residual power is purged the room's glow falters and everything goes dark. She gathers power in her hand and feels it flowing away from her as the room lights up again. She keeps it up and explores the strange place, running her hand along the strange things she sees._

 _Thousands of glyphs are scattered across the walls. She knows they're some kind of story, but doesn't know where that thought comes from. Everything is so confusing and the voices are growing louder every moment. They're overlapping in a brutal chorus that just gets louder and louder. She's grinding her teeth, trying to tough it out. Through the haze of pain she spots a rising dias at the center of the room._

 _The voices are screaming in her head as she staggers over. There's another slot for Abyss. Desperate to finish this, she fumbles the sword into place and pushes power into it. The room blazes with light. Jane can see a surge of energy flowing down her arm, into the implanted blade, and she feels herself being drained. She can't pull Abyss free, nor can she pull away her hand. A torrent of memories flood her mind, memories of horror beyond imagination. She sees people drained of life and filled with malice. Dried husks tearing into those they once loved. Whole world are scoured by fire. Brother is turned on brother. Children are murdered by parents. Oceans boil, forests burn, ships crash, cities fall to dust, and the screaming. It's the screaming of a trillion, trillion violated dead as each and every one of them shrieking for the endless nightmares to stop. It's too much. Jane falls to her knees, clutching her hands to her ears. She can feel blood pouring from her eyes and she can barely breathe, 'Stop… please stop!_

 _The voices are now a never ending cacophony, but a few manage to get through._

' _ **We must end this.'**_

' _ **Not yet, she needs to know.'**_

' _ **She's isn't ready. She hasn't developed all the implants.'**_

' _ **This may be the only chance.'**_

' _ **She can't fight if she's dead.'**_

' _ **It's killing her. WE NEED TO STOP!'**_

' _ **SHE NEEDS TO KNOW!'**_

 _She's losing her mind. It's too much. Blood is flowing out of her mouth and nose in a flood. She's being drained at a terrifying rate. The voices won't stop yelling at each other. More images, more memories, more screams. A bottomless well of pain and rage boiling in her mind. 'Stop. Stop. STOP. STOP!_ _ **STOP!**_ ' _They keep on yelling and she's losing what little control she has left. She needs to protect Spits from what's about to happen. 'SPITS! KALTA!_ _ **KALTA!'**_ _His training takes over and he bolts from the chamber, sprinting for safety. Now that she knows he'll be okay she can give into her rage. Her power is soaring out of control and dozens of voices are shouting at her to calm down._ ' _ **SHUT UP!'**_ _She slams her fists into the ground and a supernova of power blasts out. The walls liquify and the chamber starts to buckle. She tears Abyss free, pulling a hundred pounds of floor with it, and forces power into its conduits. Lost in a blinding haze of pain she starts swinging wildly, sending compressed waves of biotic power slashing into the chamber. Huge gouges are torn out of the walls and the voices finally go quite._

 _The room is collapsing as she staggers out. She's spent so much energy that she can barely stand. She manages to build to a run and dives through the first hatch as the hallway behind her collapses. She's gasping for air as she gets to her feet. Jane stays doubled over for several minutes just trying to breathe. As she regains some semblance of peace, she hears a pained whine from outside. Spits' is hurled into the Wake's former headquarters and slams into the wall. She hears several bones break and run to him as he falls to the ground, 'Spits!' She slides to his side and starts a scan. His heart is still beating but he's in bad shape. Something has broken his front legs and one of his lungs has collapsed._

 _She doesn't have much energy left but she brandishes Abyss towards entrance anyway. Five black clad asari march into the room. They have no company markings. In fact, they have no markings at all. The leader turns to one of her subordinates, 'This her?'_

' _Yes ma'am.' The leader whips out an SMG and opens fire without hesitation. The others follow suit and it's all Jane can do to throw up a barrier around her and Spits. They stop firing after a few moments and the leader steps forwards._

' _Don't know who you are or why you're marked and I don't care. Make it easy on yourself. Drop the barrier and I'll make it quick, for you and… that thing.' The bitch sneers as she points to Spits. Jane manages to stir up a few scraps of power and responds. She drops that barrier and launches herself past the leader in a blur. The asari to the far right almost pulls away in time as Abyss sails down. Rather than being bisected down the middle, her right arm and half her torso are shorn away in a welter of gore. Before her still beating heart goes still, her comrades respond. The others gather blue energy around their arms and launch their own attacks. Jane feels jackhammer punches and kicks landed against her arms and chest. She feels bones breaking and muscles tearing. She never sees it, but she certainly feels the blow that floors her. She had been swinging at one of the asari, when their commander had landed a biotically boosted roundhouse on her midriff._

 _Jane is hurled across the room crashes to the ground in a heap. She desperately struggles to stand but barely manages to get to her knees. She throws up another barrier but she knows it won't be enough. The four remaining asari surround her and start slamming her barrier with all manner of biotic attacks. She's never felt so much pressure. Her barrier finally falls and she's too weak to put it back up. The four of them launch a simultaneous attack. They're all using the same ability now. It's one that Jane had never liked using. A reave requires a lot of focus and these asari have it in spades. She can feel every blood vessel being slowly crushed and she screams in pain._

 _She's close to blacking out when one of the asari falls to the ground with her own shriek. The woman is desperately pawing at her legs as Spits rips more and more flesh away. Somehow, he's managed to attack even with his broken bones. Two of the asari break away to try and help their comrade and it breaks their leaders focus for a second. It's enough for Jane to hurl Abyss at one of them. The blade stabs into the woman's back and through her heart. The power behind the throw is enough to slam her into the woman in front of her. The blade pierces the second woman's spine and the two of the collapse in a lifeless heap. The leader uses a push to throw spits into the wall again. He collapses, mewling in pain as the asari turns back to Jane and plants a biotically powered heel kick to her chest._

 _She has nothing left. Her guns and shields were destroyed in the explosive trap before, and Jane needs all her strength just to stay awake. One of her own lungs has collapsed and her diaphragm has been torn. Breathing is agonizing. Many of her bones are broken. Her muscles feel a thousand pounds heavier. She's bleeding in a dozen places and everything is growing dark. She's wheezing for air as the asari raises her pistol. 'I'd make you suffer for hours, but I don't have time. Orders were to put you down fast. Say goodnight freak.'_

 _Time slows down as she hears the trigger creaking. So this is how she dies. She had always believed that something like this would happen and now that it's happening, Jane's come to something of an epiphany. Dying really, really hurts. She can hear the heartbeats of everyone in the room. Her own, slowly fading, erratic pattern. The asari's regular, unhurried beat. Spits' heartbeat is weak but steady. He'd probably be okay if he got a little help. But something's wrong. There should only be three patterns because everyone else is dead. The fourth is wild and strong, like the beat of someone who's healthy but terrified. She's still trying to figure it out when Abyss rips through the Asari's chest, its conduits filled with dark blue energy. The woman is staring down at the shredded remains of her own heart before the wielder of the blade rips it out. The asari stares at Jane in horror and collapses, dead._

 _Standing behind her, still clutching Jane's gore streaked blade is a raven haired angel. Jane's not sure exactly what she's seeing, as the blood loss is making her delirious. The new woman drops Abyss and runs to her side. 'Jane breathe, stay with me.' The woman looks so familiar. She has jet black hair and bright blue eyes. Her savior only a little older than Jane. She struggles to remember when it finally hits her. Her mind sails back to her first raid on a slave den. She remembers freeing a young woman from a cage, a tiny swaddled infant in her arms. She had rescued this girl months ago. The woman reaches into a satchel at her side and pulls out a syringe with a clear liquid inside. 'Jane, this is a special stimulate cocktail. It will keep you alive until help arrives.' The woman injects the mix into Jane's arm and puts the syringe away. 'You just need to stay awake. Stay Awake!' She turns to leave but Jane manages to speak up._

' _Wait…' the woman turns back, 'there are three clasps on my back... just below my helmet release. Can you undo them... and hand me what's inside?' The raven haired woman obliges her and undoes the small hatch. She seems startled at what she finds. She pulls out Jane's pink hanar toy and hands it to her before helping her lay back against the wall. 'Thank you Ms. Angel.'_

 _She hesitates before answering, 'I'm no angel.' The woman stands and moves quickly away. She stops when Jane replies._

' _You are to me…' She looks back at the sorry sight as Jane asks, 'What's your name?'_

' _I'm Miranda.'_

' _Hi Miranda… I'm Jane… and this is Spits,' Jane's buddy has managed to hobble over to her and lay his head in her lap. He's hurt bad and Jane gives him her last medi-gel injection. He perks up a little but is too injured to change position. When Jane looks back up, Miranda is gone. Jane's still not entirely sure that she had been real. She stays like that for a long time, struggling to stay awake like Miranda had told her._

 _It's so hard. She has no energy left over. Miranda's stim is the only reason she hasn't given in yet, and she can feel it wearing of. Her body needs so much more energy than a normal human and it's killing her now. Memories of her short life flash before her. She remembers almost everything. Her first moments of awareness, and a flood of pain before anything else. She remembers being cut open and things being added. She remembers the screams from others like her. She remembers her skin moving and her organs shifting. Jane remembers helping her friends go to sleep forever. She remembers the first time she killed in anger. She remembers the years of tests and experiments. She remember Kuva and Keeva and Mirdan and Vollo and Patriarch. She remembers Sara. A thousand faces flash in front of her and memories of anger, hatred, sorrow, pain, joy, regret, and rage keep her company._

 _It's the rage that keeps her going. There are two faces that keep it burning. One is the face of the first person she ever hated. Orsen's reptilian smile taunts her even from beyond the grave. The other is Jortan's. The bastard is still alive and she can't die until he's a puddle of gore. 'I'm not gonna die here… not gonna die here… not gonna die here…' This is her mantra and the shadows grow deeper and deeper._

 **Anderson**

"Come on, come on! Patriarch said we didn't have long and the old lizard's never joked about this kind of thing!"

"I'm going as fast as I can Commander! Any faster and we'll get smeared on a wall!" They'd come to Omega ostensibly to rescue an escaped slave, but Hackett had told Anderson that there was much more to it. This 'slave' was someone special. She was supposed to be carrying something of monumental importance.

"I know! Dammit, I know… Just do what you can John." The pilot was testing the limits of the shuttle as it was. They're getting close and Anderson can see the warehouse from here. There's smoke coming from a several places throughout the district. One region is nothing but a pile of rubble. Hackett had told him to expect some insane things with whoever he was rescuing. John banks the shuttle around and lands as gently as he can. Anderson and his men are out as quickly as possible, each armed to the teeth. Their objective had apparently managed to start a full scale war and had one of the largest bounties he'd ever seen. Nine of them form a perimeter while Anderson and his medic run inside. They reach the chamber at the center of the warehouse, and they have to pause for a second to really absorb what they're seeing. Five mutilated asari are scattered around the room, with puddles of blood and organs scattered about.

At the far end of the room, Anderson spots their objective. He's astonished at how small she is. She's just a kid, maybe fourteen at the most. She's bleeding profusely. Her face is covered in dark bruises and one eye is swollen shut. She has a massive scar stretching from her mouth to her ear. She has one arm wrapped protectively around a massive, armored varren and the other is tightly grasping a toy hanar. Sean is the first to find his voice, "What the fuck? I thought this was just a slave rescue." Sean wasn't cleared for the details and it was best if he stopped asking questions.

"There should be a black blade somewhere in here. I'll find it, you help her. Keep her alive now matter what. GO!" The medic obeys and bolts to the girls side, injecting a nutrient rich stimulant and holding up his omni-tool to scan her. The prognosis is grim.

"Christ Anderson. We need to get her back to the Hastings, now!" Anderson finds a light eating sword behind one of the bodies and carries it over. He slots it into the scabbard at the girl's back and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey there, can you hear me?" Her one open eye is unfocused as she weakly nods. "We're here to help. This is Sean our squad medic, and I'm David. Can you tell me your name?"

She takes a few gasping breaths and answers, "I'm… Jane… and this… is Spits." She pats the injured varren in her lap. It barely responds.

He activates the comm and calls to the men outside, "Anderson to Quill, bring three men and get in here on the double!" The four chosen men arrive in moments. "I want you four to pick up the varren and bring to the shuttle. Be careful, it's hurt badly." Though confused, the men don't argue. Each man gets his hands under the beast and they heft it up. They call over the comm once it's secure and Anderson moves to the girl's side. "We're going to get you out of here. Let's go Sean." Anderson picks up the girl and is surprised at the weight. In her armor, she has to weigh at least eighty kilos despite being so small. He carries the girl out to the shuttle and gently sets her on one of the rows of seats. She's not moving anymore.

Sean is monitoring closely, "Crap, she's out! Let's go! Now!"

Anderson nods and calls the pilot, "Punch it John!" The pilot acknowledges and slams the thrusters to max. The shuttle shoots from the ground and accelerates away. They'll reach the ship in minutes.

 **Miranda**

She watches as the Alliance shuttle speeds away. Once it's out of sight she heads to the appointed safe house. The only things inside are the crib where Ori is currently sleeping and a lone comm station, which powers up as she approaches. A silhouetted figure appears on the screen, a burning cigarette in one hand, 'Miss Lawson, report.'

'The stimulant worked. She's alive and the Alliance has recovered her. She was heavily injured but given what you've told me, she'll be fine.'

'Well done Miss Lawson. You've kept up your end of the bargain and now we'll do the same. Transportation is ready for you and Oriana at the following coordinates.' a stream of data is uploaded to her omni-tool. 'You and your sister are now under our protection.'

Miranda breathes a sigh of relief. She'd been running from her father's goons ever since they'd escaped. The run in with the Wake had almost ruined everything, but then Jane came along. She'd wanted to thank her with more than just words, but had never had the opportunity until now. 'You'll keep my father away?'

'We've already invaded his network. Every scrap of data he had on you and your sister has been erased and his spies have been sent after a hundred false leads. We'll keep this up as long as you need, permanently if necessary.' She can't believe it. She can finally stop running and actually start building a life for her and her sister. 'So, what do you intend to do now Ms. Lawson.'

'I'll try to make a future for my sister. I may not have had a real childhood but I can make sure she gets one.'

'We may be able to help with that. I have a job offer for you.'

 _Date_ _: 2.18.2168_

 _Location_ _: Afterlife_

 **Patriarch**

The old man storms into the bar. The few people stupid enough to try and bar his way are sent sprawling with broken jaws. He stomps up to the queen and jabs a finger at her, "Why did you do it?!" Aria just glares nonchalantly as he continues, "Why did you send those commandos?! The Alliance was already on the way. She was already about to leave! All you had to do is sit back and let it happen. But no! You had to go and almost piss it away in some half-brained assassination attempt. WHY?!" The rest of her men are looking back on forth between the two, each nervous over what might happen next. The old man hadn't been this aggressive about anything for years.

Aria calmly answers, "You seem to forget who's in charge old man. I may do as I please here, and if I decide to knock someone down then you have no say in the matter."

"You don't get it, do you? If she ever finds out what you did, she'll come back. And if she does, there won't be anyone who can stop her. The only reason they got so close to finishing her this time is because she was already weakened by the battles beforehand." The old man shakes his head ruefully, "You are right. You're queen here and you can do whatever the hell you want, but you may have burned one hell of a bridge with this. By the grace of the ancestors, hopefully it doesn't come back to bite us all in the ass." Patriarch turns away and stomps out of the club.

 _Date_ _: 2.21.2168_

 _Location_ _: Bridge of Red Wake frigate 'Spite'_

 **Jortan**

After four days of hopping relays, they've finally arrived. He's beaten most of the Wake to the rendezvous. Currently, there are only four ships anchored above the moon. "Take us into obit alongside the others. Call the captains over immediately. We've got a lot to talk about." The merc on comms nods and sends out hails to the others. Jortan's got a lot of work to do. The base is small now, but he has plans to turn it into a bastion for pirates and slavers across the terminus. He needs every scumbag and bastard he can get if his plan is going to work. He has to be ready next time. The demon may have pushed him off of Omega but he wasn't dead yet. "No matter what you do demon, as long as I'm alive, I'll be hunting you." His men pay him no mind. He's been talking to himself for days now.

He leaves his bridge and heads for the shuttle bay as the first of his captains arrive. They need to get started as soon as possible. It might not be much now, but one day the galaxy will know that it was saved by the army he was building on Torfan.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 - Taking Stock**

 _Date_ _: 2.17.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - en route to Relay_

 **Anderson**

Once the shuttle lands inside the ship's docking bay, he gathers the girl up and runs her to the infirmary. Four more men haul her varren along, but they quickly fall behind. She's barely breathing and Sean says her body is shutting down. "Hang on kid! Just hang on." He's sprinting down the halls, desperate to get there in time. They hadn't been expecting such serious injuries. They would have called ahead by something was scrambling their comms on the way back.

Anderson reaches the medbay doors and is tempted to kick them down rather than wait for them to slowly cycle open. As soon as they're clear he runs in and calls out, "Karin! Come quickly!" The ship's doctor steps from her office, sees his burden, and immediately goes to work.

"On the table, now." He gently lowers Jane onto the primary operating table as Karin tries to take some base readings. Again, something is scrambling their sensors. "We need to get her out of all this." The two of them start releasing safety catches on the plates covering the girl and rapidly remove them. A heavily damaged, dark red suit is revealed underneath. It almost looks like a quarian's suit. It needs to be removed but they can't find any zippers or latches to disengage, so she grabs some surgical shears and moves to cut it away. Before the blades can even make contact, a small hand locks a brutal grip around her wrist. The girl is awake and has her good eye locked on Karin's face. There is so much rage in that look, she feels it like a physical sensation.

"Please Jane, Dr. Chakwas is only trying to help. We need to get this suit off so she can treat you." The girl doesn't loosen her grip as she continues glaring. While one hand grasps Karin's wrist in a near bone crushing grip, the other drifts down to a control pad at Jane's hip. She punches in multi digit code and her suit loosens dramatically. Numerous release clips are revealed and the two of them can remove the suit without damaging it. The girl has passed out again but her hand is still clamped around Karin's wrist. Anderson has to help her pry it loose so she can get to work.

Anderson's other men arrive with a very agitated varren in their arms. The animal 'Spits', apparently doesn't seem to like them touching Jane. He tries to break free, but only manages to force them to let go. He plops to the ground and struggles to move. However, his injuries get the best of him, and he settles for snarling at them. "David why is that animal in my infirmary?"

"It seems like he's her pet, and he's badly injured. We aren't really sure what to do with him." The four men that brought Spits have picked him up again and are hauling him onto one of the other beds. Once in place, they take a pair of straps and lock the animal down to keep him from rolling off. He doesn't fight back.

"Commander my expertise is in treating people. My experience in veterinary medicine is basic at best." She can determine a few of the animal's injuries from here but it needs a professional vet, not an amateur.

"Doc, all we know is that the varren is important to the girl so we brought it. I know it's not your specialty, but there's no one else on board with **any** experience with this kind of care." She grimaces at his reply. It was true but that didn't exactly help.

"Once I've stabilized the girl I'll do what I can." Anderson gives his thanks. "Now, please leave and send for Doctor Sang and Corpsman Dess. I may need help."

"Right away." Anderson leaves Karin to her work and contacts Sean and Doctor Sang.

 **Chakwas**

She nearly loses her lunch at what she finds as the three of them go to work. Sang and Dess arrived in good time and they all moved quickly. Jane is in bad shape. Karin has never seen a human survive such extreme trauma, let alone a child. Most of her bones are broken. Her right arm is dislocated and the socket is broken. She's lost almost half her blood and her organs are shutting down.

Her ribs are like a jigsaw puzzle and her diaphragm is mince meat. How she can still breathe is beyond them. Her heart is showing signs of at least one bout of cardiac arrest and one of her lungs needs to be reinflated. "Sang, try to run the scans again. We need to know just how extensive these injuries are… and try to get a read on her blood type."

The junior doctor nods and tries scanning again, "It's working now ma'am… What the hell?" She keeps staring at the results without sharing them and Chakwas' patience quickly runs out.

"We don't have time for gawking Lita, what type is she?"

"Sorry, but the scan is inconclusive. One moment she reads as type A+ and the next she's O-." She shows her companions the results and they're just as confused as her.

Sean is the one to suggest a possible explanation, "Sometimes if a patient is AB Rh D positive, the scanner gets confused and starts spewing conflicting results. She could be a universal recipient." Chakwas concerns.

"It's the best we have to go on. Dess get four pints of type AB blood and ready an IV," Sean moves off to gather the needed blood as Sang and Chakwas keep working.

Sang is gently removing pieces of shrapnel from the wounds in the girl's chest and is looking to the scanner to find new pieces. She spots something disturbing inside the girls punctured lung, "Doctor, look at this." She points out the dark mass currently expanding and contracting inside Jane's lung, "What the hell is that?"

Dess returns with a few small packs on blood as Chakwas and Sand try to puzzle it out, "The scanner is picking up a continuous exchange of CO2 and oxygen. The mass has blood moving through it."

Sang notices something else, "It has strands on muscular tissue surrounding it. I think… I think we're looking at some kind of secondary lung here." Dess finishes rigging the IV and hands the needle to Chakwas. She pushes the it into the girl's arm but it takes far more pressure than it should though.

"Lita, retarget the scanner. Focus on her subcutaneous tissue." Sang makes the proper adjustments and once again the three are stunned by the results. "She has a reinforced layer of tissue between the dermis and epidermis. This… this is impossible." Chakwas takes the scanner's control from Sang and begins a full body deep tissue scan. It will take a few moments to complete, so the three of them resume repairing the damage. They set bones, patch tears in flesh, and repair punctured organs. She's dangerously malnourished so they run a super dense nutrient feed into her stomach. The result is dramatic to say the least. As more nutrients and calories are ingested, her body starts to rapidly repair itself. The scans show tissue replicating at a phenomenal rate. Organs stitched shut only minutes before are now fully healed. Her muscles are quickly pulling back into their original shape, most notably her diaphragm. The secondary structures in her lung shut down as normal breathing resumes. Broken bones are quickly starting to fuse back into the proper form and her heart and respiratory rate are accelerating.

"At this rate she's going to wake up in minutes." Dess takes the hint and readies a heavy dose of sedatives. The last thing she needs is to wake up in her current state. He walks back to the doctors and hands Sang the shot. "How long will this keep her down?"

Chakwas is the one to answer, "Given how high her metabolic rate is, it will likely only work for a couple hours, but it's good enough for now." Sang injects the sedative and the girl settles into a deeper sleep as the three of them continue their work.

Twenty hours and seven doses later, and they've finally done all they can for the girl and her varren. In truth, all they needed to do for Jane was keep her body fueled, but that was no easy task. She was absorbing everything as fast as they could run the feeds. They had watched in wonder at the impossible speed of her body's regeneration. Now, they're just letting the girl sleep as the three of them go over everything they've discovered. Chakwas has no idea how to tell her about the varren's reduced state. Removal had proven the only choice. They'd done all the could, but some injuries mark you forever.

 **Jane**

 _She wakes up to a familiar yet never welcome wall of pain. Once again, simply existing is agonizing as she struggles to remember all that's happened. She remembers how she got hurt. If those asari bitches weren't already dead she rip their heads off. She remembers a black haired angel saving her from the asari leader's bullet. She remembers a man with dark skin carrying her out to a shuttle. Then there was the older woman who'd tried to cut her suit open, the same woman currently speaking in hushed tones to two other people on the other side of the room. But the worst thing, the one still clouding her mind, had been the dreams. They'd been bad ever since the asari witch had knocked something loose in her head, but these had been the clearest, most vivid yet. While sleeping she'd been thrown back into hell. Death and doom haunted her nightmares, all propagated by a monstrous black hand falling from the sky._

 _She slowly takes in the room around her, careful not to draw the attention of the others. She doesn't know who these people are or what they want. She tries to boot up her omni-tool but it's been removed. Luckily she had a secondary one implanted deep in her arm. It wasn't as good, but in a pinch like this it could swing the odds in her favor. This tool is far more simplistic than her usual but it still has what she needs. She carefully records a loop for each monitoring devices feeds. Then she hijacks their systems and uploads the loop. Once done, she carefully removes the IVs and monitoring devices. Jane silently slides off the bed and moves towards the door. She only takes a couple steps before she sees Spits, and her heart almost stops._

 _He's sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling steadily. She can hear his heart beating smoothly, and both lungs are working again. He's out of danger but he'll never be the same. She remembered seeing broken bones, hearing them shatter, but she didn't realize at the time just how serious it must have been. Spits' forelegs have been amputated. All that's left are two tiny nubs protruding a couple inches from his torso. She can feel the tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. Jane silently pads over and lovingly wraps hers arms around him. He stirs and opens his eye. He immediately perks up and is about to start hooting at her when she clamps his jaw shut and holds a finger to her lips. She'd taught him what it meant a while back and she's glad to see he remembers. Instead of making any noise he just licks her face and leaves a huge trail of spittle behind. Despite how gross it is, she's just glad that he's 'ok'. She works an arm under him and hefts him onto her shoulder._

 _He doesn't fight it. In fact he seems to be even happier now. She carefully moves over to the door and uses her secondary tool to shut down its auto controls. She takes hold of its lip and gently pulls it open. She'd found out some time ago that most auto doors were much quieter when opened manually. She manages to get out undetected and picks up the pace. After they get a fair distance from the med-bay, Jane gives Spits a good scratch on the chin and whispers, 'Ok Spits, let's find something to eat. Ne'Topu." The varren starts trying to bounce excitedly and sniffs the air, searching for a good scent. Her senses were phenomenally strong, but Spits blew her out of the water when it came to his sense of smell._

 _Her buddy drags in all the smells available, and locks onto what they want. He lolls his tongue in the direction of their goal and Jane follows his directions. It takes a few twists and turns but eventually they wind up in front on a door with the words "Mess Hall" on it. She's about to walk in when the doors open and a young woman starts to step out. She wasn't looking through the door when it opened and turns to face Jane's direction. Spits, ever curious about new people, has raised his head to the woman's level and is excitedly panting. The woman completes her turn and comes face to face with his drooling maw. She is understandably a bit distressed and makes that known by letting out a high pitched scream, before falling on her backside. Jane turns slightly so that her face is more visible, 'Is this where the food is?' The woman feebly nods, a horribly confused look plastered across her face. 'Thank you.'_

 _Jane steps past the prone woman, and takes in the room. Half a dozen people are staring at her and Spits as she walks in and sets him down on one of the tables. He tries to stand on just his back legs, but flops back down and whines to her. 'Don't worry big guy. I'll find you something good and then I'll start working on a way to fix your legs.' Spits has his habitual goofy look back and stares happily ahead as she heads to counter with the food._

 _The man behind cocks his head to the side, 'You supposed to be in here little lady?' She doesn't answer. Jane is looking at the items behind the counter and doesn't like the way any of them smell. She can smell something better further into the room so she moves to the small counter partition baring her way. The man speaks up again, 'Sorry kid, but you can't come back here. In fact, I'm gonna need you to go back to the infirmary.' He can tell where she's supposed to be by the pale green gown. Jane ignores him and takes hold of the partition. She still feels weak from her ordeal but it doesn't stop her. She rips the metal panel off its hinges and hurls it behind her. The man behind the counter splutters in bug eyed astonishment as she moves towards the main storage room. 'But… hey… you can't just… no one's allowed in there with... without the right passcode!" She looks carefully at the panel for a minute before punching in a twelve digit code. The lock disengages and the door swings open._

 _She moves in, leaving the speechless man behind. Jane finds a trove of food inside and takes anything she can. She walks out with packets of fruit, meat, and cheese, in addition to a huge melon she'd found hidden behind one of the boxes. She sets all the food down behind Spits and moves to a nearby tap. She fills a gallon pitcher she'd found under the counter and head back to sit at the table. Spits manages to flop around to face her and is desperately sticking his tongue out, trying to grab something. 'Ok big guy, I got you.'_

 _She grabs the melon in one hand and puts the other under his chin. He obediently opens his mouth wide and she sets the melon inside his craw. He keeps his mouth open until Jane pulls her hand away from his chin. As soon as she does, his jaw slams down on the melon and splatters pieces all over her and the table. Jane can't help but laugh out loud as she digs in. As she rips into her own food with about as many manners as her varren, Spits himself is lapping up scraps of melon and using his remaining legs to push himself along the table so he can get all of it. Some of the voices in her head are starting to whisper a few ideas and she takes mental notes on the things that sound good. She's got a general plan sketched out in her head when the three people from the med-bay come sprinting into the room. They look around and once they spot Jane, they storm over. The two women are already scolding her as they close in. She keeps eating as they let out a tirade about how reckless it was to sneak away like that. The man with them stays back and Jane can tell he's struggling to keep his laughter contained. When they finally finish trying to make her feel guilty she responds, 'We were hungry.'_

 _Jane takes up the gallon pitcher and chugs half of it before returning to her food. Spits has managed to lick up most of the melon chunks and worms his way back over and starts nabbing scraps from the rest of Jane's pile. The doctors are about to start up again when a voice calls out, 'Officer on deck!' The few people still in the room stand up straight as two men enter. One is the dark skinned man from before but the other is new. This one is slightly shorter but holds himself with great authority. He's a man that_ _ **knows**_ _he's in command. He steps up to the table Jane's sitting at and makes eye contact. She doesn't blink as he sits down across from her._

 **Anderson**

He has to admit, the girl's got guts. There weren't many people that could spend that long looking straight in Captain Belliard's eyes without so much as a single flinch. He knows the captain is angry at being kept out of the loop, but Hackett had made it clear that details on her were need to know only. "So, you're the one we were sent to rescue." Jane stays silent and keeps eating. She downs the rest of her water as the captain continues, "Now, I don't know what you went through back on Omega, but there is no need to sneak off like that. There's also no need to scare the living daylights out of crewmen with your pets lovely face."

Spits has rolled onto his back and is currently tongue deep in his own nose. "We'll be taking the long way back to Arcturus to make sure that whoever wants you dead so badly, isn't able to follow. While we're on the way I expect you to behave yourself, stay out of trouble. And that starts with you going back to med-bay with the good doctors." It's perhaps the most polite order Belliard has ever given. Any crewmen would leap to obey, but the girl keeps on eating, never once blinking or breaking eye contact. Anderson can tell that the captain is rapidly losing his temper and is about to step in, but the girl beats him to the punch.

"I need a fabricator unit, three hundred bits of omni-gel, and enough food to provide me with ten thousand calories a day. Give me that and I'll go back to your infirmary." He's changed his mind. The girl's more than gutsy. She's insane. Anderson has never heard anyone made such a bold series of demands to Balliard before and almost lets loose a chuckle at her courage. The captain isn't so amused, as the vein bulging from his temple can testify.

"You don't get to make demands kid. You'll go back now, or I'll have you sedated and carried back." The girl's demeanor completely changes in an instant. Where before she had been almost completely aloof and swaying slightly, now she is utterly focused and perfectly still. Anderson can smell ozone. The room itself is trembling slightly as slight golden haze blooms from the girl. Her varren, despite being hobbled by its missing legs, still snarls at them menacingly.

"Don't ever threaten me. I've killed more people than you can imagine for a lot less. I won't hesitate to kill you if you try anything." Her voice has dropped an octave. Hackett had told him to expect strange things but had been reluctant to elaborate. Anderson wants to step in before the captain's lack of understanding led to disaster, but Karin is quicker.

"I can help you out with the materials. It'll take a few hours, but in the meantime, we need you to go back to med-bay so I we can finish your treatment." She glares at the doctor and for a moment he wonders if Karin's just made the situation worse. His worry is unfounded though. Jane finishes her food and stands up. She works an arm under the varren and hoists him onto her shoulder. She leaves the room with Doctor Sang and Corpsman Dess in toe. As she reaches the door, the varren turns its head around and growls a the captain one last time. Once Anderson, Belliard, and Chakwas are left alone the captain rounds on the doctor, "What the hell are you doing offering to bow to such ridiculous demands? That child will accept what we offer her and she'll like it!"

 **Chakwas**

Many officers would be cowed by the captain's anger, but Karin holds no respect for such posturing. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't technically under his command. She and Anderson were under Hackett's direct orders to be here and he'd given them plenty of leeway to work, "With respect Captain Belliard, threatening that girl may have been one of the most foolish things you've ever done." The captain's rage is near apoplectic as he struggles to reply without violence.

"I'll remind you who is in command Doctor! This is my ship and until the alliance decides otherwise, my word is law here."

"She's not saying anything to contradict that sir. But you need to understand just what that girl would have done if you'd pushed the matter." She and the captain turn to Anderson as he activates his omni-tool and brings up a surveillance video they had received when Patriarch had contacted them. "This was captured several months ago during one of the girl's early engagements." The captain watches in stunned silence. The video shows Jane tearing men apart with her bare hands and leveling a building with wild streams of biotic power. It only last a couple minutes and at the end of the video, they see Jane crucify a screaming mercenary before skinning him alive with a miasma of golden light. The video ends and Karin is completely speechless. The things she'd found on her scans were disturbing enough. This was simply beyond belief.

"Anderson," the captain is still pissed off but now there's a healthy dose of fear coupled with his angry expression, "What the fuck did you bring onto my ship?"

"I'm sorry captain, but that's classified. All Admiral Hackett has allowed me to say is that she's important and she's dangerous." Bellaird glares at him for awhile before stepping to the doorway, only turning back for moment.

"Keep her under control Anderson. If she becomes a threat to this ship, I won't hesitate to vent whatever deck she's on."

"That would probably just piss her off sir. She's survived worse if the stories are true." Most of the captain's color drains away as he leaves them. Anderson turns back to her, "Look Karin, I know this is odd but she's just like any other-" She cuts him off.

"Excuse my language, but don't give me that crock of shit. I've run deep tissue scans. I know what's inside her. What in God's name has the Alliance done David? Does Hackett know just how monstrous her treatment has been?!" When the scans had shown just what she was carrying inside, Chakwas had nearly contacted the admiral to demand answers.

Anderson is flabbergasted and stumbles through his reply, "What are you talking about?"

She finally loses her temper, "Are you serious?! Are you denying it or are you really so completely ignorant about what has happened to her?!" Anderson's confusion seems genuine so Karin starts listing off her discoveries. "David this girl has been brutalized for **years**. She has thousands of micro deformations in her skeleton, denoting thousands of breaks and cracks that have healed. She has over one hundred deep tissue surgical scars. That scar on her face is from a grazing impact from a sniper rifle if I'm any judge. She's got chemical scars in her lungs. And those are just some of the horrendous traces of injury I found. Her flesh paints a litany of suffering spanning more than a decade."

She can see him struggling to respond but she won't be stopped now, "All of that would have been hideous enough, but those aren't even the best parts. This girl has been subjected to one of the most horrific medical experiments I've ever been unfortunate enough to see the aftermath of. David, she has at least twelve unnatural growths inside her body. Each one is some kind of bio-implant, but I can't even get a clear reading on their genetic code. She has secondary structures in her lungs to take over if her natural ones stop working. Her heart has been shifted to the center of her chest and it has fibres grown throughout. They are actively cleaning the chambers in her heart. She shows evidence of having at least one heart attack, likely during the implantation process. Her skin has a third layer between the dermis and epidermis. This third layer is nearly five times as dense as natural skin and its chemical composition would render her almost immune to electrical discharge."

"Alright Karin you've made your-"

"I'm not done!" Anderson snaps his mouth shut. She's one of the few people who could shut him up so completely. "Her nervous system has been reinforced with a chemical composite that our scanners can't even identify. Her nerves conduct impulses at almost ten time the speed of a natural human. She can react faster than anyone alive but this means that even the slightest sensation would be agonizing for her. Those eyes, each is a bio-construct of such astonishing complexity that we could spend a decade studying them and learn next to nothing. Her brain is wrapped in a bizarre lattice like structure that acts as a sort of faraday cage for her mind. Her bones are reinforced with a super dense carbon compound that shouldn't be able to exist. I haven't even gotten to the numerous anomalies in her blood, organs, and spine. And none of this even touches on the extreme psychological damage that so much suffering would inflict on someone, especially a child. Anderson, who the did all this? Why are we supposed to stay quiet? Explain!" She's never gone off on someone so completely. This kind of anger is not something she's used to.

 **Anderson**

He chooses his words carefully. Karin is one of his most trusted friends and colleagues, but she hasn't been cleared for the full story. Hackett had made it clear that it would be best if they kept it as quiet as possible. "Alright. I can't tell you everything, but I can answer to a certain degree. First of all, the Alliance didn't do this to her. We've been ordered to protect her, not apprehend her. Second, we need to keep her presence quiet because she has a massive bounty on her head and plenty of enemies, including the people that did this to her. Third, I don't know much beyond what I've said but I do know this. She. Is. Important. For now, we just need to make sure she has the chance to grow up. There's nothing else I can tell you because there's nothing else I know about her." Chakwas' anger diminishes a bit but he can tell he's still walking on thin ice.

"Fine, I'll return to the infirmary and keep up her treatment. However, I will not break my oath under any circumstance. If her care requires calling in outside support I will not hesitate nor will I restrict that support to some spook the Alliance calls in, is that understood." While he technically outranked her, she had absolute authority on medical matters.

"I understand Karin. Thank you for hearing me out." She leaves the room without a backward glance. Anderson spends a moment alone with his thoughts. This isn't going to be an easy trip.

 **Chakwas**

Her anger is still smoldering as she walks into the infirmary. Her bleak mood is somewhat dispelled by Dess' disbelieving laughter, "No way! No way it was that easy. Chef had to have given you the code!"

It's the girl that answers, "Nope. I just worked it out and punched it in." Dess is shaking his head.

"Bull. Shit. How? How could you just figure it out like that?" Jane has a smile on her face as she explains. She leaning over a datapad and is rapidly sketching a something.

"Well I got a good look at each key and just looked for which ones had been worn down the most. Since the nine was the most heavily used button it was first and I just put together the rest in order of decay. Since people tend to screw up more as they get further into the code each key in sequence would be slightly less worn than the one before them."

"What about repeat numbers?"

"Well, since the code doesn't repeat numbers unless they're one after the other, it wasn't really a problem. To tell the truth, I was lucky that my first sequence was right, but I could have gotten in a couple tries if I'd been wrong. Not to mention that type of panel has a glitch in its programing. It's a DX-21193. They were recalled three months after they went active. It works by using four sets of three numbs each. Turns out that any code entered has to start with three of the same number, it has to have at least two more repeating pairs in order to work, and the second number block can't have any repeats. The company that made them went out of business pretty soon after people started demanding refunds en mass." Dess manages to look like a perplexed fish as he tries to process everything she's told him.

"Sooo… what's the code?"

"999214553668." Dess frantically writes the code down. The captain will likely order it changed, but that probably won't stop Dess from trying. Karin gets a closer look at her data pad and sees an impressively complex set of blueprints rendered on screen. The girl meets her eye and explains, "Spits lost his legs because of me, so I'm going to fix it." The varren himself is currently laying belly up, snoring loudly. Jane rubs his stomach with her foot and he chuffs happily in his sleep. "Where's the fabricator? I need it to get started."

Karin calls over her helpers, "Lita, Sean. Go to engineering and ask Chief Marrin if he can part with one of the fabricators for a few hours." The two head for engineering and leave Chakwas alone with Jane. She decides to try and learn at least something beyond how much damage she can do. "So Jane, do you want me to try and contact your family?" The girl goes perfectly still and her gaze goes dark.

"I don't have one."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"There aren't bad memories about that. I don't have a family now because I never had one to begin with."

"What do you mean? You had to have had one at some point." She doesn't mean to push it but it just slips out.

Jane is back to sketching. Her expression is the perfect image of neutral, "No, I didn't. I grew up in a lab. The closest thing I had to family there were the other subjects. I wasn't the only one they did this to." Karin can hear the hatred in Jane's voice.

"Where are the other's then? Can we help them too?" The datapad shatters in Jane's hand. Her fist is riddled with slivers of glass and Karin can smell ozone again.

"There gone. All of them." She clenches her fist tighter and tighter. Blood is pooling under her hand and Karin rushes to apply some medi-gel. Remarkably, many of the shards are slowly being forced out by… something. She fills the wounds as each is cleared, all the while listening to Jane. "Awhile after I escaped, I went back to try and find something. Most of the computers had been destroyed, but I found one in a secret vault and it had every record the place ever had. I was one of five hundred. I wasn't supposed to survive. They were just going to use me to study what happened when someone's body rejected one of the fucking things they put in us. I was just a piece of trash to them at first. A passing curiosity to be gawked at until my guts ripped me apart, then they were gonna throw me in the trash with the others that were dying."

Karin is struggling to understand how anyone could be so evil, but Jane's not done, "But I survived. Turns out, I even became the head doctor's favorite subject. Close to the end there were only five of us left. They were the first friends I ever had. 003, 190, 486, 250, and I was 027. The only thing we had in common was how much everything hurt. I hoped against hope that all of us would be ok. How fucking stupid is that?" She giggles with a manic tinge as Karin kneels in front of her to try and console her. "The last things they put in us is what would have killed the others. I was fine compared to them. They cried and screamed, but where I got 'better' they just kept getting worse. I knew they were going to die, painfully. So I made it easier for them."

Karin's eyes go wide at the implication. "The next time I found someone that close was after I escaped. She was a doctor on Omega and she was the closest thing to a mother I ever knew. She died because I got followed coming to them one day."

She's got no way to help the girl over so much horror other than just trying to help her live on, "Is there anything I can do to help you Jane?" The girl looks at her for a few minutes, her eyes roaming over her face, judging her sincerity.

"I need access to an FTL comm unit. There's someone on Omega I need to talk to. I need to let her know I'm ok."

"I'll see what I can do. We need to avoid detection though. You apparently have a rather large bounty on you."

"It's not a problem. She has military grade comm equipment. Her data scrubbers will wipe any system that tries to intrude." Karin agrees to try and set up something for her. Sean and Lita return with the fabricator on a heavy duty dolly. A caque of omni-gel is sitting alongside it. "I only needed three hundred bits of gel. That casque has almost six hundred."

"Turns out the chief is desperate to get rid of some of it. Got a surplus I guess." Sang relates the short story as Dess tries to haul the fabricator up. He manages to get it halfway to chest level when Jane walks over and lifts it to one of the beds with one hand. It clanged loudly on impact and she goes to work. After recovering data storage from her destroyed datapad, she spends an hour uploading her schematics and hooking up a feed for the omni-gel. Karin goes through Anderson and arranges for Jane to make a secure call back to Omega. They refrain from telling the captain.

 _Date_ _: 2.22.2168_

 _Location_ _: Keeva's Emporium_

 **Keeva**

She's been pacing her main office for hours. She still hasn't heard from Jane and it's driving her crazy. Zeta was still on fire and people were saying the dead numbered close to four thousand, most of them screaming fanatics claiming that some demon god was with them. The few gangs that had tried to hold territory had been shredded and looting was rampant. Keeva had a literal pile of guns to sell, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything but worry and pace. She's turning about for the unpteenth time when Sirus runs into the room and gives her the news she's been praying for, "Miss Keeva! Jane's on the comm upstairs!" The two of them run to her comm room and she almost faints from relief. Jane looks like hell but she's alive and that's good enough.

"Jane! Keelah! I was so worried."

"I'm sorry for taking so long Keeva. I took a little while to patch me up and get access to a comm unit." Jane's face is heavily bruised and her right eye is blackened.

"It's alright. I'm just relieved you're ok. Where are you? Weaver said someone had taken you off the station."

"I'm on a ship called the Hastings. The people that helped are with the Alliance and we're on our way to Arcturus."

"Why? You're not Alliance."

"They want me to talk to someone called Hackett. I'll hear him out and then decide what to do. They won't be able to stop me if choose to leave." Keeva had seen more than enough evidence to know how true that was. "Keeva… I… I need you to do something for me," Jane looks utterly embarrassed for asking.

"Anything Jane." She meant it. Jane had made Keeva rich and given her real future.

"Is your gunship working again?" She nods, "How much can it haul?"

"If you're not in a hurry, it can carry up to five thousands kilos." Jane nods and gives a brief smile.

"I need you to go to Mirdan's clinic. Inside, under panel E32 is a heavy duty hatch. I built a home under the ruins. There's a vocal password. Do you remember the command to send Spits somewhere?" Again she nods "Just say that and add my name. Inside you'll find three rooms branching out from the entrance. One is a blue room. I want you to gather up everything, every scrap of paper and bit of metal, and send it all to Arcturus. The second is a red room. This room has all my guns, tools, and armor modding equipment. I'm sending you a list. Send everything on the list to Arcturus. You can keep the rest. Except for the blue crate in the corner. That's for Sirus."

Keeva receives a long list of items and stores it away, "No problem, what about the third room?" Jane's expression falters at that.

"I… it um…"

"What is Jane? You can tell me. No one outside this room will ever know." Jane takes a few deep breaths and looks the the floor.

"The third room is a green room. It's… I want you to gather everything in that room into a big pile and burn it." She looks up at Keeva. Jane has dark circles under her eyes and a haunted look.

"But...Why? What's wrong with the stuff in that room?"

"Keeva please," Jane is actually pleading with her now, "Just burn everything inside that room and don't ever, ever tell me about what you see… please."

"Ok Jane. I'll burn it and I'll never mention it again." The relief on Jane's face is palpable. "You know, my pilgrimage gift is complete. I could take care of this and then come pick you up. We could go to the flotilla together."

Jane wrings her hands as she answers, "The Red Wake is still around. I can't risk coming with you our even visiting until they're gone. I can't lose you like I lost Sara." She knows that Jane blames herself and no amount of reassurance from her or Mirdan has had any effect.

"All Right Jane. I'll take care of everything. I hope to see you again soon."

Jane gives a weak smile, "Same here Keeva. If it takes a while, I want you to know that you've been a perfect friend." They exchange a final goodbye and close the channel. Keeva and Sirus head downstairs and call in a dozen men from their security office. With their helpers in tow, they board Keeva's gunship and fly to Doru.

While the district was as lively as ever, the block with Mirdan's clinic was something of a ghost town these days. People actively avoided it, claiming it was haunted by demons. Keeva understands why. There's a pervasive smell of rot in the air as they land and disembark. The rusted remains of several totems arranged in a circle are all that's left of the once grisly temple Jane had built here. Keeva heads into the ruins of the clinic and finds the panel Jane spoke of. It's too heavy for her to lift so she calls in three of her mercs. They slowly heave it away revealing a heavy duty door that Keeva had helped Jane buy. Keeva spots the lock mike. She pushes the button and the device demands a password, "Vitha Jane." The door smoothly opens and Keeva quickly descends the ladder inside.

At the base she finds three color coded doors. She enters the blue one first and finds a small but cozy sleeping area. The only things inside are a small footlocker with some clothes, a small cot, and a wall covered in pictures. Jane had dozens of pictures featuring Keeva, Mirdan, Sirus, Patriarch, Vollo, and in the place of honor is a picture of Jane and Sara together. It had been one of the few meals Keeva had shared with them and Mirdan all at once. Under the picture is a small pile of glowing blue flowers. Sump flowers were one of the few plants to flourish on Omega and they gave off a strong mint smell. It's one of the reasons so many people liked them. She carefully takes down all the pictures and packs them into the foot locker. Keeva has her men gently haul it, the cot, and the flowers to the gunship.

Next she moves to the red room. This was apparently Jane's armory. She's got almost a hundred guns mounted on the walls and several armor sets. Keeva is amazed at the sheer amount of firepower on display. Jane only wants a few things from here like her tools for guns and armor, her favorite rocket launcher, and a few others. She calls down a few more men and they make quick work of this too. Sirus opens the blue crate and finds a glorious suit of armor perfectly formed for him. The young man is struck speechless and just hauls it back to the ship.

Keeva sends everyone outside for this last part. There was something in this green room that Jane only trusted her with. She almost doesn't open the door. What the hell could have Jane so spooked. She carefully opens it and is almost disappointed at only seeing more pictures. Until she gets a closer look. There are hundreds, no thousands of hand drawn pictures tacked to every surface. Each one depicts some new horror. Mutilated bodies and burning worlds. Cities in ruin. Blood... so much blood. She closes the door to see the whole room and gets a good look at the main image. Only once the door was closed could one see it. The entire wall is given over to one large composite image. Jane has depicted a great black hand reaching down from the heavens and crushing a blue green world in its grasp.

Keeva is having trouble breathing. The entire room feels… just wrong. She quickly starts tearing everything down and building a pile at the center of the room. As she clears the walls, something far worse is revealed. Scrawled in tiny writing are thousands of words. Much of it is gibberish, but the ones she can read are bad enough. "MY DREAMS, MY DREAMS, THERE IS ONLY HELL IN MY DREAMS." This is repeated many times, on every wall… in blood. Keeva can barely keep it together. Jane had always suffered when she was awake but they'd all thought she found peace in sleep.

She's moving as fast as she can now. She needs to leave this horrible place before she loses it. Once everything is piled up she runs out of the room and hurls a thermite charge behind her. She bolts up the ladder and blows the charge. She calls to her men, "Load up, now!" They don't hesitate, each quickly taking their place as she climbs aboard.

Sirus stands behind her in the cockpit, "What's wrong Miss Keeva?"

Keeva doesn't answer as she lifts off and pans the gunships around to face the ruins. She releases the safeties and lets loose her entire complement of incendiary missiles. She banks the gunship away and slams the throttle to max, leaving the now massive inferno behind. She never tells anyone what she saw it that terrible place, but it haunts her for years to come.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 - Back on Their Feet**

 _Date_ _: 2.22.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - en route to Arcturus - Senior staff meeting_

 **Anderson**

He's been expecting this meeting for days now. The only thing surprising about it, is how long it's taken to be called. Several members of the crew had some… interesting stories about what Jane has been doing. Captain Belliard is currently berating the comm officer for allowing the girl to access the FTL transmitter an hour ago. They hadn't told him about it but the system logs had alerted him to the unexpected transmission regardless. "I'm waiting Dodson. Why did you let her make a personal transmission back to that shithole?"

The young man is clearly mortified over the attention and looks to Anderson for permission to answer truthfully. He nods and Dodson replies, "I'm sorry sir. Authorization came from Commander Anderson, so I thought you had already approved." The captain turns his baleful gaze to Anderson and drums his fingers on the table they're all sitting around.

"Well Anderson?"

"We took the necessary precautions sir. We had her use encrypted channels and the receiver had even higher quality encryption gear than we do. The records of the call were scrubbed from our systems within seconds of the call's end. The physical log is now the only evidence that it ever happened." The captain pinches the bridge of his nose, barely managing to keep his temper under control.

"Lieutenant Dodson, the comm is on lockdown until further notice. No transmissions are to be sent for the remainder of this mission. You are to report any and all requests for its use directly to me the moment said requests are issued. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." The young man breathes a sigh of relief as the captain turns to the next man in line.

"Lieutenant West, why did you request permission to keep her in engineering?" That was news to Anderson.

"Well captain, it's because of what happened a couple days ago."

 _Date_ _: 2.20.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - engine room_

 **West**

"God Dammit Phil! What the hell is that sound?!" He and ensign Elas had been hearing an incessant scratching sound for days and it was driving them insane. They had popped open every panel, tightened every bolt, rebuilt every display, and still they're tormented by the unending scratching sound.

"I don't know! I've been hearing and working on the same things as you! It's pissing me off too!" They'd been getting steadily more hostile towards each other ever since the sound had started, and it was only matter of time before one of them lost it completely. The two of them angrily turn back to their work, desperate for something to distract them from the telltale scratch. West manages to block it out for a minute and keeps his cool until he hears the door open. He doesn't hear anyone come in and he assumes that Elas had finally stormed out. He turns to glare at the panel Elas was supposed to be fixing, and finds that the ensign is looking to him, "You heard it too right?" West nods and the two of them turn to the entrance and see a girl standing just inside the door, staring at the ceiling.

West had heard about their passenger but hadn't know she was so… intimidating. She's wearing a heavy set of form fitting armored plates. Each plate has signs of extreme damage that is under repair. She has a two legged varren draped over one shoulder and is glaring angrily and the panel just above West. "Excuse me, but you're not allowed in here." He takes a step towards her as she snaps her eyes to his. The glare she gives him stops him in his tracks.

"Why haven't haven't you fixed that scratching sound yet?" She jabs a finger at the panel above his station.

"Huh?" He and Elas hadn't told anyone about the sound.

She growls and him and her free hand lights up with an amber aura and she hurls a golden orb at the panel. As soon as it hits, the panel is torn from the roof and crashes to the ground. West is about to start shouting when he sees a tiny arc of electricity shoot from one of the conduits revealed by the panels removal. The arc is accompanied by the cursed scratching noise. Elas moans at the obvious problem, "How did we not notice that before now." West thinks for a moment.

"We followed procedure and shut down the current to each panel as we pulled it away. If there are micro cracks in its insulation then we wouldn't have spotted them and while the current was shunted away, nothing would have seemed out of the ordinary." Elas turns to the closest wall and starts banging his head in embarrassment.

The girl isn't amused, "Fix it, **now**." Her varren is growling now and West decides not to antagonize her.

"I just need a minute to get some omni-gel and a ladder." She snarls at him and lights up with gold again. This time, West himself is the target. He almost craps himself before realizing that the strange biotic pulse is just lifting him towards the aberrant conduit. Once he's in place she grabs a tube from her belt and tosses it to him. He catches it and sees that it's a tube of omni-gel.

She repeats herself, "Fix. It. **Now**."

 _Date_ _: 2.22.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - en route to Arcturus - Senior staff meeting_

"She picked out something we've been trying to find for over a week, and it only took seconds. And she did it from outside the engine room. I mean, yeah she was a hair's breadth away from strangling us but she went on and pointed out twenty two other tiny malfunctions that would have been completely hidden from us, at least until they became a serious issue. With them all taken care of, our power distribution efficiency is up almost twenty percent." Anderson had noticed that the doors were opening quicker and the lighting hadn't flickered once in two days. "I'm telling you captain, she's a blessing wrapped in an ultra-scary shell. We should keep her around for a while, see if we can get her into the early training program for engineers. She'd be a huge asset for the Alliance."

Belliard rubs his forehead in annoyance and looks like he's about to give his permission when Security Chief Teek pipes up, "Hold it West. Permission to speak sir?" Teek has proven to be a stickler for procedure and always shows Belliard the deepest respect. The captain nods his assent and the chief continues, "This girl has no respect for rules and regulations. She shows utter disdain for anything resembling discipline and is constantly flaunting the regulations against bearing arms onboard without permission. That'd be bad enough, but the way she took back her gear is beyond the pale."

 _Date_ _: 2.19.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - armory_

 **Teek**

It was an ok day. No one needed an ass kicking for getting drunk before their shift, like West had last week. He'd enjoyed throwing him in the brig to sober up. The captain had threatened to strip West of his rank if it ever happened again, and had left him in there for three days with no food to help drive home the point.

Teek was currently polishing his favorite pair of cuffs when three loud bangs on the door grab his attention. "Armory's closed until the next combat operation." Three far louder bangs sound out. "I said no, now piss off!" He goes back to his polish job, irritated at the distraction. He can hear a growl from outside and gloats to himself, until a massive crash sounds out. The armory door is blasted across the room and stabs into the wall less than a foot from Teek's face. A young girl in a med-bay surgical gown steps in pulling a heavy dolly behind her. He gawks at the bizarre sight as she moves in.

She glares at him for a moment before speaking, "I want my gear back." He can't seem to find the words to demand answers, so she ignores him and starts ripping open lockers. She finds the plates, suit, and that weird black sword that Commander Anderson had brought in a couple day ago. She stacks everything onto her cart and heads for the door. Teek finds his courage and gets between her and the way out.

"Hold it! You don't get to just come in here and-" she cuts him off with a backhand across the face. He's sent spinning to the ground and blacks out.

 _Date_ _: 2.22.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - en route to Arcturus - Senior staff meeting_

Teek still has a black eye. "She physically assaulted me and caused serious damage to the armory. In addition, she is now strutting about the ship with military grade armor and weapons." Chakwas can't help but laugh at him.

"She's hardly strutting about Michael. I think you're just upset because a fourteen year old girl knocked you out with a single hit." Half the senior staff let out a chuckle and Teek bears his teeth with a snarl. His face is red with rage as he leaps to his feet and jabs a finger at the doctor.

"How dare you! I won't stand here and let you spout that shi-" The captain interjects.

"Careful Teek. Doctor Chakwas may have been a bit too cavalier in her assessment, but she makes a valid point. You're letting your anger get the better of you." That's really saying something when coming from Belliard. Teek's eyes are bulging as he grinds his teeth, desperately trying to stay calm and avoid damaging his career by blowing his top. "Now Chief, please sit down. I will consider what you've said and make a decision by the end of this meeting." Teek takes a couple deep breaths and sits back down. "Alright, Sergeant Beck. What do you have to say?"

The mess Sergeant is the oldest one in the room. He's been on the Hastings since it rolled out of drydock, and despite spending most of that time in the mess hall, he's still managed to be personally responsible for more pirate deaths than anyone else onboard. "Well Cap, I may not have any personal complaints about her but we do have a bit of a supply problem because of her and uh… what's his name… Spits! That's it."

 _Date_ _: 2.21.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - mess hall_

 **Beck**

Another day gone and he finally has his answer. It's been an interesting few days. He's been tracking an alarmingly fast drain on their supplies and now he has found the reasons. The girl is sleeping fitfully against the back wall of the stock room and her varren is belly up in her lap, his feet randomly kicking in the air. The two have wrappers from almost a full week of supplies scattered around them.

If it was a regular crewman passed out in his store room, Beck would beat the crap out of them, toss them out the door, and put them on half rations for a month. But he can't bring himself to be overly angry at them. If even half the stuff he'd heard Chakwas yell at Anderson about was true, then they'd earned a bit of sympathy from the old man. The varren lets out a massive belch and Jane giggles in her sleep.

He quietly moves what's left in the room into secondary storage and changes the code to be safe.

 _Date_ _: 2.22.2168_

 _Location_ _: SSV Hastings - en route to Arcturus - Senior staff meeting_

 **Chakwas**

"We're ok for now but we'll need to restock as soon as we hit Arcturus. I've got the rest stored in storage two and I changed the code. Might not stop her but it's worth a shot." The captain is looking at the table and shaking his head as Beck hands him a slip of paper with the new code. Chakwas decides to speak up.

"You have to understand captain that the girl was hideously malnourished when she arrived. Judging purely by her physical condition on arrival, she would have to have gone without food for several days or endured some kind of extended biotic gauntlet. Whatever the cause, this would have been enough to kill her without immediate help. She's still getting back to a standard weight. I ask you to please have some patience."

"I understand your concern Doctor, but we cannot have someone eating a private feast without so much as a hello to our quartermaster. From now on she doesn't enter the store room. Period. And she is to be accompanied at all times." It's a reasonable order and Chakwas can't find any reason to argue. "Speaking of the girl's movements through the ship, where is she now?"

Anderson is the one to answer, "She asked me if we had an exercise facility on board, so I took her to the cargo hold. She said she needed the extra space for something." Karin had already seen what he was talking about and she'd been blown away at what Jane had accomplished.

The captain was not so well informed, "And just what the hell does that mean."

"You don't need to worry captain," Karin had walked the girl down along with Anderson, "She's just working some kinks out a new piece of gear. No guns, explosives, or biotics to worry about."

The captain relaxes a bit, "Fine. Anderson, from now on I want you with her at all times. Keep her under control."

"Actually sir, it might be better if Doctor Chakwas were to look after her." Karin wasn't surprised. They'd actually spoken about it on the way to the meeting.

"Why is that Commander? Are you incapable of keeping track of a child?" Teek gives a slight smile but the commander doesn't rise to the bait.

"Well Captain, Karin seems to be the only one that Jane will listen to. Every time the good doctor tells her to do something she does it without hesitation."

"Not every time Commander, but she does seem more prone to following my instructions. I'd be happy to keep an eye on her for the duration of the trip." The captain nods and stands up. The rest follow suit.

"We'll be at Arcturus in two days, and I would prefer we arrive without further incident. Understood?" A chorus of 'yes sir' sounds out and the captain closes the meeting.

Anderson holds back with her as the others file out and return to their duties, "Come on, I want another look at what she's made. I still can believe she finished them so fast."

 **Jane**

 _'Come on Dess! You're gonna need to actually try if you want to get away!' Jane is laughing wildly as she watches the corpsman frantically sprinting along the perimeter of the cargo bay. Bounding lazily behind him is Spits, who is currently enjoying his brand new legs. She had been forced to settle for the plastics from the fabricator but now that the design was perfected, she could replace them with something better as soon as she can find better materials. For now, she's just happy to see him running around again. Sean had been foolish enough to claim that he could outrun the varren and Jane had sicked Spits on him in a heartbeat. That had been ten minutes ago and she was surprised to see him still on his feet. Spits of course wasn't even winded. 'As soon as you admit defeat I'll call him off!'_

 _Sean is pouring sweat and struggling to breathe, 'No… Never!' He keeps running and Jane goes back to the video she'd been watching. They'll be at it for a while. It was the same extranet channel that she had been looking into for the last few days. She'd been watching while building the legs and repairing her suit which she was glad to be back in. She's got the chemicals mentioned at the beginning of the video on the bench next to her. The krogan speaker is just about to get to the information she's been looking for when the cargo bay's door opens, admitting Karin and Anderson. Jane pauses the video and waves to them. Their faces light up with amusement at the sight of Dess struggling to stay ahead of Spits._

 _'Keeping my medic in prime shape I see. Hey Sean! I think he's closing in, might wanna pick up the pace!' The bullheaded medic manages to put on a new burst of speed which Spits matches effortlessly. 'How long have they been at it?'_

 _'About ten minutes. Sean thought he could run faster. He's got no clue that Spits is almost as fast as me on a straightaway.' She's smiling broadly. It's the first time since she's come aboard that she feels any real comfort. She gets an evilly hilarious idea, 'Hey, hey. Wanna have some fun?' Anderson nods with his own smile, 'Oh and don't worry, Sean'll be fine. Hey Spits!' The varren keeps chasing Sean but turns his head towards them. 'Pel'nara!' Her varren bounces excitedly a few times and bolts to full speed. Sean looks back and yelps in surprise as Spits tackles him to the ground. He rolls over and stares down Spits' snarling maw. Anderson and Chakwas look like they're going to intervene._

 _Sean is calling for help when Spits lets his tongue out and starts aggressively licking his face. Anderson and Chakwas are laughing madly as Sean tries to splutter out another call for help, 'Hey!' lick, 'Get him,' lick, 'Get him off' Spits keeps on drooling all over Sean's face as the three off them try to get themselves under control. 'Come on!'_

 _Jane decides Dess has had enough, 'Nifa!' Spits give one last lick and runs over to Jane. He plops down in front of her and starts scratching his chin on the grating around her. Dess gets back to his feet, absolutely soaked._

' _Dammit! There's like a gallon of spit on me!'_

' _Well, there's a reason I named him Spits.' The three of them share another bout of raucous laughter at Sean's expense as the corpsman tries to wipe off some of the drool. He's already acquired a puddle at his feet._

 _Anderson gets his composure back first, 'So Corporal Dess, what did we learn today?'_

 _Despite still being grossed out, Sean manages to crack a smile, 'Never challenge a varren to a foot race… and always bring a towel to the cargo hold' He gives a faux salute to them and heads for the showers. As they wave him off Anderson turns back to Jane._

' _What's that you're watching.' There's a brown crested krogan in battered armor on the screen of her omni-tool._

' _It's an extranet channel about training and caring for varren. He calls himself the 'Varren Viscount'. Spits has this weird fungus growing on his teeth and this guy made a video about it.' She plays the video while Anderson and Chakwas are left wondering how she got through the comm lockdown._

 _The brown crested krogan's voice is deep like most krogan, and he speaks with bombastic authority, 'Hello again my fellow varren friends! This is the Varren Viscount with a brand new tip for your varren's upkeep. Today's two Q's come courtesy of a regular viewer, Lab Rat 41154. She writes, "Varren Viscount, Love your show." always glad to hear from fans, "My varren has a weird black fungus growing on his tusks. It's fuzzy and smells sickly sweet. Do you know what it is and is there a safe way to get rid of it fast? Thanks for any help." Well Lab Rat 41154, what your varren has on his tusks is called Skrith. It's actually a pretty common problem with younger varren. Their bodies haven't developed their full complement of antibodies so some of them get a build up of Skrith on their tusks or their tongue. It's not life threatening but it will cause some severe tusk rot if you don't take care of it. Now remember, don't start mixing ingredients together until I finish these instructions and make sure you're not next to anyone with a heart condition. To get rid of Skrith all you need to do is mix together the chemicals I mention in the video description and pour the mix into a small, hollowed out melon. Once that's done, you open your varren's mouth up, stick in the melon, and then hold its mouth shut. The problem will be gone in a flash.'_

 _Jane follows the instruction and pours the mix into the melon she'd snuck out of the mess earlier. She gets Spits to open his mouth and puts the melon in. She closes his jaw and holds it shut. After a couple seconds, they all hear the melon burst inside Spits' mouth and he lets out a belch. His mouth is coated in a thick pink slime, which is rapidly dissolving the fungus on his teeth. It must taste good because he is lapping it up as fast as he can. She turns back to the video._

' _Now, since we've helped dissolve some Skith away, we can move on to Lab Rat 41154's second question. This one reads, "Varren Viscount, my varren has a bunch of scales peeling away from behind his eyes and spines. Is he sick or hurt?" Nothing to worry about Lab Rat 41154. That's just part of a varren's natural life cycle. Your friend is just entering his first molting phase. Most varren only molt once every five years but given your description of Spits, he sounds like one of the subspecies, most like a Drothon varren. They molt every year so keep track of the date because it'll happen at about the same time next year. All you need to do is give him something sturdy to scratch on. Some tough steel wire bristles would be perfect if you want to help him brush the old scales off or if you're strapped for cash, you can find him a nice gravel pit and let him go to town. Remember Lab Rat 41154, Spits' breed may be a little dumb, but if you win his loyalty you'll have a lifelong friend. He'll risk life and limb just to be with you and in a galaxy as harsh as ours, that's worth fighting for. Well viewers, that's all the time we have today. We'll be back, same time next week. Until then, treat your varren right, or I'll skin you.' The krogan waves at the camera as the video ends._

 **Anderson**

"Jane," the girl is running a heavy duty steel brush over Spits' back and he can see a new layer of scales shining as she scrapes off the old, "Did you send those questions in?"

She keeps brushing as she answers, "Yep. It took a couple minutes to get through the lockdown, but Keeva taught me a lot of tricks. You guys need to update your security programs. I got through after only four permutations." Karin asks the question he really wanted answered.

"Why did you use the name Lab Rat 41154?" The woman has a mortified look on her face.

"Plain old Lab Rat was taken, so I added a bunch of numbers." She dodging the question.

"No Jane. Why Lab Rat?" she stops brushing and lowers her eyes to the floor.

"Because that's what I am. I've only been out for ten months, and you guys are just taking me to another one aren't you. That's not going to end well." He and Chakwas trade glances before she continues.

"Jane, you're not going to a lab. Admiral Hackett just wants to talk to you and then we're going to try and find a new home for you. It'll be somewhere you can live peacefully, without having to look over your shoulder every day." Jane watches them closely for any signs of deception.

"Bullshit. You two believe it but there's no way they'll leave me alone. I've seen some of the files the Alliance has tried to bury. None of them paint a very compelling picture of your high command's compassion." Before he can ask about the files, she raises her hand and shows her hacking program, "I told you, you need a security upgrade. I got bored waiting for the fabricator to finish so I started reading about the Alliance. They've got a good sales pitch but this shit," she hold up the display which has the names of several projects that Anderson recognizes, several very dark programs, "doesn't back that pitch up."

Anderson kneels in front of her and looks her in the eye, "I swear Jane, despite the mistakes the Alliance has made, you're not going into a lab. I also swear, that if we've been deceived, I'll do whatever it takes to make it right. No matter the price."

She nods and goes back to brushing spits, "We'll see."

Anderson takes it as a win and continues on, "There is a reason we came down here Jane. The captain wants you to stop moving around the ship alone. You need to stop getting into the pantry without permission and you need to stop carrying your sword around."

Jane glares darkly at him, "Why doesn't he have the balls to tell me himself? If he hadn't been such a dick that first day then I would've been nicer to him." He turns to Karin for a lifeline and she doesn't disappoint.

"Jane, you need to listen. This is a military vessel and you're a guest. I know it's not ideal but please, don't go anywhere without me and ask for permission before you take something. And please leave your weapons in the infirmary. If anything happens, we'll head back and let you arm up right away." Jane glares for a few seconds before replying.

"Fine... How long before we get to the station."

Anderson consults his omnitool for a proper countdown, "Forty two hours. Think you can stay out of trouble till then" The girl nods and he gets up leave, "Thank you Jane." Chakwas beckons to Jane and the two of them leave for the infirmary with Spits happily bouncing behind. Anderson decides to get some exercise for himself. He needs to get his mind off some of the files the girl had brought up.

 _Date_ _: 2.24.2168_

 _Location_ _: Arcturus station_

 **Jane**

 _She's pulling a hover cart piled with the stuff Keeva has shipped for her. Captain Belliard had nearly had a heart attack when they'd left the airlock only to be greeted by a young turian standing next to a pile of goods. She'd given Sirus a bear hug and asked him a dozen questions about how things had gone, but only one really mattered to her, 'I'm really glad to see you Sirus, but why didn't Keeva come with you? She'd already offered to come."_

 _The young man smiles broadly, looking sharp in the brand new set of dark blue armor she'd left for him. She'd killed a major Wake warlord for it and it had been pure luck that the fit was perfect. 'Well we were all set to come here when she got a surprise call from home. Her cousin just had his first child and she couldn't wait go meet her. Believe me, she was torn for a long time on which way to go, and the only reason she decided to head back to the flotilla right away is because he asked her to perform the naming ceremony. She was in tears when he said that. Rael and Keeva were always close and she just couldn't say no.'_

' _Well, when you talk to her next, tell her I expect pictures. Lots of them. The secret account is still clear and I want it flooded.' The two of them traded a few more pleasantries before the call for his transport is sounded over the intercom. He hugs her one more time before excitedly heading out. He's got his emporium to get back to after all. The captain hadn't hung around to say goodbye and she's now being led to the her destination by Anderson. She'd left Spits with Chakwas in the main atrium. She gets plenty of looks from the people they pass and she wishes she had her helmet on. Jane doesn't like it when people stare at her._

 _They finally get to a nondescript office at the far end of the station and step in. There are three chairs positioned around a small table. One chair is occupied by an older man in an admiral's uniform. She recognizes him from the files she'd hijacked as the one she was here to meet. He stands up as they step closer to the table. 'Hello Jane, my name is Steven Hackett. Please sit down, we have a few things to talk about.'_

 _Date_ _: 2.24.2168_

 _Location_ _: Unknown_

 **Unknown**

 **Transmission incoming…**

 **Received...**

 **Warning...**

 **The Fulcrum has re-emerged**

 **Potential Threat Level - Dominus**

 **Current Threat Level - Minimus**

 **Action Is Required**

 **Probability Of discovery With Direct Action - 100** **%**

 **Seeking Solution**

 **Solution Acquired**

 **Probability Of Discovery With Chosen Solution - 0.00001** **%**

 **Decision Reached**

 **Dispatch Liquidation Unit 2**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 - Moves In The Dark**

 _Date_ _: 2.24.2168_

 _Location_ _: Arcturus_

 **Unknown**

 **Destination reached**

 **Objective - Locate and Liquidate target**

 **Target Classification - Fulcrum**

 **Target Position - Ancillary Office 432**

 **Liquidation Unit 2 Position - Arcturus Dock A-3**

 **Liquidation Unit 2 Status - Active**

 **Jane**

 _This wasn't what she expected. This Admiral is actually her idea of a grandfatherly individual. He's stern in his speech but seems very concerned for her safety. What she can't figure out is why? Why does this man care? Why did the Alliance spend so much effort for her? She'll need to look deeper into it, maybe later when she gets back into their classified files. For now she settles for a few simpler questions, 'So what happens now? Are you going to try and send my to a lab? I promise that won't end well for you.'_

 _Hackett smiles at her attitude, 'I believe it. We received quite a few clips from your battles over the last ten months, courtesy of an unsourced transmission from Omega. To tell the truth, all I want to do is help you find a peaceful place to grow up. I know you probably don't believe me, but I just want what's best for you.'_

 _She glares at him and demands, 'Why?'_

 _Hackett smiles again, 'Because when you grow up, I believe you'll be a tremendous boon to the galaxy at large.'_

 _Her eyes narrow as she listens to him list off a number of perfectly understandable reasons. He paints the perfect image of someone concerned over the future of a young woman. Most people would buy it hook line and sinker, but she can hear the changes in his pulse, she can see the ever so slight dilation of blood vessels in his ears, and she can feel a minute pulse of emotion coming off of him. He's lying, at least a little bit. Some of what he's saying is true, but there's something he's hiding. She'll need to scour the Alliance's network to get some real answers, but playing along for now is probably for the best._

 **Unknown**

 **Distance to Target - 200 meters**

 **Target Status - Unaware**

 **Unit 2 Status - Undetected**

 **Engagement Status - Impending**

 **Anderson**

Jane and Hackett spend almost an hour talking, with Anderson chipping in every now and then to add needed details. He can tell Jane isn't completely convinced and is surprised that she hasn't tried to leave. Then again, Chakwas had asked her to hear him out and then decide. Hackett finishes his prepared spiel and thanks Jane for listening to him. Anderson calls Chakwas over his comm and she arrives with Spits. Hackett asks Jane to wait in the atrium with them.

Once Anderson is alone with the admiral, Hackett's demeanor shifts from that of a concerned outsider. Now he's all business and turns to Anderson, "Do you think she'll go along with the plan?"

"To a certain extent, yes. She'll likely try to resume her hunt for the Red Wake, given the that their leader escaped. We can convince her to lay low until he's found, but if we ever try to stop her completely…" He's at a loss for words over how foolish such an action would be. Luckily Hackett is no fool and nods his understanding.

"That'll have to do for now. This Jortan has completely fallen off the radar. It'll probably be a few years before he resurfaces, so we should be able to keep her safe for a while. All that matters right now is that she has the chance to grow up." Anderson has heard Hackett say that before and he's always just accepted it, but this time his curiosity gets the better of him.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"This isn't technically an Alliance op David. You don't need my permission to question matters inside the Order." He nods and gathers his thoughts.

"Look Steven, I know this girl is special. Hell, given what she's accomplished with her pet alone, I can tell she'll be a great asset to humanity in the future. What I don't understand is the Order's interest. Why have we invested so much into securing this girl's future? And Why haven't we gone through the proper channels? There are plenty of charities that would jump at the chance to sponsor someone as unique as her. I'm not objecting, but I just don't understand." Hackett smiles at him.

"Do you trust me David?" He nods, "Do you trust the Order?" Another nod, "I can't reveal everything, but I can tell you that we've been looking for someone like her for a very, **very** long time. She has more potential than you can imagine David, and it's our job to make sure she realizes that potential." It's not all he wanted but it's enough for now. Hackett takes his silence as acceptance and carries on, "Moving to more immediate concerns, we need someone to look after her. Her caretaker needs to be someone outside the Order. We can't risk making her feel like she's a prisoner on probation. She might just kill them and go off on her own. Any ideas?"

Anderson has the perfect person in mind, "I do. I have a friend who would be perfect. She lost her husband and her own daughter in a slaver attack over a decade ago. She's been pouring herself into her career ever since but recently she sent me a communique telling me that she's resigning. Her commander has already approved and she'll be officially retired in two weeks. She has no other family and no knowledge of the Order." He hands Hackett the datapad he's been holding and the admiral scans the bio Anderson has prepared.

"Sounds good. This says she tends to show a motherly disposition towards most people. Is that true or just some psych eval bullshit?"

"I've known her for years and I can testify that she's exactly as she's portrayed in that file."

"Excellent, but will she be willing to help? If she's resigning then her help has to be purely voluntary." Anderson's given it some serious thought.

"She might be hesitant at first, but once she learns what the girl's been through, I think she'll volunteer. She's always leapt at the chance to help people in trouble."

"Good. I see here that she's still on the station to finalize the papers." Anderson confirms, "I want to talk to her immediately. Please arrange it. Now we also need somewhere to hide her for the time being. The order can suppress information from any of the traverse colonies, do you think you can convince Jane and her soon to be guardian to go somewhere out of the way? Somewhere quiet."

 **Unknown**

 **Distance to Target - 20 meters**

 **Target Status - Agitated**

 **Unit 2 Status - Detected**

 **Engage**

 **Jane**

 _Something's wrong. Spits is sniffing the air and is growing more agitated every moment. She can smell something too. It's a faint scent of burning plastic and skin. Jane can't put her finger on why it's so familiar. She knows that scent from somewhere but just can't remember where she's smelled it before. The doctor is trying to talk to her._

' _Jane, what's wrong? What is it?' She answers by drawing her sword and energizing its conduits. A faint ripple fills the air about fifteen meters away and Jane reaches back and shoves Chakwas out of the way. She slams up a barrier as a figure in black ripples out of thin air and opens fire with a strange rifle. Time slows to a crawl as she sees a spent shell casing ejected from the rifle's side. She can see the bullet screaming towards her. It reaches her barrier and to her slack jawed astonishment, it passes through without slowing. The bullet slams into her chestplate, cracking it open. The impact knocks her on her ass and blows the wind out of her lungs. The weapons recoil has cost the figure its aim and Spits exploits that to gruesome effect._

 _He'd always leapt at the chance for a fight but when someone actually managed to hurt her, he became a whole different beast. Spits tears into her assailant with his tusks and newly mounted claws and slashes huge gouges in the creature. Black blood and viscera are sent sailing in every direction as he rips her attacker to pieces in a frantic rage. She gets back to her feet as more dark armored figures ripple into sight. Each is carrying either the same kind of rifle or a dark metal blade. She needs to turn the tables fast. The first thing she needs is to get Spits to fight more carefully. She has trained him in several different engagement styles and though a frontal attack was his favorite, there's another he excels at. 'Spits! Norut'noka!' He immediately drops the savaged corpse of their new enemy as she uses Abyss to launch a biotic wave at the overhead lights._

 _The room is plunged into darkness and Spits starts stalking their prey through the shadows. The red emergency lights can't penetrate the voluminous foliage planted in the atrium. She dives away as the enemy fires a fusilade at her previous location. They barely react to the darkness and start combing the room for her. She can see them clearly and moves behind one of the gun toting bastards. She's completely silent as she raises her blade high and swings it at the creature's neck. Abyss effortlessly slides through its ugly flesh and severs its head. She boots the head away and smiles maliciously when the sound of it hitting the ground draws fire from her attackers._

 _She can hear Spits howl just before one of the enemies is sent crashing to the ground with the varren in question clamping his jaws down on its head. It's crushed like a melon and instead of staying to eat it, Spits immediately moves on like a good boy. He grabs one of the blade armed targets by the waist and shatters its pelvis in one quick bite, before hurling the creature away into the brush. His jaw strength was massive even compared to regular varren. He moves back into the shadows as the others open fire in his direction._

 _While they're trying to hit Spits, Jane leaps to the catwalk overhead and scouts out her next target. There are four standing in a circle, smoothly scanning the room. She moves to a spot above them and reverses her grip on Abyss. She leaps down with the blade aimed at one of their heads. It slams into the creature and she flexes her knees to absorb the impact. The others are turning as she rips the blade out of the first one's head. She lashes out with a kick at the one to the right and hears its knee shatter. The left enemy tries to bash her head in with the butt of its rifle. She jerks to the right, grabs its collar, and slams her forehead into its face. The creature goes limp as the fourth brings its blade to bear. She swings abyss in an overhead strike and is shocked when the creature deflects it with its own dark blade. Its blade is completely unscathed and it brings the weapon around in a horizontal slash. She barely manages to duck in time and stabs Abyss up into the creature's chin as she leaps back up. It's dark blade sails from numb fingers as she kicks the corpse away. She turns around to finish the crippled enemy, only to find Doctor Chakwas unloading a hand cannon into it. The creature's head bursts on the third shot._

 _She can see Spits standing atop a trio of bodies a few meters away, ripping the head from a squirming enemy. The dead are burning up in a small haze of red lightning, leaving little more than small piles of ash. She can't' see any more targets but she can still smell one of them._

 _It's the sound that gives away the final enemy. She can hear his footsteps and she swings Abyss in a diagonal slash as she turns. Her blade is stopped cold by the creature's own. This enemy is different than the others. It's armor is thicker and it's as strong as she is. Their blades are locked and she growls as she tries to break it. The creature pulls to the right suddenly and she looses her footing. It slams an elbow into the back of her head and floors her. Abyss slides from her grip and the creature cannons a boot into her side. She rolls a few feet and tries to get to her feet. She's stopped when it slams its boot into her face. Everything goes black for a second and she feels the creature straddle her stomach._

 _Her sight comes back and she sees it raising its blade to finish her. From the corner of her eye she sees Spits charging over but he won't be there in time. She only has one option. She can't focus enough for biotics so instead she opts for something she'd hoped to avoid for the rest of her life. She feels her pupils expanding as she shoots a hand out to grab the creature's head. The shadows grow unnaturally deep as she reaches out with her mind and drags the creature in._

 _She finds herself upon the shadowed plains and the creature is there with her. Outside her standing space, the plains are erupting with magma and the mountains are roaring. A pair of great dark wings extend from her back as she cannons into the creature. It manages to shove her off and bring up its blade. She lashes out and the two trade a dozen blows before she notices what's above it. The sky is blacked out by a shape that has haunted her nightmares ever since that damn asari got in her head. A great black hand is reaching down and as it gets closer, the creature gets stronger. She may be powerful but she's never had any real training. This creature has, and as she loses the advantage in strength, it gains the definitive upper hand._

 _She's on the backfoot and the creature raises its blade for the killing blow. It swings in a murderous arc that she can't intercept. The blade is stopped an inch from her neck when a dark hand wraps around the creatures wrist. Her shadow has the creature in an unbreakable hold. It struggles to break free as its arm starts melting. Her rage is hot enough to burn the creature. She boots the creature in the chest and it falls to the ground. She leaps up and slams a fist down on its chest. Her hand blasts through it and she raises it again. She floods her arm with power as she hits again and again and again. Each blow blasts more of the creature into dust and each is accompanied by a surge of terrible images. The creature's memories are flowing into her as she destroys it. She sees an idyllic countryside. She sees a metal spike protruding from someone's chest. She hears a signal commanding obedience. She feels it's mind being destroyed. She's witnessing its fall into slavery. Jane pities the person it once was as she keeps slamming her fists into it, pummuling what is now just a pile of ash. The great black hand is slowly fading into dust as she feels a different hand take her own. The shadow looks into her eyes and she finally relents. She closes her eyes and breaks her connection with the creature._

 **Chakwas**

The fight had lasted only a few moments. One moment they'd been standing there, waiting for Anderson and Hackett, the next Jane and Spits were tearing into dark armored enemies appearing from nowhere. Karin had blown the head off one and turned in time to see Jane smashed to the floor and nearly killed. But then something odd happened. The girl had taken hold of her attacker's face and in moments the creature was crumbling into dust. That didn't stop Spits from tackling the dissolving body and trying to take bites from it. All he gets is a mouthful of ash and he starts dragging his tongue across the floor to get rid of the taste. The varren spots a nearby fountain and charges over to plunge his head into it. She can hear him slurping up gallons as the thunderous footsteps of security finally arrive and the room's secondary lighting comes online. The room lights up as the guards surround them.

The detail is led by a nervous young lieutenant, "Everybody freeze! Hands up!" Karin doesn't hesitate, dropping her pistol immediately. The last thing they need is to survive an assassination attempt only to be gunned down be a jumpy lieutenant. Jane apparently doesn't share the sentiment. Her chest is heaving as she takes in the squad of men aiming their weapons at her. Her eyes are still heavily dilated as she gets to her feet with a snarl. "Don't wanna hurt you kid! Hands up!" Jane looks like she's about to attack so Karin steps in.

"Jane please calm down. They don't know what happened. Please just cooperate until we can straighten this out." Jane looks at her like she's completely insane, but she still relaxes her posture. She slowly puts her hands up and stops growling at the guards. They step forward to take them into custody. One of them tries to grab hold of Jane's hands and that is one step too far for her. She plants a fist at the center of the man's chest, sending him flying back with a crack in his chestplate. The rest of the security team are torn between pointing their guns and running away. Luckily a new voice calls out.

"Everyone stand down!" Admiral Hackett and Commander Anderson step into the atrium. The security team snaps to attention as the two men take in the scene. There's ash scattered all over the floor, many of the plants have been pulped, and Jane's varren is still drinking deeply from the fountain. Hackett marches up to the Lieutenant, "Report!"

The young man takes several second to pipe up, "Sir, we received an alert about weapons fire and some kind of explosion in the atrium. We arrived to find these two, that animal, and nothing else. We we're trying to apprehend them when the girl attacked Pvt. Gorlson. That's when you arrived." The private in question is being tended to by a medic.

A flash of gold grabs everyone's attention. Jane's black sword sails into her hand, she turns sharply, and catapults it in Hackett's direction. Karin is terrified for moment, thinking that maybe Jane has lost her mind. It's a huge relief when the blade slams through the chest of the now revealed black figure that had been sneaking up on the admiral. The creature is throw back by the impact and immediately starts breaking down in the same haze of red lightning that destroyed the others. Hackett turns back to Jane with a smirk on his face, "Nice throw Jane." The girl steps past him and reclaims her sword. She slides it back into her scabbard as the young lieutenant finds his courage.

"What's going on sir? What the hell was that thing?"

It's Anderson that answers, "Doesn't matter Lieutenant. Secure the area. No one in or out without the Admiral's approval until this matter is sorted out. The Admiral and I will handle these three," He gestures to Karin, Jane, and a now thoroughly soaked Spits. The lieutenant blinks a few times before saluting and moving to lock down the area. Anderson kneels next to one of the piles of ash left behind by their attackers.

Hackett holds a hand out to Karin, "So, what happened?"

"We were waiting for your meeting to finish and were attacked by several strange people using active camouflage. Their first shot knocked Jane down, but Spits killed the shooter. Then others decloaked and tried to attack. Jane knocked out the lights, then she and Spits killed most of them. One of them almost got her but she did… something to it and it crumbled to dust. The others dissolved just like that one she killed next to you. That's when security arrived. One of them tried to take hold of Jane's hands and she struck him. Then you and Anderson arrived. I've no idea what these things were."

 **Anderson**

They need to get moving just in case there are more lurking about. "Admiral, we should move to a secure location. No telling how many more are waiting for a shot at her."

"True enough. Everyone come with me." They leave the ruined atrium behind and make their way to the security hub. The admiral leaves Jane, Karin, and Spits in one of the interrogation rooms before addressing Anderson. "We need to speed this up. They might try again, this time with less subtlety. Bring your candidate for her guardian here, now. I want this done quickly. If she accepts, I'll take care of the paperwork to accelerate her resignation." Anderson nods and heads off to find her.

She's in her quarters, packing her last personal items into a duffel. She doesn't take long to answer his knock and she gives him a slight smile, "Hey David. Your message said their was something you wanted to talk to me about, but I thought you wanted it to wait till tomorrow."

"Things are moving a little quicker than we thought. Can you come talk now? It's important." She doesn't seem overly enthused, then again since losing her family she hadn't exactly been a picture of excitement.

"You talking about the disturbance in the atrium," he nods, "I suppose, but only because I don't have anything more important right now." He leads her through the station and into the security hub, much to her confusion. "Why'd we have to come to security David?"

"The matter we want to talk to you about is extremely sensitive. Someone needs help and I thought you'd be perfect for it."

They're stepping into the main lobby as she responds, "You do know I'm resigning right? I mean I don't mind helping but I'll be leaving in less than two weeks. And who's we?"

"Commander Anderson is referring to me along with himself." She snaps a crisp salute at Hackett but he waves it off, "At ease Lieutenant, this isn't a formal meeting. Feel free to speak and question as you please. The issue we want to discuss with you isn't technically an Alliance matter but Anderson was confident that you'd be able to assist us."

She shoots a glare at Anderson before answering, "Alright Admiral, I'll hear you out. But no bullshit. I'm done with half answers and taking things on faith." Hackett nods his agreement and carries on.

"About a week ago, Anderson and his team rescued someone from Omega, a young girl. She's endured… extreme circumstances for most of her life and now we need someone to look after her. Her name is Jane." Anderson knows that ten years ago she would have lit up with hope just at the possibility of getting her little girl back, but that hope had long ago been ground to dust under the cruel realities of the galaxy.

"I know you're not talking about my Jane. Why come to me? Why not help her reintegrate normally?"

"Lieutenant, this girl has been brutalized for most of her life and when she escaped she started making enemies very quickly. These enemies may be able to trace her through the standard resettlement procedures. We need to keep her hidden and safe. That means avoiding normal channels and finding someone we can rely on to look after her. I know this is an unusual request, and let me be clear it is only a request. We will in no way try to force you into this if you're unwilling. All I ask is that you give it some thought. This girl needs someone that can actually care for her as something more than just another charity case or political pawn." She's not quite convinced but Anderson can tell how close they are. "Would you be willing to meet her at least?"

"I suppose. I'd like to see her before a meeting though." The admiral nods and leads her to the other side of the two way mirror in the interrogation room. Karin is sitting in one of the chairs drumming her fingers on the table, Spits is snoring loudly in the corner, but Jane is pacing like a caged animal. "Oh my god," she gets a good look at Jane's face and sees the massive scar running from her lips to her ear, "what the hell happened to her?"

"That particular injury is from the glancing blow of a sniper rifle. From what little she's been willing to share, it was the third attempt on her life in two days." Jane has stopped pacing and turns her eyes to the mirror. Anderson hears a gasp. "And those are the result of something that happened a long time ago."

"Don't bullshit me David, you tell me what happened right now!" She'd always become hostile when learning about someone being abused.

"Jane has enured a gruesome series of medical experiments ever since she was an infant. We haven't found those responsible yet, but whoever they were, the suffering of children was no barrier to them. She's the only survivor out five hundred." A tear is rolling down her cheek as he relates the girl's story. "Would you like to meet her?" She nods and he heads to the interrogation room.

Jane is the first to speak, "Who were you talking to? I can tell it's a woman but the glass only lets me see silhouettes."

Anderson turns to the doctor, "Karin could you wait outside for a minute, she wants to meet Jane." The good doctor smiles broadly and leaves Jane and Spits with him as he waves someone else in, "Come on in."

She steps in and stands a few feet from Jane as Anderson introduces her, "Jane, this is a good friend of mine. Her name is Hannah Shepard." He steps out of the room and closes the door behind him.

 **Hannah**

The girl is quite a sight. She's about five inches shorter than Hannah but her armor gives her a much larger presence despite the split chest plate. Her eyes are an amazing shade of glowing violet and her hair is a startling deep crimson. The girl is glaring at her through narrowed eyes, "Are you the one they want to stick me with?" She nods, "Did you agree?"

Hannah is surprised by the hostility, "I wanted to meet you first, make sure what they said was the truth."

"They don't know much about me so I doubt it. Why would you even be willing to help?"

"Because you're a young girl that's had a hard life. I don't like seeing people suffer. I want to help you." The girl bares her teeth with a snarl and the varren sleeping in the corner suddenly wakes and adds its own growl.

"I'm not a person. I'm just some freak, a monster. A lab rat! If you knew anything about me you'd start running and never stop. I've done things more terrible than you can imagine! I've killed more people than you've ever known! What makes you think you can help me?!" Hannah isn't afraid. The girl may be shouting, but she can see the tears forming.

"I can help you make a home. If you think that what you've had to do to survive will scare me off, then tell me about them. Do what you can to frighten me away. And when your done, when you've shown me the monster you claim to be, I'll still be here, offering to help." Jane's confusion at her stubbornness is obvious. Even her varren seems perplexed. The girl steps closer.

"It'll be easier to show you. There's… There's something I can do that will let you see." Hannah waves for her to go ahead. Jane stands directly in front of her and puts a hand to the side of Hannah's face, "Don't say I didn't warn you." Hannah can't stifle a gasp as the shadows in the room grow unnaturally thick. The girls pupils expand to cover the entire visible surface of her eyes. Hannah closes her eyes after feeling a sudden surge of vertigo.

She feels something under her feet and opens her eyes. She's not in the interrogation room anymore. She's on a shadowy plain. There are two lights lazily spinning around the large circular dias she's standing on. "What is this place?" Her voice echoes strangely as she tries to figure it out. She feels a presence at her shoulder and turns to see Jane standing next to her. She's not wearing armor anymore, just a dark red suit like a quarian's.

"This is a private place. Whenever I'm hurt really badly or something terrible happens, I come here. You're in my mind." Hannah reels at that.

"How? How is that possible? I thought only asari could to that." At the mention of asari a great peal of thunder shakes the plains around them.

"One of them tried to kill me with something like this. Something got knocked loose in my head and now I can do it too." Hannah is terribly confused but the girl takes her hand and carries on, "You wanted to know what I was talking about out there. Well, here you go." With that a flood of memories fills Hannah's mind. She can hear Jane's thoughts and feeling as almost fourteen years of hell flash before her. There Jane is laying waste to a group of slavers, taking ten bullets in the process. Here, an assassin is ramming a blade through her back. Another has the girl getting the hell beaten out of her by a group of asari commandos. Another memory of an asari shows Jane's mind being violated. It goes on and on. A storm of misery and suffering stretching back years. There's an all pervasive feeling of hatred and rage infecting every second of it. Even the few happy memories that Jane has are tainted by a soul deep fury that makes Hannah's stomach turn. So much horror. So much pain. No creature should ever have to endure so much.

The last images are surrounded with an apocalyptic hatred. One is a batarian making a vulgar gesture and calling out, " _Better luck next time freak!_ " The hatred for this one is strong but it's nothing compared to the next. An image of a man in a lab coat fills her mind. It whispers, " _Hello 027, lovely to see you again_." Jane's hatred for this one is blinding. It was the first person Jane ever hated and despite him being dead, she was still filled with rage at the very thought of this man and his reptilian smile. Behind them both is an indistinct figure, shrouded in a fine red haze. This is the one Jane hates most of all. It's not the same burning rage she keeps for the others. No, this is a cold and boundless loathing. Unlike the others, this hate doesn't fuel Jane. She doesn't pull strength from it. Instead, it rots away at her from the inside.

As the images fade, the memories of pure pain get stronger. Hannah feels a tiny echo of it as the memories cycle backwards. She feels Jane getting shot, stabbed, broken, tortured. She feels the knives cutting deep and things being implanted. It goes all the way back to one of Jane's first memories. It's the memory of a needle being forced into each eye and something being injected, with endless suffering following in its wake. Hannah can hear a pained voice in the background, "Never stops. Never stops. Never stops." Jane is whispering to herself in a constant refrain.

She tries walk closer but Jane stops her, "That's not the end of it. That's why I'm a freak, but this," a new series of memories starts flashing by, "this is why I'm a monster." She sees through the pained sight of a terrified child, trapped in a tiny room with four others. They all writhe and scream, and weep in a terrible pain shared by the viewer. But where the observer gets 'better' the other children get worse. She can hear bones break as their bodies are ever so slowly torn apart from within. Time flashes forward and she's holding a knife in one hand and a suffering child in the other. The knife stabs in and blood pours out. Three more times, the knife is plunged home and another life is ended. Hannah's heart is already broken, but it's not over yet.

A new scene takes hold. She sees a strange place, decrepit and dirty. She feels bone deep exhaustion and injuries that would kill a grown man. A flash of fire across her face and suddenly everything goes red. Then she sees innocent people being torn apart for a misunderstanding. And finally, she sees another child, wounded and suffering. Once more a blade tears through flesh.

She's weeping freely as she's released from the nightmare and turns to find Jane standing next to someone new. "Who is that?"

"Me." The figure is almost completely shrouded in darkness. It shares the same proportions as Jane. It also has identical violet eyes. As the figure steps closer, Hannah can feel heat radiating from it. It feels like she's sitting next to a blazing inferno. Sweat cascades down her brow as Jane speaks again, "At least, a part of me. She's kept me safe whenever I've almost been killed. She's my rage." The figure has the same piercing gaze as Jane. "The only problem is that when I'm hurt badly enough or something really horrible happens, I lose control. When that happens, when she takes over, I can't tell the difference between enemies and ordinary people. I just see red and… and…"

 **Jane**

 _She's hugging herself tightly as she struggles to keep speaking. Jane is desperately trying not to cry. She and her shadow come close together to lean on eachother. Jane is trembling and her breathing hitches as she sways back and forth with her shadow. She doesn't want to think about this anymore. 'I… I see them every time I close my eyes. Whenever it should be quiet, I can hear them screaming and crying and begging and it never,_ _ **ever**_ _stops.' She's grinding her teeth and holding her temples as spews out years of pent of pain. She whispers, shouts, and screams at Hannah for hours. She can't believe she's telling all this to someone she only just met, but she can't stop. 'I don't want to hurt people! I don't want to hate so much! BUT IT WON'T STOP!'_

 _Her shadow has burning tears flowing down its face and Jane can feel her own falling. She drops to her knees, trying to hold it in. She's never felt so weak and it makes her angrier and angrier. Jane is about to lose it when she feels someone wrap their arms around her. She smells the faint scent of simple perfume and hears Hannah whispering to her. 'Let it out Jane. No one is hear to judge you or hurt. Don't hold it in.' So she doesn't. She stops holding back and just cries for hours. Hannah holds her close the whole time._

 _When she finally stops, Hannah is still there. She's still holding her. 'Why do you want to help? After seeing what I am, what I've done, how can you still care?'_

' _Because you need someone to care.'_

 **Anderson**

"Do you think it's going well David?" Karin's asked him the same question five times since they'd left Hannah and Jane alone and five times he's given the same answer.

"I don't know doctor. I hope so, but I don't know." Karin goes back to pacing. They'd been waiting for over an hour and hadn't heard a single thing since Jane had stopped shouting. Hackett is speaking with security to sort out the story for what happened in the atrium. He could pull rank and just bury everything, but that would just create more problems. They'd settled on a story about some experimental battlemechs gone haywire. Some would still be suspicious but it would stifle most people's curiosity.

Chakwas lines up to ask again when they hear the door cycle open. Hannah steps out. She's holding Jane's hand and Spits trots out behind them. They both look exhausted and Hannah looks at the clock, "It's only been an hour?"

Jane sleepily answers, "Time moves weird when you're in someone's head." Hackett is making his way back over and Hannah turns to him.

"I'll watch over Jane. We just need to find somewhere nice and quiet to live." Anderson is overjoyed and surprised in equal measure. He hadn't expected it to be so easy.

Hackett's the one to respond, "That's excellent news Shepard. I can make sure your papers get cycled through the system immediately and we can have the two of you on a ship as soon as we have a destination." Even Jane lets loose a small smile at that. "Jane are you fine with going with Hannah." The girl nods without hesitation. "I'm glad to hear it. Dr. Chakwas, can you take Jane and Shepard to the medbay and give them a quick check before we send them out. We need to make sure they're in good health before they leave." Karin agrees and leaves with the Hannah and Jane along side. Spits is hopping along behind them, apparently as happy as ever.

"Anderson, find a ship that doesn't have a destination yet. Commission it for transportation and make sure it's crewed by people we can trust." He leaves the admiral alone and heads off to make the arrangements.

 **Hannah**

"Hannah, I'm pleased to say you're in perfect health." She gives the older woman a slight smile and turns to see Jane and Spits on the other side of the room. She's scanning through files on the colonies Hannah had told her about earlier. The girl's results hadn't been so… positive. Hannah had seen Jane's memories and the scans just added weight to her sorrow. After seeing them, she was even more certain of her decision. Jane needed her. "I don't mean to pry, but what convinced you to help her?"

"Somehow she showed me her memories. There's much pain there. I can't just step aside and ignore it." She and Jane had split the hours since the meld between enduring Chakwas' scans and talking about where they could go. Anderson had called to let them know about a ship he'd chartered for them. Now they just needed to pick a new home. He'd suggested that she choose one of the colonies in the Traverse.

"You know it probably won't be easy. She's proven to be quite hostile at times."

"I know. I saw the memory of her threatening Captain Belliard. It was actually kind of funny seeing him turn red. Despite how she behaves, she's actually a surprisingly sweet girl when you're nice to her. I mean, yeah she could probably kill anyone she wanted, but every time she moves it causes her pain. The only reason she's been hunting the Red Wake is because they struck first and she doesn't know how to respond with anything other than violence. Hopefully, with somewhere a bit more peaceful than Omega, she can learn to let go of her anger." It's a slim hope given what she saw in the girl's mind.

"Have you chosen somewhere to go yet?"

"I've narrowed it down to three. I can't decide between them so I'm gonna let Jane pick. There's Elysium. It's really well developed and they've got a good university there. The only problem is that it's pretty much a fortress these days. It's a really gung-ho militaristic colony and I'm not sure Jane would like it. Then there's Akuze. It's not very built up but there's tons of potential for expansion."

"Both seem pretty good. What's the third?"

 **Jane**

 _She's been looking into the planets Hannah mentioned. Jane's actually feeling pretty good about this. The first one would be really safe, but she doesn't like how densely packed everything looks in the available images. The second looks pretty but it doesn't have many resources. It's not till she brings up an image of the third planet that she feels anything. It's more developed than Akuze and it's not as heavily controlled as Elysium, but there's something more. The voices clamour for her attention as she looks further into it. They're all calling out with the same thought. She has to go there. There is something there that she needs to find. She reads deeper into it and the planet sounds better and better. It's something of a little paradise, a farming colony with mild seasons and plenty of wildlife. The planet is supposedly a quiet place and merchants that have visited claim the people were friendly and tended to mind their own business._

 _Jane's made up her mind. Hannah was letting her make the final choice and this was it. She needed to go to this place. She whispers the name to herself, "Mindoir."_

 **Hackett**

Soon he'll have Hannah and the girl on their way to safety. First he needs to make a call, so he heads for a secure comm room. He quickly punches in his clearance codes and waits for the others. It doesn't take long for several screens to light up, each showing a shadowed figure. Most of the known races are represented even though their identities are hidden. As usual Krogan is the first to speak, "Heard you're having some trouble at home Human. Wouldn't have anything to do with a certain red haired girl would it?" Of course they would all know about her already. "Is it true? Is this really the Fulcrum."

"Based on the information we're privy to, yes. There is no doubt in my mind that she is what we've been searching for." The figures murmur for a bit before Salarian speaks.

"If this is true then we have far less time than we'd hoped. Our most pessimistic predictions gave us another century before the darkness of ages past returned. With the Fulcrum's emergence we could have as little as a decade." A babble of overlapping voices call out. Each member of this shadow council demanding to be heard. It's Turian that gets through.

"What I've heard, is that she's still a child."

"That is correct Turian. She's just under fourteen years old and won't reach maturity for another four to five years." Hackett knows what Turian will try.

"Then we must begin her training immediately. If we are indeed so pressed for time then we cannot wait. I can have a secret facility on Palaven ready in less than a year." Turian's declaration just brings another clamour of argument. Each speaker tries to talk over everyone else.

"This one wishes to speak!" Hanar is one of the most respected members, given his extensive service, "The old temples make it clear. In order for the honorable Fulcrum to reach maturity it must be left in peace. If the order attempts to force its training too soon, it will be driven mad. It has happened in many of the legends from the temples. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the poor souls that preceded us. The Fulcrum must be allowed to grow in peace." Several heads nods in response. Turian growls at them and is about to respond, but Asari beats him to it.

"The ancient agreement still stands. Whatever race the Fulcrum belongs to has the right to determine its path. Human's decision can only be overridden by a two thirds vote. Cast your vote in the usual manner." Nine votes are cast. Seven have voted in Hackett's favor. "It is decided. We leave the Fulcrum's care to you Human."

Turian responds, "Spirits save us if this fails."

 **Unknown**

 **Target Status - Unharmed**

 **Unit 2 Status - Terminated**

 **Engagement Status - Failure**

 **Warning**

 **Presence of Dark Blade Confirmed**

 **Blade Designation - Abyss**

 **Presence of Subneural Aberration Confirmed**

 **Aberration Designation - Dark One**

 **Previous Threat Level - Minimus**

 **Updated Threat Level - Moderus**

 **Seeking Solution**

 **Solution Unavailable**

 **Fulcrum Will Likely Return to Hiding**

 **Action Advised - Wait and Observe**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 - Home**

 _Date_ _: 2.27.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir - High Orbit_

 **Hannah**

It's even more beautiful than she expected. Mindoir is a gorgeous green orb dotted with a few large inland seas. The trip has been pretty smooth and the crew was polite enough. She and Jane had spent the bulk of the journey going through lists of available homes on the planet and reading about the place in general. She hadn't really cared where they lived so long as they were close enough to the main colony for them to get to stores and schools, but Jane had lasered in on a place on the outskirts of the main settlement. It was a mid sized two floor home on a hill overlooking the town. The price was shockingly high, but Jane had paid for it before they'd even reached orbit. Apparently she'd built up quite a pile of money during her time on Omega. When they'd arrived in orbit, the captain had asked if they wanted to see it from orbit before leaving. It'd taken her a while to convince Jane that it was worth it.

Now Jane is staring out the observation deck's viewport, a tear trailing down her cheek. "What's wrong Jane?"

She doesn't face Hannah, opting to put a hand on the glass and lean closer, "I've never seen a real planet before…" Hannah goes through what Jane had shown her and realizes that the girl is right. This is the first time she's ever looked at a planet in real life. Her only experiences had been with videos and pictures from the extranet. That just couldn't compare to the real thing.

She smiles and puts an arm around the girl, "Just wait until we get to the surface." They watch for a while longer before the captain announces that they've arrived over the colony. "Come on, let's head to the shuttle." She has to run to keep up with Jane as they head for the shuttle. Spits keeps pace and they reach the bay in no time. They both have a small duffel and the captain has promised to send the rest once they're cleared for a second shuttle pad. The pilot has the engines cycling up and he calls back to them.

"Alright ladies and varren, please buckle into your seats and get ready for launch. We're looking at a short flight of about twenty minutes. Please stay in your seat until we land. Oh and you can strap your varren down on the med cart on the floor. Should keep him nice and safe." Spits doesn't resist as Jane straps him in and the She takes the seat next to Hannah. The launch is a bit bumpy but the flight is smooth. As they break the atmosphere and the colony comes into view through the viewport. It's not very densely packed. Each structure has plenty of room around it and that makes the colony seem much bigger than it is. The main town is almost ten kilometers across and there are dozens of farmhouses scattered in every direction.

Jane is spouting off tons of statistics as they approach. She's been reading about the planet nonstop since they'd left Arcturus, "Did you know that Mindoir can grow crops year round? The seasonal changes are so slight that the only thing they do different during their 'winter' is change to a slightly hardier breed of of wheat rather than beans and corn. The colony puts out enough food to supply twenty others and they still have a large enough surplus to sell to Citadel markets." Hannah learns more about Mindoir during the twenty minute flight than she had in three days of her own research. She's glad to see that Jane seems excited. The shuttle slows dramatically and she can feel it when the landing gear makes contact with the ground.

 **Jane**

 _This might actually be good. As the shuttle's ramp opens, Jane gets her first breath of natural, unfiltered air, and it's wonderful. Yes she can smell exhaust from the engines but she can also smell a thousand other scents that she's never known before. The air barely burns her lungs and her skin only itches a little. She hefts her small bag and walks out of the ship with Spits and Hannah right behind. The three of them move through the small space port's customs office. The officer in charge gives Jane some grief over her sword but relents when his supervisor comes over. Apparently Hackett had already cleared them. They find a small flyer waiting for them, another thing Jane a bought for them during the trip. They get flight clearance and make their way to the hill with their new home._

 _She'd spent a lot of money on this place and was glad to see that everything was in order. There was a garage for their flyer and a workshop for her behind that. Her tools would be there once the cargo was cleared by customs. The house has a large living room, already fully furnished. The company she'd contracted had done an excellent job. She claimed the smaller room upstairs and dropped her duffel in the corner. Hannah is setting out a few things in her own room as Jane returns to the ground floor. Spits has already clawed a divot out of the floor in one corner and he's begun piling debris. Hanna appears at her side, 'What is Spits doing?'_

' _He likes to pick a place to pile junk up in. When the pile's big enough he'll flop down on it and roll around for a couple hours. It helps him scrape off parasites and damaged scales.' She heads to the back door and spots the reason she picked the house. From here, she has a clear view of the valley to the south. She'd spotted it in the orbital images of the colony and there was just something about it. The voices are badgering her to find something there. The valley is almost two hundred kilometers end to end and it'll take a while to scout it all out. She'll need to find a pilot to fly her over it so she can focus on observing. Jane doesn't want to drag Hannah any deeper into whatever brought her here, so she'll keep this a secret from her._

 _'Now that's a hell of a view.' Hannah steps up to Jane's left, casting her gaze over the valley, 'I can tell you like.' She's confused for a moment. She does love the view but how does Hannah know? Then she hears a drop hit the ground. Dammit, she's crying again._

 _'Ya. It's beautiful.'_

 _Date_ _: 4.2.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir - Altitude 100m_

 **Gavin**

It's insane. The world has gone insane. Two weeks ago he'd been on the verge of closing his business. Not many colonists were interested in scenic flights during harvest season, and on Mindoir it was always harvest season. There was always something that needed pulled out of the dirt or cut from the vine. So he'd been sitting around the hangar with his thumb up his ass when he'd heard something banging on his flyer. At the time he'd thought it was another cow that had wandered in from a local farm. It's happened before.

He walked over with a cattle prod on loan from his cousin, planning on scaring the animal off. He'd been astonished to find an armored girl tearing panels off the side of his ship and messing around with the machinery. "Hey! Hey, what are you doing?!" The girl doesn't turn from the open panels as she answers.

"You're flyer has a dozen fluid leaks. That's why it can't stay in the air as long as it should." He'd already known about the leaks and had been trying to fix it for months now. "You also had a bad rotor on this side. You really shouldn't fly when a rotor has so much shit caked on it or when the flaps are close to crumbling from rust." He'd looked past the girl and had seen that the rotor in question had been torn off and replaced with a brand new one. An extremely expensive one at that. He'd been trying to find his words again when a flash of golden light drew his gaze back to the panel. The girl stood up straight and re-mounted the panel. "It's fixed now."

"Wha?"

"You can repay me by helping me with something. Fuel up and get in. Now." He'd been so flabbergasted that he hadn't offered any argument. Half an hour later he'd been flying over the Alkin Valley with the strange girl sitting in the copilot seat and a varren belted into one of the seats. That was day one. Today She's been staring out one of the crew doors the entire time, calling out course changes every now and then. His flight tracker is starting to paint a picture of what she's doing. She's having him fly a search pattern over the valley for the fifth time in two weeks. They've covered most of the valley and only the landmark at the center has yet to be scouted. "Gavin! Take us over the mountain, nice and slow!"

 **Jane**

 _This is it. The voices are all calling out that this is what she needs to look into. According to her research the mountain doesn't have a name yet. The closest thing to a name for it is Surface Anomaly 12-M. The land wasn't even technically claimed by a private citizen yet. The colonial board was charging a premium price on land in the valley. That meant that most of the valley was fair game. 'Gavin! There's a small plateau about halfway up the mountain, just to the northwest! Can you land on it?!'_

' _Probably! Might be a bit rough!' He's a better pilot than he gives himself credit. Once she gets a chance, she'll need to give his flyer some more upgrades. She'd been paying double his usual rates for him to keep quiet about what she was doing and the upgrades would help sinch it. Not to mention, make the flyer more comfortable. Maybe a few rocket pods too…_

 _The flyer sets down in a clearing with a few heavy thuds. As soon as Jane unlatches the belts, Spits hops out of the flyer to chase several birds that had been brave enough to stay in the clearing as they'd landed. The ship's rotors cycle down and Gavin shuts off the engine. They were pretty low on fuel and he'd made it clear that they only had about another twenty minutes of total flight time. They'd need to head straight back after this._

 _The clearing is covered in low growing grass and striated stone protrusions. It's about fifty meters across and surrounded by dense brush on all sides. Jane carefully scans every visible surface for any signs of what she's supposed to find. She hops onto the largest stone available for a better view. There's nothing here. No whorls of energy, no familiar sounds, nothing. 'Where are you?' She's grinding her teeth trying to figure it out when Gavin manages to squirm his way up to the stone below her. It'd been an easy jump for her but he'd needed to put some serious effort to climb the twenty foot rock face. He's bent over double, struggling to steady his breathing. 'Hey… Hey Jane… We… we headin back soon? The valley's not… not really… safe at night.' He finally gets his breath back and looks up to her. He's a nice guy but not overly courageous. He'd almost had a heart attack when Jane had asked him to do a low altitude skim of the valley on the first day._

' _Soon, I just need to make sure of something first.' He's learned not to ask her for details. Even she doesn't really know what she was looking for. She's about to hop down when a roar sounds from the far end of the clearing. The brush is violently shaking and the few brave birds from earlier immediately take flight._

 _Gavin has gone pale white and is trembling, 'Oh God. It's a stone bear.' She'd read about the animal but the beast that bursts from the foliage is far more monstrous than the extranet had led her to believe. One of the few examples of native animal life for Mindoir, the stone bear was an absolute monster. Standing at two meters at the shoulder and the smallest of them easily weighing more than a ton, it could demolish a building with little effort. People used to think they were an endangered species until the cave dwelling communities had been found on the other side of the planet. The population estimate of five thousand was blow out of the water and it was now known that their were close to two hundred thousand in the caves alone. It was rare to see one this close to the colony, and what a sight this one was._

 _It's almost completely covered in slate gray fur, with the exception of the black mane around its muzzle. Two large horns protrude from behind its ears, each curving towards its backside. The animal is charging towards them on four tree trunk thick legs, its massive talons tearing huge divots in the ground. It looked like a huge, mutant ursid from earth, except for the scales on its few exposed patches of flesh._

 _She can smell the scent of blood on the beast from here. It's killed recently. She's knows that has no bearing on whether or not it attacks. They're extremely territorial animals and this one saw them as invaders. Jane knows it won't stop until their gone and they won't be able to take off until it's gone. She's got no choice. 'Spits! Tash'tal!' Her varren immediately sprints to the beast's side. The stone bear sees the approaching varren and turns in its charge. When the two are less than ten meters apart, Spits turns sharply to the right. The beast tries to follow but its momentum is too much to turn so sharply. It loses its footing and tumbles to the side. There's no time to celebrate as it roars again and tears into a pursuit. Spits can easily outrun the beast but she'll need to kill it for them to get away. Stone bears supposedly don't get tired and will pursue prey or challengers until they die or it dies. 'Gavin stay here!'_

' _Yes ma'am!' The man happily hunkers down on his perch as she leaps off her own and draws Abyss as she runs towards the beast. Spits is pounding fast with the stone bear close behind, the two of them separated by less than a dozen meters. If Spits trips, it'll be over. She howls as she charges and the beast turns to the new threat. It doesn't care which target looks more dangerous, it's instincts scream at it to answer any challenge. At ten meters the beast leaps at her and she dives beneath it. It's in the air above her as she slashes Abyss into its gut. Blood and gore pour onto her as the animal crashes to the ground behind her. Spits runs to her side and growls at it. Despite the gruesome wound, it's getting back to its feet. The animals barely feel pain, regardless of how serious their injuries are. It's where the name_ _ **stone**_ _bear came from._

 _The beast turns towards her, snarling and drooling a torrent that puts Spits to shame. A couple organs are hanging from the hideous wound. Spits goes back to circling the beast, but this time it ignores him and focuses on her. It slowly stomps towards Jane, gathering speed with each step. She holds her ground and draws back Abyss. She floods its conduits with power and catapults the blade at the beast. Abyss slams into the side of its massive head and plunges down to the hilt. The animal is knocked back a step and that's when Spits attacks. He lunges under the beast and grabs a mouthful of guts. The varren pulls for all he's worth and drags out a torrent of gore as he tugs. The beast turns around to snap at him and Jane uses the distraction to leap onto its back._

 _The animal rears up and starts shaking madly, trying throw her off. She grabs onto one of its horns and takes hold of Abyss with her other hand. She tears the blade free and stabs it into the creature's back. It grows more frantic, wildly thrashing about, desperate to shake off this wretched parasite. She pulls Abyss out again and this time carefully aims it at the halfway point between horns before stabbing forward as hard as she can. She can feel it plunge through the animal's spine and the beast crumples, paralyzed. It's still growling at her. She carefully pulls the blade out and hops down. She stands in front of the stone bear, looking closely into its massive eyes. It's jaw snaps at her, it's still trying to kill her. 'I'm sorry…' She braces Abyss and stabs the blade through the beasts chin. Abyss pierces the creature's brain and the animal's life ends. She pulls the blade out and cleans it on the grass around her._

 _Spits is eating what he's pulled from the animal but apparently it doesn't taste very good. He doesn't try to take more. She can hear Gavin approaching, 'Holy shit… how, how'd you do that? Is it dead?' She nods but she's not really paying attention. She can feel it, the sensation from Omega. What she's looking for is definitely here somewhere. Her vision shifts to the ultraviolet spectrum and she's finally seeing the energy she's been looking for. It makes a trail up the side of the mountain. Jane tells Gavin to stay put and she walks after the trail. After twenty minutes she spies the source of the trail halfway between the plateau and the peak. She can feel something down there, but her omni-tool tells her that there's tons of stone between her and her goal. It'll take a long time to dig through it all and she needs to get home. She'll need to get some good seismic charges to take care of this. Jane gets back to flyer and Gavin powers the engine up._

 _She straps Spits in and calls out, 'Gavin! Take off and hover above the stone bear at twenty feet, then drop the tow lines!' The pilot follows her instructions despite his confusion. Once the lines are lowered she goes to work. It only takes a few minutes to get the body secured and fuse its wounds shut. She doesn't want to have to explain a blood trail. She jumps up to grab one on the landing skids and hauls herself inside the flyer. 'Let's go!' Gavin flies back to his hanger and lowers the corpse onto the secondary landing pad before detatching the tow lines. Then he lands on the primary pad. The three of them hop out once the rotors are still. 'Thanks Gavin. Could you bring over your cart? I'm strong, but this thing is too heavy for me to carry home on my own.' He nods and bring the cargo hauler to the back up pad. Jane takes about fifteen minutes to lever the body onto the hauler and straps it down. She says bye and sends Gavin his fee. She and Spits head out, pulling the remains of the beast behind them._

 _They get through town with only a few people sparing them a strange glance. Most of them had gotten used to seeing the odd, scarred girl from the hill doing strange things, her pet varren bounding behind her. Dragging the carcass of a stone bear may have topped the list but it still wasn't enough for them to bother her. She gets home just as the sun sets and Jane hears two voices inside the house. Hannah is one. The other, 'Shit…' the other is that woman from the school._

 **Hannah**

It'd been her idea for Jane to go to school and it had taken several long arguments to convince her. "Jane, you may not learn much you don't already know about science or math or engineering in school, but you've never had a chance to live a normal life. Going to school might help you learn how to just be a normal person, to live without fighting. If nothing else it'll help us convince people of the cover story." They'd built up the story that Jane was recently rescued from slavers that had taken her years before. It kept most people from digging and a ten minute conversation with Jane was enough to get everyone else to stop. Most people didn't have the stomach for even some of Jane's tamest stories.

That had been enough to convince Jane to at least give it a try. The first day had not gone well. Mindoir had hundreds of families and children of all ages. As a result the local school had classes for every age group. Jane and Hannah had gone together the first day and seen a group of children no older than seven. Jane stopped cold as soon as she'd seen them. Her eyes had been like saucers and a twitch started up under her eye. She'd stared for several minutes, hyperventilating, shaking her head before starting to back away. Hannah tried to stop her, to let her know that everything was okay, but it was no good. Jane disappeared into the town with Spits in tow. Hannah found them almost four hours later. Jane was crouched in the corner behind their house, tightly hugging Spits to her chest. Hannah had to get very close to hear what Jane was saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she was crying freely. Jane wasn't apologizing to her, but to the ghosts haunted her dreams. Hannah sat down next to her for hours trying to console her.

They tried again a few days later and that had gone a little better. She'd introduced Jane to a couple of the teachers for children her age. The girl had been fairly tight lipped, simply glaring whenever someone asked a personal question. It took a full week for Jane to actually go to class. There had apparently been a number of incidents since then and that was why her teacher, a young woman named Cira Halstrom, had come to see Hanna. She'd arrived a couple hours before sunset and they'd been talking ever since. "So what did you need to talk to me about Ms. Halstrom. Is Jane Having trouble in class?"

"No ma'am, not with the material at least. Jane might actually be the smartest person I've ever met. Her grades are near perfect. On an interesting note she's actually managed to break into our files and has worked out an entire semester of homework in the last week alone. The school would have been furious if she hadn't immediately turned around and taught our IT department how to secure the network. They're actually trying to convince her to pursue a career in IT. The only problems we're having come from her… interesting behaviors and opinions. The first is her attire. I know she's been through… difficult times, but the armor is not necessary. The seat she chose wasn't able to hold the weight of the armor, but instead of just leaving it at home, she brought in some braces and welded reinforcing struts for the chair." Jane had made it very clear that she would not, under any circumstance, go out in public without her armor. Getting her to leave her sword with Spits instead of bringing into the school had been a battle in and of itself.

"I'm sorry Ms. Halstrom, but Jane will never abandon her plating. It's saved her life more times than she can count, and the only times she takes it off are to repair it, bath, or exercise. Again I'm sorry, but it's not up for negotiation."

The young woman doesn't look at all surprised, "I guessed that much, I just wanted to mention it. Going back to her working out the entire semester's homework, one of the assignments was going to be a short paper. The assignment was going to be for the children to pick a controversial topic, choose a position on it, and write a five page paper. Most students choose local colony issues or the relationship between the Alliance and the colonies. Jane's paper was titled 'A Moral Argument for the Torture and Execution of Slavers and Pirates'. It was forty three pages long with more than two dozen professional sources. She actually managed to convince several faculty members to change their views on the subject and her paper is going to be a topic of debate at this sector's security conference next month. Given what happened to her, I can understand some extreme sentiment from her, but her… disturbingly intimate familiarity on the subject has a number of faculty members nervous over the implications. Do we need to worry about upsetting her on these topics? I'm pretty sure they're panicking over nothing but I just need to be sure."

"As long as no one tries to attack her or openly endorses those monsters, you've got nothing to worry about. I know she can be a bit blunt, even hostile every now and then. In time, if you're nice to her, you'll find Jane to be a surprisingly sweet girl. She's just been through alot in her… time away. Please be patient." Ms. Halstrom nods with a slight smile. They continue going through several other minor issues until they hear the front door open. Jane walks in, completely covered in dark red blood. Ms. Halstrom lets out a horrified gasp but Hannah has seen it before. "Hi Jane, where'd you go this afternoon."

Jane gives her a small smile, "I went hunting after school. Got something pretty cool today. I'm gonna put it into the flensing machine in my workshop. It'll take a couple hours for the machine to get it ready to cook, so I'm gonna get some exercise until it's ready." Jane walks back out and Hannah can hear their garage opening. She turns back to Ms. Halstrom just as the young woman is getting some color back, "Don't worry, she goes hunting a lot. She's ok."

"Oh, um… ok. Speaking about… about exercise. That's where we have another slight problem. We have a physical training program at school and Jane has refused to participate in any way. In fact, it's the only thing that is hurting her grades. Is there something we need to know about? Is there a reason she won't exercise in front of anyone?"

Hannah spends a bit of time gathering her thoughts. Jane hadn't told her much about school, but she had been almost apoplectic over the school's insistence on her participation, an insistence she had steadfastly ignored. "You need to understand that physical training is something extremely personal to Jane." Since she wasn't getting into to many fights anymore, Jane had taken to working out in ways that would break lesser people. "She is much stronger than anyone else her age, maybe even most adults and where she was rescued from, letting people know how strong you are just makes it easier for them to hurt you." She has to pause for a moment before continuing. "There's also another reason, but I'll need to ask her before I go on. I made a promise to her and I'm not going to betray her trust." The young woman nods and Hannah goes outback to in find Jane.

She's currently doing a handstand, balancing a heavy steel plate on her feet. She's slowly lifting and lowering herself. As usual, Spits is trying to imitate her but is constantly flopping over on his back. In his book it seems to be just as good. Everytime he falls Jane lets out a small laugh and that's enough for him. "Hey Jane." Hannah sits on one of the benches.

The girl keeps up her exercise as she answers, "Hey Hannah. What's Cira want?"

"She just wanted to talk to me about a few issues at school. Can you sit with me for a moment? I need to ask you something." Jane uses her biotics to carefully put down the steel plate, before she gets her feet under her. She sits down next to Hannah and stares into her eyes. "She mentioned that there is a physical training program at school and that you've refused to participate." Jane opens her mouth to respond but Hannah quickly cuts in, "I know why, and I understand. The people at school don't however. Maybe we should let Cira see."

Jane's expression becomes thunderous, "I don't want anyone to see. I don't want their fucking pity. I just want them to leave me alone about it."

"I know Jane. Letting anyone know anything about what happened to you would be painful, but look at it like this. As it is they don't have much of a reason to quit asking, but if one of their own told them to lay off and leave you in peace…" Jane's expression softens as she considers the idea.

"I… fine. But I'm not answering any questions." It's more than Hannah had expected. She goes to collect Cira and the two women return to see Jane benching Spits. The varren is again just happy to be a part of it. When Hannah and Cira step closer, Jane sets Spits down and stands before them. She's gnashing her teeth as the teacher gasps at what she sees.

 **Cira**

She hadn't been known what to expect. Jane is glaring at her with a look of barely contained rage. Cira has never really been afraid of a child until today. When she finally pulls her eyes away from Jane's, the girl's body comes into focus. She's clothed in short form fitting shorts and her chest is wrapped. The coverings are made of the same strange material as the red suit the girl wears under her armor. Her skin is almost unnaturally pale and heavily marked.

The scar on the Jane's face had been horrifying enough, but this? This was terrifying. The girl's skin is a tapestry of suffering. She has dozens of scars, most of them on her arms and legs. For the most part, the scars are machine straight, like a scar from surgery. The worst ones she can see though are on her torso. She can see the bottom of one extending out from under her bra, directly over her heart. But the biggest scar runs all the way across the base of her chest. It's perfectly straight like the scar over Jane's heart but it hasn't healed as cleanly.

She's struggling not to cry at what she sees when Hannah pipes up, "Go ahead Jane, she won't tell anyone." The girl drops her eyes to the ground and starts undoing the large braid running down the center of her hair. She turns around and Cira nearly loses her lunch. There is a huge, angry red scar at the base of Jane's head and extending from that is another running down the length of her spine. Her back is covered in several smaller scars, each one jagged and ugly. Jane holds her hair clear for several moments to let Cira take everything in before quickly retying her braid. She turns back to face Cira.

"Don't you dare tell anyone. The only reason I showed you is because Hannah said you could help get people to leave me alone. I don't need or want the school's help keeping in shape. Now please go away." With that Jane turns her back, and starts running along a track dug into the lot behind the house. Her varren is running alongside her, and it looks like he's having trouble keeping up.

"Let's go back inside Ms. Halstrom. Jane doesn't like being watched." She numbly follows the older woman back into the house. She sits down on the couch again as Hannah brings over a glass of wine. "I know the school is just trying to help the kids learn some healthy habits for when they grow up, but Jane will never participate with it. She knows how to keep herself strong. The last thing she wants is for people to see those scars and assume she needs their pity. There aren't many things that will drive her further away than someone looking at her like she's damaged goods." Cira nods absentmindedly and takes a sip of the wine. She's trying not to think about all the terrible things the girl had obviously been through. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

She stares for moment, completely forgetting why she came. Hannah is patient and eventually Cira finds her voice again, "Oh, um… yes. I wanted to talk to you about her… pet."

 **Hannah**

She can tell the young woman is just going through the motions now. Seeing just how much of a mark Jane's life has left in her body has robbed Halstom of most of her steam. "You've got nothing to worry about. As long as no one threatens Jane, Spits is perfectly safe."

"It's not that people are afraid. I mean the first time he showed up we were terrified. We were going through some pre colonial history and one of the girls in class screamed. I turned and saw this huge drooling varren poking its head through the window next to Jane. Most of the class ran away but Jane just started laughing. By the time Doug, our security man, got there Jane had pulled Spits into the room and he was sitting next to her." Jane had been pretty happy relating that particular story. "Now that most of the school is used to seeing Spits it's not really a problem, except that he's a huge distraction. Several students have taken to feeding him in class and the sounds he makes while eating are… kind of gross." Another story Jane loved telling.

"I'll talk to Jane. I can probably convince her to find something for Spits to do while she's at school. If that's all?" Cira nods and stands with Hannah. "Well, would you'd like to join us for dinner? Jane likes to cook and she's pretty damn good at it."

 **Cira**

There's an absolute mountain of food on the table and Jane is powering through it like there's no tomorrow. Cira had been reluctant to accept the invitation to stay but thought she could learn a little bit more about the girl. This isn't exactly what she was expecting. Jane has worse table manners than her varren, who is currently savaging a slab of meat half as big as she is. While she's stuffing her face, Jane is also furiously typing on her omnitool between bites. "So, what are you working on Jane?" The girl spares Cira a quick glance before answering.

"I'm trying to buy a mountain." Even Hannah looks surprised.

"Um, what do you mean 'buy a mountain'?" Jane stops eating for a bit. She seems to be reluctant to share with them.

"There's a mountain in the Alkin Valley that has some valuable minerals in it. No one has a claim on it yet and I'm trying to take control before someone else realizes what's under it." Cira blinks several times, struggling to process what she's heard.

"Is it even possible for a thirteen year old girl to buy a mountain?"

"I'm almost fourteen."

Hannah laughs quietly at Cira's attempt to get an answer. "What she means Jane, is can you legally buy a mountain and do actually have enough money for it?" Cira Is grateful to Hannah for clarifying.

Jane's gone back to wolfing her food down, but she still answers, "Technically the colony charter doesn't have anything in it about young people buying land. Since the colonial board isn't hoarding any of the land in the valley for government purposes and no one has purchased any of it, it's perfectly legal for me to buy it. I just need to put together the money for it."

Hannah is absentmindedly picking at her food as she continues, "So just how much are you planning on spending?"

"It'll cost about twelve million credits for the land and another four million for the seismic charges I'll need. I can use some of mineral potential as collateral incentive to get the loan I need and my own personal money will cover the rest."

"Will that work?" A chime sounds on the girl's omni-tool.

"It already has. I've got the money and now…" Jane punches in a few more commands, which leads to another chime, "I've got the mountain." She projects the screen on the wall in front of her. The image of an official document is shown. It's a certificate of ownership from the colonial board and printed in bold letters is the name 'Jane Shepard'.

"Now I just need to wait for my explosives to get here and I can get started. Should only be about a week." The two Shepards smile and go back to eating, while Cira sits there trying not to look like a fish out of water. The rest of the meal passes without incident. Once they're finished, Hannah walks Cira to the door, "Thanks for coming over Ms. Halstrom. We'll appreciate it if you don't share what we've talked about with anyone." She nods absently and head home.

 **Hannah**

As the young teacher makes her way home, Hannah heads out to Jane's workshop. The girl is cleaning several of the bones from the carcass she'd brought home and mounting a few of them on Spits' armor. She spares Hannah a quick glance but doesn't say anything. Hannah has a question though, "Ok Jane, why did you really buy a mountain. I know you don't really care about money or minerals, so what's the real reason?" There's no anger or annoyance in the question, just curiosity.

"Do you remember when you were in my head? The whispers in the air?" She does remember. In fact, it was one of the most disturbing parts of the entire experience. She bobs her head and gestures for Jane to continue, "Those voices have been with me for a long time. They helped me forge my sword. When I need help with a technical problem, some of them start whispering to me. Spits' legs wouldn't have been possible without their help. My last day on Omega they helped guide me to… something. I don't really understand what it was but I feel like I need to figure it out. That mountain has something inside it that the voices are screaming about. I need find it… I need to understand just what the fuck is going on with me. The scratching in my head is driving me crazy and… I…" She hangs her head unable to continue. Hannah embraces her and tries to reassure her.

"It's alright Jane. If you think this can help you sort things out then I'll support it. But Jane," She kneels down in front of her, "You need to be prepared for anything. I remember what you showed me about that chamber on Omega. Even if you find this place, even if the voices are guiding you in an attempt teach you something, there might not be any real answers. If that's the case, can you handle that?"

A tear trails down the girl's cheek "I… I don't know."

 _Date_ _: 4.2.2168_

 _Location : Uncharted Sector_

 **Unknown**

 **Fulcrum Location - Unknown**

 **Fulcrum Status - Unknown**

 **Conclusion - Situation Unacceptable**

 **The Fulcrum's Location must be reacquired**

 **Probability of Discovery with Direct Action - 97%**

 **Require Secondary Agent**

 **Searching…**

 **Secondary Agent Chosen**

 **Time to Acquire - 12 to 17 months**

 **Analysis - Acceptable**

 **Decision - Acquire Secondary Agent**

 **Agent Designation - Jortan**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 - Partial Truth**

 _Date_ _: 4.18.2168_

 _Location : Arcturus - Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

Things are going better than he expected. He's only had to listen to three of them bitching about what happened. Turian had barked for an hour over the ill discipline the girl had shown. Asari had bleated over the 'reckless' use of such a device and how much damage could have been done to a living world. Volus had bemoaned such a massive expenditure of credits for no visible gain. While they were complaining, Krogan has just laughed and laughed. Turian eventually gets tired of it, "What the hell is so funny Krogan?! She is supposed to be in hiding. She's supposed to be laying low until she gets old enough to learn the truth. At this rate, our enemy in the shadows will find her before she even reaches the age of majority!"

Krogan's laughter grows more raucous and he spends several moments just getting his mirth under control. "Ha, you bitch and moan about the Fulcrum risking herself and ignore just how good the situation really is." Turian can be heard growling over the comm line as Krogan explains, "In less than two months she went from a near death experience to exploiting legal loopholes, moving gear on the black market, bailing a multi million credit company out of a terminal financial spiral, AND rumor has it that a certain asari matriarch is on her way to teach her about being a biotic. So, why are you whining like the runt of the litter when she's actually making serious progress?"

Drell heads off Turian's reply, "While her accomplishments in such a short time are impressive, we cannot ignore the fact that such activities put her in extreme danger of being traced. Human, can you speak to her, convince her to keep a lower profile."

"I've already spoken to her guardian. She's promised that the girl won't make any more waves like this." The councillors exchange a number of murmured replies with each other.

"With sincere curiosity, but will the Fulcrum truly keep to this promise? She has already show immense disdain for the authority of those supposedly above her. With pessimistic overtones, I find it hard to believe that this promise will hold her back." Elcor was always the one to inject some doom and gloom into the conversation.

"While it is true that she'll spit in the face of almost anyone that gets in the way, she seems to have formed a fairly strong bond with her guardian. She'll ignore any attempts we make to control her fate, but if her guardian suggests it, the Fulcrum will at least try."

Batarian is the one to ask the question that he's been waiting for, "What exactly was the reason for her actions? This kind of activity makes serious waves in slaver and pirate circles, attracts a lot of attention. What was so important that she would take such a massive risk?

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Hannah**

A knock sounds at the door. Jane's out back putting the final touches on her 'seismic charge' so Hannah answers the door. She opens it to find a balding, middle aged man in a old brown suit, lightly gripping a weathered old hat in both hands. The top of his head is a few inches below her eyeline. His forehead is sweating and his spectacles are some of the largest she's ever seen. "Hello ma'am, are you Jane Shepard?"

She takes hold of the pistol holstered at her back as she answers. Anderson had made it very clear that she should never trust anyone that comes looking for Jane. "No, I'm Hannah Shepard. I'm Jane's mother."

"Oh, I'm sorry for the mistake. I.. um… I'm Joshua Callen from Callen Mineral Tech and I was invited to the ground breaking ceremony in the Alkin valley."

"Ground breaking ceremony? What are you talking about?"

"Wait, she hasn't told you?" Hannah keeps her hand on the pistol as the clearly nervous man continues, "Let me just start by saying that you're daughter has saved my company and probably my life. The Callen family has been in the mining industry for almost one hundred and fifty years. We were pretty successful for a long time, but I'm just not the same quality business man as my forefathers. Made some… poor investments over the years and I was about to lose everything. Hell, I was getting ready to sell everything I owned and fake my death. But then I got a message from your daughter. The scans she sent me showed a fortune in mineral potential, enough to eclipse over a hundred years of good sales. When she offered to give me a twenty-eighty split in my favor for a loan of thirteen million to acquire the land, I thought the angels themselves had come down to save me."

Hannah takes her hand off the pistol and waves the man in, "Let me get this straight Mr. Callen. You gave a thirteen year old girl thirteen million credits to buy a mountain, and all it took to convince you to do it was a few scans?" The older man grins sheepishly.

"Well um, ahem, I did say that I wasn't a very good businessman, but what is in that mountain… I… I can't even articulate just how immense a find it is. With what's under that ground I-" He's cut off by a fierce growl from the back. Spits is slinking towards him, his belly scraping the ground. He wasn't fond of people being in their home if Jane hadn't let them in.

The girl herself comes in to investigate her pets anger and levels a glare at the small man. "Who are you?"

"Jane this is Mr. Joshua Callen." Hannah is glad to see Jane immediately calm down and Spits following suit.

"I was wondering when you'd get hear. Did you get to expanded scans I sent you?" The balding man nods vigorously.

"Oh yes. Let me just say that I can never fully express just how much good you've done…" He tries to take Jane's hand to shake it. Her response is to draw her sword and hold it to his throat. The movement had been lighting fast and the small man freezes in terror.

Jane speaks slowly and clearly, "Don't. Ever. Touch. Me. Understand?"

Callen manages to squeak out an answer, "Yes ma'am." Jane puts her sword up and Joshua rubs his throat before moving on, "A thousand apologies, I didn't mean any offense."

"I don't like it when people touch me. Now, you were saying?"

"Hmm, oh yes! The scans. They've revealed something remarkable. The veins of lithium, boron, and nickel are just as valuable as you said but the deeper scans have revealed something amazing. There is a vein of titanium starting about five hundred meters down. Now a few hundred tons of titanium ore would be great but this is so much more. This vein is not only one of the most pure I've ever seen but it is also the single largest concentration in galactic history. Even our most conservative estimates put the total tonnage of useful material at almost three hundred million tons spread throughout the nine mile wide root of the mountain. I mean it'll take decades to dig it all out and we're going to need to be careful how we build the tunnels, but this will make both of us, my employees, and our investors some of the richest people in the galaxy.

Hannah is astonished by the news, "Wait Joshua, Just how much is all that worth." The older man's grin is ear to ear.

"Well Ms. Shepard, conservative estimates, factoring in market trends and the likely decrease in value so much material will lead to, puts the total value at close to one and a half trillion credits over the next thirty years." Hannah almost has a heart attack. There were small countries on Earth less valuable.

Jane has a small smile but the impossible amount doesn't seem that important to her, "That's good news Joshua. After I detonate my charges, I want a couple hours on the mountain by myself. No one sets foot on it until I say so. There's something special that I want to collect first. Once I have it, you and your's can go to town, but not one second before."

Callen is a little confused but doesn't let it get in the way, "Um… ok. I'll need several hours to get all our gear down from orbit and finish setting things up with the colonial development board so I guess while you're up there we can get everything ready."

"Good." Jane sends out something on her omnitool, "Are you guys ready to head out? Gavin's on his way with his flyer. He'll fly out my missile and we can get things rolling." Hannah follows Jane out back, the sound of the girl's favorite flyer already approaching.

Callen is cautiously following behind, startled by what he heard, "Beg you your pardon? Missile?"

 **Jane**

 _She's putting the finishing touches on the beautiful piece of munitions in front of her. Gavin had been true to his word and had moved it with no trouble and after the smooth landing, he'd started helping her get the launched cradle ready. A couple hours later and she only had the final fittings to tighten and a few lines of code to write for the short flight. Gavin had been quite curious, but had kept quiet until now, 'Sooo… What exactly is this thing?'_

 _She keep typing as she answers, 'It's a first generation surface to orbit missile, a type 1 S.O.M. Its official munitions categorization is the Acheron.'_

' _Woah, woah, woah. Did you say surface to_ _ **orbit**_ _missile? Doesn't that mean it's supposed to shoot things down in space?'_

' _Yep. Right after the first contact war, people were freaking out over the possibility of orbital attack. That lead the Alliance to commission a bunch of different surface to orbit defensive weapon development programs. The Acheron program was one of those. The hope was that battery of these could keep any world safe. Once they hit their target, the bore head on the front digs into the guts of the ship and then BOOM. They had about a hundred of made before a flaw was discovered in the engine. You see, they were built to get a missile into space as fast as possible and as a result the engine is way bigger than it needs to be. Makes the missile fast but very unstable. They were so confident in their design that the first real test didn't take place until production had already begun. It blew up less than thirty seconds after launch. The whole thing cost the Alliance about five hundred million so they tried and make up the loss and spread their influence in the Traverse by selling the missiles to a number of warlords propped up across the Traverse. I got this one from one of those assholes and then sent his coordinates to an STG anti-piracy squad.' She's trying not to laugh at the look on Gavin's face._

' _So let me get this straight. You bought a military grade anti-ship weapon, on the black market, from a pirate lord, turned him into the authorities, and now you're going to use said weapon... to dig a hole?'_

' _Yep.'_

' _How powerful is this thing?'_

' _It's a two kiloton micro fusion warhead. It'll rip off about a quarter of the mountain's northern face.' His eyes bug out at the mention of the warhead._

' _Wait this fucker's nuclear?!' She bobs her head._

' _Yep. That's why they're here,' She points to the blast shielded pavilion on the hill behind them, 'The colonial board demanded I have official observers on sight, to make sure the blast only occurs over my own property and to get some good publicity for "Encouraging the growth and prosperity of the colony". Basically they want people to think they're actually working.'_

' _So… are we… safe… here?'_

' _We're about fifteen miles out. You're only in danger if you look at the blast without goggles or if you go for a jog in the valley. That reminds me, can you turn that shield generator on.' She points to the other thing that they'd flown out the day before._

' _Hold on Jane. If we're safe here then why do we need a shield generator.'_

' _Well, we're safe from the blast, but the shockwave and the debris are still dangerous. The generator will take care of that.' She finished the final calculations as the shield generator cycles up. It's programed to project the instant the missile launches. Gavin trots behind the blast shields with Jane right behind. She puts up a countdown on the main viewer and Hannah moves to stand next to her and leans close to whisper in her ear._

' _Where did you learn about that thing Jane?'_

' _I broke into the Alliance's files on Arcturus. Project Acheron is just one of a couple hundred things that they would prefer to keep quiet.' A couple months ago, Hannah might have been disturbed at the idea of her being able to get into the Alliance's most secure databases, but Jane wasn't a normal kid._

' _So Jane, is there anything else you want to do today? Anything special?' It's a confusing question, one that Hannah has asked four times today._

' _What do you mean? Other than this, what else could I be doing?'_

' _Celebrating, I mean it is your birthday isn't it?' Hannah had been saying that a lot and it still confused Jane._

' _Why would I celebrate? I'm not any different today than I was yesterday.' The countdown has less than a minute to go._

' _I just want you to have fun today. That's what I mean by celebrate. Play, eat, enjoy yourself. A birthday celebration isn't about marking time or changes, it's just about enjoying life.' Thirty seconds._

' _I… I guess there are a couple thing we could do. You did make that cake and you said you had some movies that I'd like.' Ten seconds._

' _That's not all. I've got a big surprise for you later. But for now, this is gonna be good.' Jane's smile shines out as the countdown reaches zero. The missile screams out from its cradle. It only takes a few seconds for it to reach the mountain. Her moniter shows the impact sight and tracks it as the bore head carves into the mountain. The small crowd double checks their goggles and gets ready for the show. Jane quickly slots her helmet in place and polarizes the visor. The bore reaches its target depth and the warhead detonates._

 _It's the most beautiful thing Jane's ever seen._

 **Hannah**

She's seen videos before but the real thing is so much… more. Even with the polarized goggles and blast shields, she still has to squint to look at the mountain. For a few moments, Mindoir has a new sun. As the initial blast fades, the shockwave arrives. Jane had demanded the best possible quality for the blast shields and it was a good thing. The ground is shaking madly and a lesser structure would have been flattened. Her shield generator is doing a hell of a job keeping the larger debris from impacting. For almost a full minute, the shelter feels like it's under artillery fire. When it finally stops, the crowd stands stock still, stunned at what they had just witnessed. Jane is not so reserved.

She hops up on the desk, pumps her arms in the air, "Woo hoo!" The small crowd is stunned to see such a display from a normally reserved young woman. She's never been so excitable outside of a fight. Hannah loves to see so much happiness from her. Jane hops down and trots over to Gavin, "Let's get going, I wanna see the blast site up close!"

The young man goes pale, "Wait, wait. Isn't it like radioactive or something?!"

"It was a fusion reaction. The fallout is minimal and if you're still worried, just wear that special flight suit I got you. Its lining will block out any residual radiation."

Hannah stops her for a second, "I'm gonna head back to the house. Good luck up there." Jane gives her a quick hug before shoving Gavin out the door.

She drags the flyer pilot out and they are in the air in minutes.

 _Date_ _: 4.18.2168_

 _Location : Arcturus - Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"Officially the detonation was organized by the colonial board in conjunction with Callen Mineral Tech to exploit a massive mineral reserve. The actual reason is currently unknown and the Fulcrum has steadfastly refused to explain in any way. However, our agents on the ground have told me that she went to the detonation site immediately after the explosion and while she was there, no one else was allowed on the mountain. It is likely that she was searching for something under the mountain. Our agents believe that the Fulcrum discovered one of the ancient archives and used this mineral claim as a convenient cover for her real intentions." A new wave of agitated argument breaks out as every member of the council demands answers or access to the site.

"I'm afraid that's all the information we have and examining the site is impossible. We had a number of agents investigate the site after the Fulcrum's departure. There is evidence that whatever was there has been destroyed. By the Fulcrum's hand or the sites own degradation, we don't know."

It takes awhile for the angry grumbling to stop. "This one is personally pleased at this turn. The ancient records all point to one inescapable fact. The Fulcrum will find its own way forward. Any progress on the honorable Fulcrum's part is a good thing. It is even better if this progress takes place without the council's insistence." Hanar is one of the few members whose word is almost never questioned. "This one has but one request. This one believes it would be wise to present the Fulcrum with opportunities to advance herself."

Turian is the first to answer, "But you just said the council should stay out of her development until she's fully grown."

"With respect to the honorable turian representative, this one spoke against pushing the Fulcrum. This one's suggestion is that opportunity be presented and the Fulcrum be allowed to choose whether or not to pursue it. The imminent arrival of an asari matriarch is an excellent first step. This one believes that this example should be followed." Turian keeps quite.

"I might be able to help with that." Krogan seemed to be bouncing with excitement, "I can have an old blade master take a hunting trip to her home and offer to teach her some advanced skills. I don't even have to order it. All that needs to happen is for someone to suggest that there's something worth hunting on the planet and he'll leap at the opportunity. We can help engineer a meeting between them and hopefully she'll take the chance to expand her skills."

The council is stunned by the man to agree first, "I vote in favor." The entire council goes silent at Turian's declaration, "I might have preferred a turian military education for her, but if you're planning on sending who I think you are, then that's enough for me. I call for a vote on this plan." The plan is approved in a remarkable, unanimous vote.

Hackett is relieved at the quick consensus, "Very well. We'll help set things up for what's to come. If that's all, I hereby declare the council concluded." The screens shut down and Hackett has plenty of time to think for himself about how to get the ball rolling.

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _It's an impressive sight. The forest has been flattened for hundreds of meters to the north, west, and east. The bulk of the mountain has shielded the southern reaches. The crater is almost two hundred meters across and is coated in rapidly cooling and cracking glass. There is a torrent of steam rising from the ground. 'Gavin! Lower one of the tow lines and I'll climb down to check things out! Go to a holding pattern once I'm down!'_

' _You sure?!' She confirms and he lowers the ship so she can repel down. She lowers Spits down with her biotics. His plating has a new shield generator to repel any radiation and the excess heat. Once the two of them are safely on the ground, Gavin starts circling the mountain. She waits until he's out of sight before lighting up her biotics._

 _She can feel the pull of what she's here to find. Her vision is shifting violet and she starts following the trail. This time it's source is less that a meter down. Jane draws Abyss and floods its conduits with power. She slams the blade into the offending earth and blasts it away. Below that is a panel similar to the one from Omega, and dead center is a slot for Abyss. She makes ready to plunge the blade in but stops for a moment as the voices start to sound out. Already they're building to prodigious volume and her migraine is surging. 'I swear to God, if you bastards start screaming at me like on Omega, I'll tear this place apart.' The voices immediately recede. It's the first time they've ever responded to something she's said. Satisfied, Jane stabs the blade home and the panel falls into dust, revealing a long sloping tunnel._

 _She and Spits move in, taking in everything as they go. This place looks and feels different than Omega. The other tunnel had been straight as a laser beam. This one twists and turns, with no ten meter stretch the same size or angle as the ten meters before it. This one is much longer too. She's been walking for at least two hundred meters and the end is still out of sight. And then there's the general feel of the place. The other tunnel had felt dead. It had felt like she was in a tomb. This place has a pulse to it, like it's alive. She feels… something. Spits is keeping close and in a strange break of habit, he's keeping his tongue in his mouth. He's taking deep breaths through his nose, carefully sifting through all the smells he can. The varren is extremely agitated and his artificial claws are digging ruts into the floor as they walk. Jane can tell they've gone down at least half a kilometer by the time they hit a new doorway. This one is a great stone slab with slot for her sword in the center. She stabs it home and the slab crumbles to dust._

 _On the other side of the portal is a massive chamber, with dark pools of water scattered about. The room smells of old spores and stagnant water. The stalacmites on the ground are massive but their opposites are hidden in the darkness far above. The walls are irregular so it takes her a while to scout through the whole chamber. There are no clean angles and no clear lines to follow. Spits stays as far from the water as possible and the smell makes it obvious why. The scent of rot is clear but she can't see the source. She tries to listen to the voices, but only one calls out. It is one of the whispering voices, a clear one at that. It quietly guides her to the "center" of the chamber. There's a gnarled, fossilized root system protruding from the ground. The plant once fed by these roots has long since fallen to dust. Instead of the long dead plant, there is split in the dead material just large enough for her sword. She plants Abyss in the fold and feeds some of her power into it._

 _The room surges to life in a flood of yellow light. Previously hidden glyphs on the walls flash in existence and the pools of water are illuminated. Each has a putrid mass of fungus undulating at the bottom. Now she knows what the smell is. She double checks her air filters and ups the power for Spits' enviro shield. No point risking some of these spores coming with them when they leave. Jane looks around the room, trying to feel what she needs to do as the shadows grow far deeper. Frustration is setting in, but before she loses her temper_ _the quiet voice from before calls out. Only it's not in her head this time. She whirls about, slashing Abyss horizontally. The blade slides through the figure behind her without slowing, but to her astonishment it does no damage._

 _'Please Jane we don't have much time.' The figure is a dark shadow. It's taller than her and its features are completely hidden by shadow. It looks so familiar. The only feature that is absolutely clear are the eyes. The figure has two on each side of its head, and each eye glows a vivid purple. The sense of familiarity finally solidifies as her shadow steps into view. Only then does she realize that she's gone to the shadowed plain again. 'This beacon is far older than Omega's. It can't draw power from you and its own supply is damaged. We have only a few minutes.' Her heart skips a few beats. No! She needs answers!_

 _'Who the fuck are you? Why the fuck do I hear you and all those others in my head? Why the fuck does everything hurt so much? WHAT THE FUCK AM I?!' The shade doesn't recoil at her desperate anger. In fact it seems to have expected such fury. It sighs deeply before answering._

 _'I am sorry Jane. My memories are… disjointed , fragmentary, and this place doesn't have enough power to put them back together. I can't give you all the answers you need but I will tell you all that I can. As far as who I am, I don't remember much except that I am a shadow of who I was, a ghost of what once was. The same is true for the other voices that call to you. Each of us is an echo of another who once carried the same burden as you.' Jane moves a hand to her chest and the shadow nods at her, 'Yes. The implants placed inside your body are nothing new. Each and everyone of us carried them at one point and when our lives ended a fragment was taken, then hidden away for the next generation. You are the latest in a line that extends back through untold ages.' Her head is spinning and her heart is thundering._

' _A line of what? What do you mean?! Why does it hurt so much?!' The shade closes its eyes to gather its thoughts._

' _You are not ready to know everything yet. As for your pain, each of us had to deal with some degree of unending pain. You however, are the first to suffer through implantation as a child, and the first that did not consent to it. You suffer the most because your implants have been able to grow with you. As your body developed, it built up your implants as well. This gives you the potential to eclipse all of us in power but the price will be extreme.' As the shade speaks, she can't help but focus on the pain. Even though it's slowed down over the years, she can still feel the implants expanding through her body. Her skin still crawls, her brain aches, and her chest always feels close to bursting. 'The implants boost your physical ability to feel. This lets you experience so much more than any other, but it also magnifies your nerves conductivity a hundred fold. I'm sorry to tell you that the pain will never go away.'_

 _She can barely breathe and falls to her knees clutching her head. 'No, no, no, no, no, no…' Her eyes are watering as she tries to hold herself together, 'What am I supposed to do?_

' _As I said you aren't ready for everything yet. For know there is only one thing you must do. You need to become more than you are.'_

' _How?'_

' _Become better at all you know how to do. Train to become a better warrior. Expand your knowledge of science, engineering, politics, economics, warfare, anything that applies to the greater galaxy.'_

 _The the plain is starting to fade and she can feel the earth shaking. Her desperation grows as she frantically tries to get more answers, 'But why?! Why do I need to become more?! Why is this happening to me?!'_

 _The four eyed shade is fading into the greater darkness, 'There is something in the shadow beyond the edge. One day it will descend upon the galaxy in a storm of fire and blood as it has in ages past. When that day comes, you must be ready to face it.' The shade is almost completely gone. Only its eyes are still visible, 'We've not much time. When the power reserves fail, so too will the shield that keeps this place intact. You will need to flee as quickly as possible. Don't forget what I've told you Jane! We won't be able to speak like this again until you find another archive. Remember what I've told you!'_

 _With that the shade falls away entirely. Jane scrambles to try and force it back together, 'No! NO! Come back! What about the things crawling in my nightmares?! What is the dark hand trying to crush me?! Please! I don't understand! Come back! COME BACK!' But it's too late. The plain fades and the cavern returns in its place. She's kneeling next to the rapidly dissolving root system, tears spilling down her face._

 _She's falling deeper into despair as the cavern shakes. Spits is frantically nudging her and loudly whining. She looks around and has to roughly pull Spits to the side as a stalactite slams into the spot he'd been standing on. More debris is falling from above as the cavern starts collapsing. Spits gets to his feet and tries to drag her out. Jane hops up and sprints to the exit with Spits bounding behind her. They reach the tunnel and she turns back to see a thousand tons of stone crash down into the chamber. Then cracks start flashing into the tunnel walls. She and Spits bolt through the collapsing tunnel, never more than a few meters in front of the falling rock. She has to project a barrier for the last twenty meters to avoid being crushed. The two of them dive out of the doorway as the last stretch of tunnel falls to rubble._

 _Jane struggles to get herself under control. 'It's not going to stop…' It takes her a moment to realize that someone is trying to call her through haze of static on the comm._

' _Jane… Jane… Are -ou re-ving m-?' She almost doesn't answer. Her despair is almost too much to bear._

 _Her response is robotic in tone, 'I'm here Gavin. Come to where you dropped us off. We'll be waiting.' She closes the channel before he can reply. She stares at the dirt trying to come to terms with what she's heard. Jane can't feel anything but disappointment. She'd hoped to find some real answers, something to make the pain go away. All she has is a vague warning about… something. She's lost in thought until Gavin flies overhead. The tow lines drop and Jane takes hold off one and grabs hold of Spits' armor with her free hand. Gavin retracts the line and once at the top, Jane straps Spits onto one row of seats before taking her own. She sends a message to Joshua clearing him to start digging. His response is immediate._

' _Wonderful news! We'll be pulling ore out of the ground in no time. How did it go on the mountain? Did you find what you were looking for?' She hugs her arms close to her body._

' _I found what there was to find.' Jane closes the channel, 'Gavin… take me home.' He doesn't try to dig. Her tone is enough for him to stay quiet for the entire flight._

 **Hannah**

She'd wanted to go all out for Jane's birthday but had decided against it. Hannah doubts Jane would appreciate anything overly celebratory. She's gathered the gifts Jane's friends had sent and she's got the cake prepared. Hannah can hear Gavin's ship approaching and waits for Jane. The front door opens and she steps in. It's obvious something is wrong.

Jane has a hollow look in her eyes and twin trails through the grit on her face show that she's been crying. Her eyes are on the ground as she makes her way to the couch and sits. Jane rests her elbows on her knees and cradles her face in her hands. The girl's breathing is slow, steady. Hannah carefully sits next to her and puts an arm around her shoulder. Jane doesn't move as she speaks, "You were right. I activated that place and one of the voices spoke clearly. But she didn't have real answers, just a bunch of crap about what might happen. She said it wasn't going to stop. The pain is never going to stop."

"Keep going Jane. Who was she?" It was the normal way things worked. Jane would only share details if someone kept goading her.

"One of the voices in my head. It was an alien. She said that I needed to be ready for the shadow from beyond the edge. She couldn't tell me more, her memories were fragmented. She said we wouldn't be able to talk again until I find another place like this one, another 'archive'." She knows that if she doesn't keep Jane going the girl will lock up and stay quiet for days.

"Are you sure that's all she said? Think hard Jane. What else did she say? Maybe there's something important that just didn't sound important. Something that seems small but means more when you think about it."

Jane spends a few minutes thinking. "She told me to become better. That I needed to become more than I am. It sounded like she was just telling me to keep growing up. It's the same thing that Hackett and Anderson told me to do."

"Then why not try and do it?" Jane looks at her in confusion. "If she told you that you need to become more, then give it a shot. Study everything you can, learn everything you can, and maybe that will help you find a way forward. If nothing else it will give you more options for the future. Hell, maybe doing that will help you find another of these archives." Jane still looks depressed but she nods anyway. "For now, just try to relax and find a little peace. There's no one that needs to be fought, nothing that needs to be fixed, and no one to protect. Here and now, all you need to do is be the best person you can be. And tonight that means relaxing on your birthday." Hannah is relieved to see some of the tension drain out of Jane's body. She takes a few deep breaths before looking up and seeing that wrapped gifts on the table for the first time.

"What are these?"

"Those are your birthday presents." A bewildered look crosses her face. Hannah's gonna have to explain, "It's tradition to give someone gifts on their birthday. These are from your friends from Omega and those," she points to the gifts at the far end of the table, "are from me."

Jane picks up a small package and turns it over a couple times, "Why are they wrapped like this?"

"It's another old tradition. Most of them came unwrapped so I took care of it. You just pick one you want to open fist and rip the paper off." Jane still looks confused but she starts tearing open the first package, a small package with brightly colored bow and sent by someone called Vollo. Inside is a white package and inside that is a lustrous silver torque with a glowing blue line wrapping around it. Hannah's never seen such a beautiful piece of jewelry. Jane is utterly confused by it but then an audio message plays from a small device inside the box.

A dramatic, almost ethereal voice sounds out, "This one offers congratulations to the magnanimous Jane on this, the anniversary of her birth. This one dearly hopes that this day shall be filled with joy and this one offers this meagre trinket as an expression of this one's friendship. This beauteous torque contains a conduit of element zero powered oscillators which will help promote focus and health. At least that is what the fastidious jewelry dealer this one approached claimed. If nothing else it will serve as a beautiful adornment for a truly wonderful friend." The message ends and Jane whispers a thank you.

She turns to Hannah, "What I'm I supposed to do now? How should I repay Vollo?"

"Jane, it's a birthday gift. He didn't send it because he was expecting something in return. He sent it because he's you're friend and he thought you'd like it." Jane stares with wide eyes at the torque and turns it over several times, at a total loss for what to say. Hannah reaches over and gently pulls it from her hands. Then she places it around Jane's neck. It fits perfectly into place just over the neckline of her suit. "That looks lovely Jane." It really is an excellent compliment for the girl's features. "Go ahead and open some more."

This time Jane is actually a little excited. The next package is from Keeva and it reveals a set of extremely high grade engineering tools. "These… these were some of Keeva's favorites from Omega." Jane's smile is ear to ear as she goes through and identifies each one for Hannah. She doesn't know what most of them are for but it's still nice to hear Jane so happy over something. Keeva had also sent an audio message giving Jane good wishes and including a new secure comm line so they could talk, not to mention a promise that the security protocols for this new channel were even better than on Omega.

The next is one that didn't have a name for who sent it. It's a small package containing a hugely expensive omni-tool, a high end military grade omni-tool. Once Jane attaches it to her arm and activates it, a video message plays. On the screen is a lovely young, raven haired woman in an immaculate, form fitting uniform. She speaks in heavy australian accent, "Hello Jane. Just in case you don't remember, my name is Miranda," Jane whispers the name at the same time, "You were pretty badly injured when we last saw each other. I'm glad to know that you're better now. I wish that I could speak to you directly but the Alliance has done an astonishingly good job of keeping your location a secret. The closest I could get was a chance to speak to your quarian friend Keeva. She promised to get this message and the omni-tool to you. It's the best one available and you can upload your personal settings at any time from your old one. I don't know if you remember but we actually met several months before your last day on Omega. You rescued me and my sister from a Red Wake slaver den. When they captured us I thought they were going to sell her to some medical experiment and then use me as their… well, you know. You called me an angel that last day on Omega, but the truth is, you were my angel first."

Jane has tears in the corners of her eyes as the woman continues, "You saved us and gave us a real chance at a future. For that, I'll always be a friend to you. Included on your omni-tool is a secured comm access path if you ever want to talk. I really hope to see you again someday. All the best on you birthday Jane." Jane wipes the tears from her eyes and smiles broadly for a few minutes before continuing with the next gifts. One is an odd pendant from someone named Doth. Then comes a terrifying dagger from an old krogan called Patriarch.

Jane moves to one of the last few. Inside are two smaller boxes, and a data recorder, and a note asking her to listen to the message before opening them. She uses her new omni-tool to download the message. The tool lights up with the image of an old salarian, "Hello Jane. Thought I wish I could speak in person, Keeva has made it clear that the Alliance is doing everything it can to keep your location secret and I think that's a good thing. Instead, I and your other friends will send secure comm channels to contact us should you ever want to talk and anything we send you will be routed through a pair of skilled and trusted data smugglers. First thing, I wish to apologize for my conduct since Sara's passing. Losing her was a painful day for us both. I want you to know that it was not your fault. Indeed, if not for you being with us on that first day they came, I would likely be dead and Sara would likely have been enslaved. Not matter what happened, you have been a positive force in our lives." Jane has a pained look on her face at the mention of Sara.

"On to far less painful subjects, my gifts to you are a pair of thing very dear to my heart. Please open the blue box first." Jane opens it and inside is a small, circular pendant made from something that looks like ivory. "Inside is something that was given to me upon receiving my medical license. It is symbol for the wheel of life, a popular concept in salarian religion. It embodies the belief that this life is not the end all be all, that one day after death a person's spirit will return to this world and live on. I give it to you in the hopes that you can one day build a real life. A life of peace and joy. The red package contains something even more special."

Jane opens the second box and goes completely still, "In this box is something you will no doubt recognize. It is called a crucifix. In fact, it's the one Sara wore everyday. Shortly before her death she spoke of trying to find out when your birthday was and giving it to you. It seems only fitting to make that wish come true. Now I don't claim any deep understanding of the various human religions, but I believe the crucifix is a symbol meaning self-sacrifice. It's a virtue that Sara worked every day to embody and she believed that you did the same. I hope that you will carry it for many years. I want you to know this Jane. I thank any spirits or gods that might exist that I know you. Sara and I saw you a truly wonderful person. A troubled person to be sure, but a wonderful one nonetheless. My final gift is a bit less direct. I contacted a colleague of mine in asari space and asked her to help teach you about being a biotic. I know that you are powerful, but I also know that your migraines are getting worse, and that you've been having more trouble keeping things under control," Hannah had noticed Jane disappearing more and more often. She was also have more biotic flares than ever. "Now, if you are not interested, that is fine. I only ask that you hear her out and give her a chance. I believe that she will help you immensely. She said that she'll arrive at your location the day after your birthday. I'm not sure how she'll find you but then again she's always been good at finding people in hiding." Jane looks a bit worried but keeps listening.

"All that said, I wish you a happy and free life Jane. Remember, I'll always be there for you. You need only to ask." Jane stares at the two pendants for some time before sliding them into one of the armored pouches on her belt.

There are only a few gifts left. One is marked only with an intricate picture of a spider. Inside is a data wafer and a note claiming it contains a powerful ghosting program that will erase all digital traces of Jane's activities whenever active. Perfect for when she goes snooping in classified files.

The last gifts are from Hannah herself. One contains digital copies of dozens of her favorite movies, including several twenty first century classics. But it's the other that has Hannah excited. It a simple folder with a few papers inside. "Go ahead and read them Jane." She can see the girl's eyes go wide as does.

 **Jane**

 _Her heart is beating mile a minute and it's so loud she's worried that Hannah can hear it. She'd never expected something like this. She and Hannah were living an illusion here on Mindoir, but these papers meant Hannah was willing to make it real. 'I… I don't understand.'_

' _Jane, they're adoption papers. I'm asking to become your mother.' She still can't believe it._

' _But… why?' It's taking a hell of an effort to avoid crying._

' _You showed me your life when we first met. You showed the good, the bad, and the very worst. You told me that you were a monster, but that's not what I saw. I saw a young woman who needed more than just another friend. I saw pain, sorrow, and an absence of love, a bottomless void where family should have been. If you'll let me, I'd be overjoyed to step in and become your family.' She can't stop it anymore. The tears are falling and it's the first time that it doesn't piss her off. She can't form the words to answer. The best she can do is wrap Hannah in a crushing embrace. Jane can barely keep enough control to avoid squeezing too hard. Hannah manages to squeak out, 'I'll take that as a yes.'_

 **Unknown**

 **Attention**

 **Possible Fulcrum Activity detected**

 **Nuclear Munition Movement Detected**

 **Exact Source And Destination Unknown**

 **Adendum**

 **Possible Locations Narrowed**

 **Fulcrum Is Not In Wider Citadel Space**

 **Possible Locations By Sector…**

 **Terminus Systems And Attican Traverse**

 **Number Of Potential Locations…**

 **685 Inhabited Worlds**

 **52486 Uninhabited Worlds**

 **Further Observation Required**

 **Status of Agent Acquisition - Incomplete**

 **Subject - Jortan**

 **Subject Is Not Suitable for Secondary Agent Status**

 **Solution**

 **Subject Is To Be Made A Tertiary Agent**

 **Contacting Secondary Agent**

 **Shadow Broker**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 - The Matriarch**

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Hannah**

They'd spent most of the night before watching one of Hannah's favorite film series. Jane had been enraptured for the full nine hours it had taken to watch all three. Even the music from the credits had kept her fully engaged. Hannah had always loved 'The Lord of the Rings' and now she was happy to see a brand new fan in the making. Jane was still talking about it the morning after. "Sara used to sing that song. Every time I was hurt and had to rest, she would sing it to me. I never knew that it was in a movie." Jane had been humming it every chance she got.

After finishing breakfast, Jane starts looking into more than a dozen separate education programs. She's researching schools that teach anything useful. Ship design, political science, atmospheric engineering, religious doctrine, and several more. She really seems to be taking her advice to heart. Jane spends hours cycling from one program to the next, submitting requests for information from each one. Towards the middle of the day Jane gets a call, "Uh… hey Jane?" It's Gavin and he looks a bit distressed.

"Hey Gavin. What's wrong?"

"You asked me to let you know if somebody came looking for you right?" Hannah's hand drifts to her pistol. The idea of someone coming for Jane drove her crazy.

"Yeah. How many are there? What do they look like? How well are they armed?" The look on the young man's face would be comical if not for the possible problems they faced.

"Uhhhh, it's just one person. An Asari wearin clothes like a dock worker."

"Is she armed?"

"I don't see anything."

"Use the EM sight mode on your goggles. That'll pick up anything with an energy signature, even if it's concealed."

"Got it," she can hear Gavin fidgeting with his goggles before letting out a whistle, "Woah, she's lit up like a Christmas tree."

"Send me the readings." After walking Gavin through the necessary steps the scans pop up on Jane's omni-tool. "She's got at least five high power guns and almost a dozen concealed grenades." Jane pulls her sword from the spot in the wall she always kept it and slots it into the scabbard.

Gavin is sending images of the asari now. The woman looks like she's getting directions from one of the workers. "She's headin out Jane. You want me to tail her?"

"No. Judging by her appearance, she has to be a older matron, maybe even matriarch. She'll know you're there. Get in your chopper and be ready with fire support if I call you."

"Yeah, about that…" Jane rolls her eyes as the young man spills, "I kinda… forgot to attach those pods." Jane had bought some heavy rocket pods for Gavin's flyer and he'd promised to mount them almost a week ago. Jane had said he'd probably finish that morning.

"Then just… fly overhead and watch her. Let me know if she tries to hide or sneak up on the house." Jane closes the line before her anger boils over. Spits senses her agitation and takes his usual place at her left. Jane pulses the activation command for his shield generator and he's briefly enveloped in a dark blue bubble. After that she whispers a command in his ear and he trots to the back door and disappears. Jane steps up to Hannah, "You should probably hide somewhere. If she tries anything Gavin will pick you up and take you to the security station."

"No." Jane is startled by Hannah's response, "If this woman is here to fight, I'm not letting you face her alone. I might not be able to tear through people like you but I'm certainly not helpless." Before the girl can respond, Hannah marches over to the main closet and pops open the center compartment. Inside is a lovingly cared for Viper sniper rifle. She gives the weapon a quick check and stands in front of Jane.

The girl tries to argue but in the end gives in, "At least… at least set up in the attic. There's a window up there that gives a perfect vantage over the path up to the house." Hannah gives a quick smile before heading upstairs and and getting into position. She looks through the scope just as the asari steps into the path up to their house.

 **Jane**

 _She's standing in front of the house as the woman leisurely walks up and it looks like her guess was right. She has to be a matriarch. Her features are consistent with everything she's read about asari bodies in the late stage of their lives, including her… assets. She doesn't look like she's going to attack but Jane's not going to relax. She draws Abyss and holds it at the ready. The tiny sound of a rifle priming lets her know that Hannah is ready as well. The asari stops just outside of her blade's reach, not even flinching at Jane's openly hostile stance. "Who are you and why are you looking for me?"_

" _Take it easy kid. Mutual friend asked me to check in on you and offer to teach you a few things about being a biotic." Her stance is relaxed, almost lazy. Jane's sword stays in place._

" _What friend?"_

" _Mirdan Solus. You know, old salarian doc, used to be STG, kind of an ass but always trying to help everyone, even if they suck. Helped you on Omega from what I hear."_

" _If you know Mirdan prove it. Tell me about his tattoos."_

" _He's got two on his left horn," the asari points to the top of her head, "One's that wheel of life he believes in and the other is a number, 213-09118-0008. It's his old STG ID code. He's got one on the back of his left hand, says 'Jayat Samotan'. That's an old salarian euphemism. Modern translation is 'The shadow of truth' but Mirdan calls that varren shit. The real meaning is 'Truth from shadow'." Midan had made that exact point on no fewer than seven occasions. So far so good, "Then there's the one one his back, lists off the names of STG brothers that died in service, all fifty three of um," Jane remembers Sara talking about that one. "Oh and the real kicker is the one stamped right above his-" Jane raises a hand to cut her off._

" _Ok, so you know Mirdan. Big deal. Why would you come out this way to help some human you never met? What the hell do you want out of this? And what's your name?" The asari doesn't look at all reserved about her demands._

" _Look kiddo, I've been movin around in this dump of a galaxy for damn near a thousand years. Made a lot a good friends over the centuries and one thing I learned a long time ago, is when a good friend asks for help, you help. And Mirdan might be the best friend I've ever had. He said you're worth lookin after, and coming from Mirdan, that's a hell of a compliment. If he thinks you're worth my time, then you're worth it. Besides, he said I'd probably get a kick out of some of the things you can do." Jane grimaces and puts up her sword. The asari smiles, "Name's Aethyta. Technically Matriarch Aethyta, lady of the house Aethys, Mistress of the colony Liseera, yada yada, and blah, blah, blah. Just call me Aethyta… You know, it's been a long time anyone has had the guts to threaten me when all they're packin is a sword."_

 _It's Jane's turn to smile, "Who said that's all I was packin?" She points to the attic window as red laser sight tracks to the asari's chest. Hannah's just barely visible behind her rifle. "That's my mother, and that's my best friend," She points behind the asari as a deep throated snarl sounds out. Spits is doing his best 'angry face' as he bares his red stained tusks that fortuitously looks like they're covered in blood, a result of eating too many ruby melons. Jane waves him over. He edges his way over to her, never once taking his eyes off the asari. He's just as distrustful of her species as Jane is. "Spits, epen." The varren keeps up his growl as he back into the house and trots off to find a soft place to nap. "Come in and sit. We'll talk and then I'll decide if I want your help. Oh and by the way, if you try anything I'll kill you and dump your corpse in a shallow grave." Jane walks into the house. As she passes the doorway she can hear the asari call up to Hannah in a jovial tone, "You should be proud! Your kids got a real quad!"_

 **Aethyta**

Mirdan, that old wise-ass, had nailed it when he said she'd like the girl. She has just the right amount of guts to give Aethyta a real kick and judging by the overwhelming feeling of raw power emanating from her, she was definitely worth investigating. It was always easy for her to tell when another biotic was using their abilities nearby and she gets a constant feeling from the girl. And that sword! In nine hundred years of beating the piss out of the scum of the galaxy, she's never seen a sword that actually looked like it was _eating_ light.

The two of them walk into a surprisingly well put togther living room. She'd seen a few human homes since they'd appeared on the galactic stage, but those had all been a bit too… orderly. This place looked like a real home, lived in. The furniture was nice but didn't look someone was bragging about their money. There were a few guns mounted on the walls, mostly first gen mass effect pieces, real collectable stuff. Some books, real paper ones, were scattered here and there. The whole place smells like those chocolate candles human merchants always tried to peddle. The only thing that was odd, the one thing that kind of got under her skin was the near complete lack of pictures. Even the most uptight, stick in his ass turian general would have pictures of proud moments and respected family mounted. This place only has a single picture near the back door, a detailed scan image of a mountain.

The girl sits in a strange concave chair filled with large red cushions, with her feet propped up on the small table in front of the couch. She gestures for Aethyta to take a seat as the human woman with the rifle walks into the room. She gives Aethyta a sidelong glance as she walks over to the girl and whispers into her ear. She can't hear what the woman says but the girl doesn't try to hide her response, "I think so. She knows Mirdan and I think she actually wants to help." The woman glances at Aethyta again before whispering once more. The girl smiles, "Yeah, I'll be okay for a while." The woman, takes her rifle out back, leaving the two of them alone. Aethyta can hear the sound of rifle shots drifting through the air a few moments later. "She spends a lot of her free time practicing with her rifle." The girl stares at Aethyta with an unblinking gaze. She's been glared at by some of the biggest bastards in the galaxy and she can honestly say that none of them made her as uncomfortable as Jane does. "So what exactly can you teach me?"

"I can help you control your abilities. Teach you some things that will make your life in and out of battle easier." She still hasn't blinked.

"I'm already in control."

"I don't mean being able to sit still without slinging dark energy around. I mean being able to actually channel your power more efficiently. Right now, from what I understand, you're like a shotgun with a twitch trigger and no recoil control. When you're trigger is pulled you can rip through almost anything, but it's too easy for you to go off and you waste a ton of energy every time you do." Still no blinking but as she spells out her case she can see a muscle twitch under the girl's left eye. Then there's the buildup of ozone. The girl is getting angry and is letting it mess with her. "Right now, you're actually making my point for me. Do you realise that you're building up dark energy while I'm talking?" The girl finally looks a little unsure and the ambient energy starts fading away. "I'm not trying to rile you up or insult ya, but this is the kind of thing that gets dangerous as you get older. It's a lot easier to learn control when you're a kid as opposed to after you grow up. Not only that, but letting your energy leech away like that makes it harder for you to keep control when it really matters."

"I… I guess I can see what you mean."

"Good to hear kid. So tell me, what can you do? You know know how to do basic stuff like a biotic push or pull right?"

"Yeah. Those are easy. Though if I'm not trying to kill someone or destroy something I've gotta be really careful."

"That's good. How bout the more delicate stuff? A lift or small scale manipulation?"

"That's easy too. In fact, I really like using biotics to help me make delicate stuff. I put together a lot of stuff in Spits' legs with my biotics."

Must be the varren from earlier. It had an incredible set of artificial legs. "What about something more destructive? Can you use a warp?"

"Yes. I can break down things easily and I've even learned how to fuse things together with a warp."

"Barriers?"

"Easy, I almost always have one up." That must be why she gets the constant feeling of biotics from her.

"Why is that? Why not just when you're in trouble?" Jane stares at her for a while, and starts rubbing her arm unconsciously.

"I used to get in trouble a lot. It's a habit at this point."

"Alright, can't really argue against someone being careful. What about the harder stuff like singularities or shockwaves?"

"I can use them but it's usually not a good idea. My singularities have a habit of running out of control. As far as shockwaves, I try not to use them. I can't control their direction. It just comes out as an explosion."

"That's interesting kid. So when you try to use a shockwave, you just end up blasting everything around you," Jane nods, "then that's not a shockwave. That's called a nova and it's a pretty rare ability. How about a biotic reave?" She's surprised at the sudden change on the girl's face. Up to this point she's been almost aloof but now she looks positively pissed.

"No, a reave takes a ton of focus and it's hard for me to focus enough to do it."

"Why's it so hard for you to focus for it? That delicate manipulation you mentioned earlier would take a lot of focus. Why's this so different?" She might have pushed too far. The air is filling with ozone again and the girl is letting off tiny flares of energy.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Her tone is surprisingly stern.

"Why not? Did something hap-" Now she's pushed too much. Jane hops up from her chair, a golden haze billowing from her. The feeling of energy skyrockets and the whole room is shaking.

Jane replies in a rumbling snarl through grit teeth, " **I said I don't wanna talk about it**." Aethyta holds up her hands in a placating gesture. She doesn't think the girl could hurt her, but it was never a good idea to rile up a young biotic with control issues. As the rage drains out of her, Jane takes several steadying breaths. "Something happened a while ago and I don't wanna talk about it." Both of them stay silent for a few minutes. The woman from earlier returns, finds the two of them staring at each other, and moves a hand to her back.

"Everything ok in here?" She knows the woman has her hand on a concealed pistol.

Jane takes care of it, "It's fine Hannah. Thanks for asking. I really think she can help with a few things." Hannah eyes Aethyta one more time.

"Alright, I'm going to pick up some lunch. Should only be a couple minutes. Mind if I take Spits with me."

"Go ahead."

Hannah calls to the varren and they leave the girl and Aethyta alone. "Alright Jane, I'd like to see what you can do. Mind showin me?" As an answer Jane walks out the back door and gestures for her to follow. The walk past a large collection of exercise equipment to the edge of the forest. Aethyta stands in front of Jane, "Alright kid, give me a push." The girl looks fairly apprehensive.

"I don't want to hurt you."

It sweet that she thinks like that, "Don't worry Jane," she raises a barrier just in case, "I'll be fine." Though still looking uncomfortable, Jane gathers the needed power along her right arm and throws it forward. A mote of golden energy punches into Aethyta. She rocks back on her heels, absorbing the hit with a moderate effort. "Mirdan told me you were a lot more powerful than that," it felt like she'd been punched by a krogan, "don't be a pussy and give me all you got this time." Now Jane angry again. This time the sensation of power surges to new heights and she hurls a much large orb of power at her. This time her barrier barely holds and the impact is enough to knock her on her ass. She lays there just blinking for a moment before calling to Jane, "Damn kid, that's more like it. Your best is better than a lot of professional biotics." She gets to her feet and notices that Jane isn't looking at her. In fact, she looks embarrassed.

"That's… that's not my best," she makes eye contact, "If you really are a good friend to Mirdan then I don't wanna hurt you." That's a little disconcerting. That push had hurt. Aethyta steps to the side.

"Alright, you see that tree," she point to a large tree about ten meters away, "Throw a push at it, and this time don't hold back." Jane takes a few deep breaths as she builds up the needed energy. The smell of ozone is becoming so think that it's actually getting hard to breathe. The girl is surrounded by a billowing haze of amber light and the ground has a slight tremor to it. Jane grits her teeth and lets out a howl as she throws both arms forward. A tidal wave of kinetic energy bursts forward with a thunderclap. When this monstrous orb of energy slams into it, the tree ceases to exist. It doesn't just shatter, it's shredded so completely that the largest remaining piece is smaller than her finger. The space behind her target has been savaged, leaving a dozen more trees and shrubs in tatters. Debris sails through the air to land well out of sight. The ground near the impact sight has be scorched.

Using so much power at once has left Jane breathless. She's got her hands on her knees as she tries to steady her breathing. When she stands up straight, still trying to get her breathing under control, Aethyta can see a trickle of blood leaking from her nose. Jane brushes it away without a second thought, "That's the best I can do without losing control." They can hear Hannah calling from inside. "Come on. I'm hungry." The two of them go inside to find Hannah setting up food for the three of them and an odd green melon for the varren. They invite Aethyta to eat with them. Ten minutes in and the girl has managed to eat more than Aethyta has in the last two days. Jane powers through food faster than anyone she's ever seen.

"Gotta say kid, you got the right attitude about food. A lot of young biotics don't get that they need to eat a ton more than most people." Jane doesn't respond as she keeps eating the fried bird she has just started. Most people would eat a bit slower, carefully tearing the meat from the bones but not Jane. She's just taking huge bites and crushing anything, including bones, that comes with the bite. If Aethyta hadn't gotta used to seeing this kind of thing from her krogan father then it would be really disturbing. "So Jane, why do you try so hard to keep control? I get wanting to keep your abilities in line, but you seem to mean more than that when you talk about keeping control.

Jane hesitates between bites, "I can't risk losing control. Someone else loses control and they might break something. I lose control and… bad things happen." The two humans share a nervous look and Aethyta decides not to push it. Once the meal is done, Hannah goes off to do something on a computer as Jane and Aethyta head back outside.

"I'd like to see some more of what you can do. Show me a pull." Jane draws her black sword and hurls it into a nearby tree. Aethyta can see that the blade has stabbed almost a meter into the tree. A moment later and golden orb hits the blade and it's torn out of the tree, dragging a huge chunk out along the way. The blade flies back into Jane's hand and she uses a smaller pull to drag the shredded tree bits from the blade's serrations. "Pretty damn good kid. How about a warp?"

Jane nods and turns to a massive boulder a few meters away. A haze of gold surrounds her and she flings a new orb at the rock. On impact, the stone immediately starts breaking down. In seconds, the entire things has fallen to dust, leaving nothing more than the hole once occupied by said stone. "Nice. You gotta lot of power Jane, but you tend to lose a lot of energy while you're building up. Takes a lot to keep so much energy under wraps. I've got some mental exercises to help you channel more efficiently." She doesn't think trying to teach the deeper meditations are a good idea right now, so she settles for showing Jane a few easier ways to gather and hold onto energy. The two of them spend several hours working on it. Despite a few temper flare ups, the two actually hit it off pretty well and Jane is proving to be an exceptional student, one with a mouth as vulgar as her own. They pause at one point to eat again before resuming. By the time the sun is setting over the horizon, they're both exhausted but in good spirits. Hannah comes to check on them and Aethyta asks, "You mind if I shack up here for a bit till I find a decent hotel." Jane agrees without hesitation.

She settles on to the couch as the two humans go to sleep upstairs. It's about midnight when Aethyta hears something thumping on the floor above her. It keeps happening for awhile so she goes to investigate. She passes Hannah's room and doesn't hear anything from inside. The thumping sound happens again. It's coming from the room at the end of the hall. She peeks inside and sees green light spilling from another open door inside. Jane's varren is tightly curled up covering its eye outside the door. Aethyta carefully walks over and peers inside. Jane is frantically scrawling something on the wall and talking in a quiet, almost manic whisper. Aethyta can't make out anything on the wall from here and before she can look closer, Jane turns around. Her eyes are hooded and she has a dazed look on her face. She stumbles past Aethyta, completely ignoring her as she closes and locks the door. The girl curls up on her bed, holding her head and mewling like a wounded animal.

Aethyta, thoroughly disturbed, returns to the couch downstairs. It takes a couple hours to fall asleep again as she tries to figure out just what she saw up there.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 - Lapse in Judgement**

 _Date_ _: 7.18.2168_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

He's glad only three members of the council had requested contact. Turian, Krogan, and Volus have each brought something to his attention. In a breach of habit, it was Volus that started the conversation, only pausing now and then to take a breath through his respirator, "Did you know that the Fulcrum _ksssht_ has invested in almost thirty separate companies in the last few months _ksssht_? At first her financial forrays were sporradic, amatuer even, but lately her investment strategy has been sharply refined. As it is now _ksssht_ , even without the immense wealth being generated by her deal with Callen Mineral, her investments _ksssht_ will provide a large enough income to live off of for the rest of her life. She has even managed to _ksssht_ seize control of a minor shipyard in your Home Sector through a series of impressive financial deals." That one had been a hell of a surprise. The reports he'd read had mentioned that an anonymous third party had used a dozen legal loopholes to buy a failing private shipyard without disclosing the identity of the new owner or registering any ship designs being put into service. It was already back to churning out a profit, despite the disappearance of three extremely expensive vessels. These ships had been routed… somewhere.

"We're still not sure how she's moving through our legal system so quietly. The only reason we even pick up on the things she does, is because she stays in regular contact with someone belonging to one of our covert organisations." If Jane ever found out that they were listening to her calls with the young agent in question, he doubts she'd be overly forgiving.

Turian seems to have made a 180 on his view towards the situation over the last few months. "Regardless, I believe these activities show great promise. There is cause to be concerned however. As I understand it, there has been a serious incident involving the asari matriarch that is providing her biotic training."

 _Date_ _: 7.14.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Aethyta**

This may be the strangest thing to happen to her for at least the last four centuries. She never would have thought that the most powerful student she had ever trained would be a human, let alone a human child. Jane has progressed further and faster than any asari, turian, drell, or quarian that she's ever instructed. Her already prodigious power is now complemented by any ever expanding repertoire of skills and a more refined degree of personal control. The girl is now capable of manipulating multiple objects simultaneously in complex patterns with total surety. She's taken to practicing by disassembling Hannah's sniper rifle and reassembling it using only her biotics.

Aethyta herself has grown closer to both humans over the last few months. Aethyta usually stays at Jane and Hannah's home at night. The local 'hotel' was a small building with a few shared space rooms. Jane refused to let her stay there, going so far as to pay for an extension to the house with a dedicated room for guests.

The bad news is that the girl's distress at night is only growing worse. Aethyta has heard her dozens of times and observed her leaving that green room more than once. Jane locks it behind her and Aethyta has no idea how to undo the lock. She could easily break down the door, but that would wake Jane and could end up doing more damage. She's decided to try and talk it out of the girl.

It's late in the afternoon and the two of them have been practicing a new form of meditation. Jane is currently suspended by the golden haze of her biotics about half a meter in the air, in a cruciform pose. The technique is extremely difficult for most biotics. Even some asari are unable to hold it for more than a few minutes without years of practice. It's meant to help a biotic improve their stamina and the constant strain of biotic use helps clear the mind of any thoughts other than maintaining the pose. Jane's been holding herself up for over an hour and the strain is showing. There is sweat pouring down her face, a trickle of blood is coming from her nose, and her breathing is growing more erratic every moment. At ninety minutes, Aethyta decides that's enough, "Alright kid, go ahead ease down." As expected, Jane refuses at first.

"I'm ok… I can keep going." Aethyta doesn't doubt it. Jane's more stubborn than a krogan trying to win a fight against a varren over who can eat more. If you don't stop him, he'll end up killing himself with food just to spite the varren.

"Don't give me that crap. I know you can keep it up, but I'd rather not have to explain you having an aneurysm to your mom." She's had to pull Jane back several times over the last few months. The girl knows her limits, but will usually try to push past them out of spite. It fuels her amazing progress but it's also come close to killing her a couple times. "Come on down and I'll buy lunch." As usual, bribery with food does the trick. Jane slowly drops to the ground and takes several deep breaths to help slow down her heart. Exhaustion has her trembling so she spends a few minutes just trying to still herself.

When she's finally close to normal she opens those beautiful purple eyes and smiles, "You're gonna regret that offer." It was a an old joke at this point, but an apt one. If Aethyta wasn't ludicrously wealthy she would never be willing to pay. Jane eats enough to feed an entire family and the bill for her meals was always colossal. Mindoir doesn't have a huge variety of options as far as restaurants, but the few available are better than almost anything she's ever had. The humans here have this habit of adding a mound of sugar and salt to almost everything. The result is a bounty of delicious food the envy of the sector.

At the moment, she and Jane are eating at a barbeque place. The owner, a giant of a man named Frank, knows them quite well by now and always rushes to serve them. "Welcome ladies! Always nice to see the two of you. Usual?" After answering, Jane and Aethyta sit at a table next to a window looking out over one of the miles long fields surrounding the colony.

"How have you been sleeping lately Jane?"

"Why?"

"A lot of young biotics have trouble with vivid dreams after their power manifests." While true, this trouble was nothing compared to what the girl had obviously been going through. "There are a couple things I can teach you if you're having trouble sleeping."

Jane stares out over the fields as she answers, "I've always had bad dreams. That didn't change when I found out I was a biotic." Three months ago Aethyta would have bought it, but she's getting better at telling when Jane is lying or holding back. The girl has a habit of hiding details about her feelings. She'll bury anything she thinks will make her look weak. Though she's started getting more open with Aethyta, trying to get personal information out of her was like pulling teeth from a thresher maw.

"It was a **long** time ago, but I still remember what it was like when my abilities really started blossoming." All asari were naturally biotic, but not all of them had the power to use biotics in a military capacity. "There were nights when I was terrified of sleeping. All kinds a crap bouncin around in my head. Took years for me to get a handle on it. It's not a big deal if you're havin trouble. I'm not gonna judge you over it." Jane looks like she's giving it serious thought. She's so deep in thought that she doesn't notice at first when the food arrives, and that was a real eye opener.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." That's where the conversation ended. Once she started in on her food, Aethyta wasn't able to get another word out of her. The meal lasts about an hour, with Frank bringing over three full meals for Jane. When they're finished and pay the bill, the big man is smiling ear to ear as Jane leaves her customary tip, worth almost as much as the bill itself. Once they reach the house, Jane claims she's still tired from earlier and heads to her workshop to be alone. Aethyta barely catches a glimpse of the red light inside before Jane shuts the door. She had claimed that the red light was less painful to see in and prefered it whenever she was working.

It's been the pattern for the last few weeks. Every time Aethyta brings up sleep or dreams, Jane will make her excuses and disappear to be alone. Something needs to change or Jane is just going to keep suffering. Eventually that'll become dangerous for everyone she comes into contact with.

 **Jane**

 _She's been sitting at her workbench for hours doing next to nothing. The few mindless tasks she's found to do haven't helped settle the storm in her mind. Jane knows Aethyta is trying to help but she can't let her know what's in her head. She can't let Hannah know. Her nightmares are growing worse every day and it's getting harder to keep a lid on it. She keeps waking up in that fucking green room, some new horror shining back at her._

 _Jane spends hours trying to push the pain away and fails miserably. The sun has long since sunk below the horizon and she can hear rain falling on the roof. It's supposed to be one hell of a storm tonight. It's time to sleep again. She's terrified of her dreams but staying awake all the time just brings them to the fore in her waking hours. Jane quietly creeps up to her room and curls up on her bed. An hour passes as she finally falls asleep, and the demons in her mind come roaring out._

 **Aethyta**

It's time to see what's haunting Jane. Aethyta saw the girl try to sneak upstairs and followed. She's had centuries to learn how to move quietly and it lets her get upstairs without a sound. She waits in the hall, listening closely. It doesn't take long. Jane stumbles into her green room and starts frantically scrawling on the wall. Spits is cowering again, a truly disturbing aspect of this entire affair. She doesn't want to risk waking Jane so she stays back. Tonight must be a lot worse than usual. The girl grunting and growling as she draws. The few words she spouts are complete gibberish.

Jane eventually stumbles out of the green room, holding her head tightly. She collapses on her bed and starts trembling. This is Aethyta's chance. Even though Jane closed the door, she forgot to lock it behind her. Aethyta sneaks past the girl's bed and carefully opens the door. The green light from within spills out as she walks in. She immediately regrets it.

"Athame's great blue ass…" This room is a veritable treasure trove of nightmare. Hand drawn pictures of death and suffering cover almost every inch of the walls, the ceiling, even the floor. Here is an image of people being burned alive. There, a crowd is crushed by a falling building. There, a pile of severed limbs being picked at by scavengers. Crowds of children with their eyes torn out. Mothers clutching the tattered remains of their stomachs. Fathers sifting through the ashes of their love. Torrents of blood are depicted in every direction. Everywhere she looks, Aethyta finds some new scene of gut wrenching revulsion. She's seen these types of images play out in real life, but there's something about this place that is so much worse. It's a feeling of intense… wrongness. Everytime she sees something new, it feels like it's about to become true. It feels like hell itself is peaking out from beyond.

Then there is what's written across every surface. It's the same phrase over and over and over, everywhere she looks. "Won't stop. Never stops." No two instances are written in the same style. "Won't stop. Never stops." Some are written with perfect, almost machine precise care. "Won't stop. Never stops." Some look like a tiny child drawing her first pictures in chalk. "Won't stop. Never stops." Others are written in large, shaky letters, as if the person writing them was having a seizure. "Won't stop. Never stops."

On and on they go. Some are written backwards, upside down, or curving in a circle. Some start on one section of the wall, stop, then start back up somewhere else. The sheer mania would be enough to unnerve almost anyone, but the real kicker about it is what they're all written with. It's a smell she's learned to recognize well over the years. Every species has some distinct twinge to it but they all have some underpinning similarities. The human variant has a slight coppery tinge to its scent. This feverish scrawl, this open sign of a breaking mind, is written in blood.

Nearly every instance of the phrase is angled towards the place of honor on one of the walls. It's the only surface with a single central image. Dozens of pictures are placed together, forming a composite image of a massive black hand descending from the sky. Even though she knows it's just a picture, Aethyta can't help be feel like the hand is reaching down for her, to crush her and everything she has ever loved. Her heart is hammering harder than ever before. Her throat's gone dry and she's getting dizzy. She doesn't notice the building ozone. She doesn't hear the snarl.

She stumbles back to her left, away from the black hand and it saves her life. A black blade rams into the wall directly in front of her, tearing through the spot she had just left. Abyss stabs into the wall down to the hilt and snaps Aethyta out of her delirium. She whirls about to see Jane standing in front of her bed. This is not the girl she's grown used to over the last few months. Jane's eyes are bottomless black voids. Her hair is a wild mane. Her face is contorted with a feral rage she didn't think was possible on a sentient being. The room is trembling and Aethyta finally feels the colossal build up power. She tries to raise her hands in a placating gesture but Jane attacks in flash of gold before she can even start.

One moment the girl is standing ten feet away and in an instant she appears in front of Aethyta. She feels Jane grab her by the front of her tunic. The girl then turns sharply and hurls Aethyta out of the green room. She slams into the wall, the air exploding from her lungs. She's cracked at least one rib, possibly more, but Jane's not done. She sprints towards the downed asari, howling like an animal, her body bathed in amber light. Aethyta scrambles to her feet and barely manages to throw up a barrier before Jane slams a gold wreathed fist into her chest. A blast of power sends her crashing through the wall and falling onto the ground outside. Her barrier is the only reason she's still alive.

There's a storm raging outside. Rain is falling in a torrent, lightning flashes across the sky in megalithic arcs, and the wind is savaging everything not nailed down. The ground is a quagmire of sucking mud. She stumbles repeatedly as she tries to get her feet under her. Aethyta looks to the hole she fell from and sees Jane leap after her. The girl lands with a splash of mud and immediately throws herself at Aethyta. The matriarch stops the girl's charge by powering everything she can into her biotics. Jane was always strong and now her rage has stripped away the natural safeguards that keep someone from hurting themselves.

In a battle of pure attrition Aethyta could easily win. She's spent almost a thousand years building her skill and stamina. Jane has a hellish degree of power but tends to spend it too quickly. Right now, that isn't an issue. Her attacks are so powerful that Aethyta is spending torrents of energy just to stay alive. She can't keep up with Jane's murderous assault. Every attack blocked is followed by one that slips through her guard and every blow hits like a freight train. Every time Jane strikes it feels like she's losing a year off her life, and she's losing a lot of time. On and on it goes, as her defenses are stripped away. Just staying on her feet has become a brutal trial.

Jane plants a fist in Aethyta's stomach and her barrier finally shatters. The next punch breaks her collarbone and floors her. Her vision is spotted and she's struggling to breathe. Jane stands over her, chest heaving, fists bleeding, and blood is pouring from her nose and ears. Aethyta is completely spent, but Jane isn't far behind. The only thing keeping Jane standing is rage and that's failing her. She's violently trembling as she falls to her knees. She speaks through grit teeth, "You had no right! NO RIGHT TO SEE THAT!"

It's a battle just to find the air to answer, "I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. I just want to help you." It only seems to piss her off more. Jane sends a small golden surge towards the house and her blade is pulled into her grasp. She takes hold with both hands and raises Abyss over Aethyta's heart.

This isn't how she thought she would die. Sure she always thought someone would end up killing her, but she never dreamed it would be kid she actually cared about. "I'm sorry kiddo. I'm sorry I drove you to this…"

 **Jane**

 _She's screaming inside her head. She was screaming when she lost control. She was screaming as she pummeled Aethyta. And now, as she's getting ready to murder her friend, she's screaming louder than ever. 'NO. STOP. STOP!' She hears Aethyta apologize, and she manages the wrest back control of her body. Abyss is less than an inch away from the woman's chest, shaking madly. It takes everything she has to pull the blade away. She feeling sick and her head is spinning._

 _Her blind rage is fading away. Her hands are broken and she can't stop shaking. All her nightmares are screaming through her mind a hundred times stronger than ever. It just won't stop. She's about to pass out when she hears a gasp through the downpour. She almost missed it. 'No, no, no, no, no…' She leaves Aethyta behind and struggles to climb back up into her room. She gets back inside, scrambles to her feet, runs to her green room, and is mortified to see Hannah inside._

 **Hannah**

The sound of shouting had woken her. Then a huge crashing sound had gotten her moving and she'd run to Jane's room. The place is trashed and a huge hole has been torn in the wall. She knows she needs to find Jane but something catches her eye. The room Jane always keeps locked is wide open and pale green light is spilling out. Something draws her in, a deep rooted feeling that she can't resist. At the threshold she almost loses her lunch at what she sees. The pictures inside are so horrible she can barely keep herself together. She has no idea how long she stands there staring. Eventually she hears someone climb into the room behind her and she turns to see. Jane is covered in grime and blood. She has a horrified look on her face.

Hannah is desperate to help, "Jane?" She tries to step closer, to take Jane in her arms. The girl backs away.

"You weren't supposed to see this. You weren't supposed to know." With that, Jane turns and leaps back outside. Hannah runs after her. She can see Jane scramble to her feet on the ground below. The girl turns to see her and bolts when she makes eye contact. Hannah climbs down to the yard, spotting Aethyta sprawled out on the ground. The older woman is covered in mud and she's bleeding from multiple cuts. Hannah can tell her injuries are worse than they look. The asari is barely moving.

She kneels down next to her, "What the hell happened?!"

The asari manages to force the answer out, "It's my fault. I didn't think it through. Knew she needed help. Thought I could find out what was given a hard time sleeping. Load of crap. Get after her kid. She needs you lot more than I do."

Hannah nods and gets to her feet. She makes a call to Gavin and when he arrives, they set out to find Jane.

 **Aethyta**

It's been a long time since someone managed to kick the crap out of her. She can tell a few ribs are broken and probably several other bones. As that flyer pilot lifts off with Hannah on board, Aethyta takes a shot of medi-gel from her belt and injects it. She feels the cool sensation of the medicine flowing through her and she relaxes slightly. Aethyta slowly gets to her feet and limps over to the bench behind the house. The storm is letting up as she sits. The medi-gel is helping but she still feels like she's been trampled. She watches the flyer shrink in the distance. Jane can run pretty damn fast when she needs to and she has the cover of the forest. It'll take a while to find her. Until that happened, she is gonna stay right here, on this bench.

The rain finally lets up and Aethyta can indulge in a habit she's had to put on hold for a while. She pulls a cigar from another pouch on her belt. She'd gotten a whole case of them just after official first contact with humanity. That had been a hell of a good time, not that the galaxy knew what really happened at the 'party' that started after the negotiations. She lights the cigar and takes a heavy drag from it. It relaxes her in a way few things do. She exhales and whispers to herself, "Fuck…"

 **Hannah**

They spend hours scouring the Alkin Valley with no luck. Given how fast Jane can move, the area they have to cover is truly massive. The roar of the rotors does nothing to settle her nerves. Gavin's got the upgraded sensor suite Jane installed running at full power. She knows that Jane's implants generate a thick EM field when she's distressed, so instead of looking for her directly they've had to find her trail. The darklight scans, working in tandem with bioscans, reveal a thin trail of blood leading through the valley. It's spotty at best, and they've had to double back more than once. The trail is growing thinner the further south they go. Hannah is starting to panic over the idea of losing her trail completely when Gavin saves the day, "Hey Ms. Shepard! The trail is headin almost due south! Only thing that way is the mountain! I'll bet my hanger she's headed there!" Jane does spend a lot of time up on the mountain. Maybe Callen can help.

"Sounds good! Get us to the mines!" Gavin takes note of their current coordinates just in case. Then he accelerates towards the mountain. It's a short flight, especially with the new boosters Jane and Gavin installed. They reach the mining complex in no time and settle onto one of a dozen brand new shuttle pads. The mine works are going up lightning fast as Callen and his company pull out a fortune in minerals. Gavin stays with the ship as Hannah makes her way to the main office. Security clears her without a fuss. Callen had made it clear that she and Jane were welcome anytime.

When she reaches his office, the door is open and Joshua is at his deck reading reports. She knocks on the door and he lifts his bespectacled gaze to see her. "Ah Ms. Shepard. I thought you'd be coming by."

"Does that mean you've seen Jane?" Her heart is pounding. She's feverishly praying in her mind.

"She was in a few minutes ago. Wanted to know if the peak was still safe after the storm. You should be able to find her up there." Hannah nods her thanks and heads out as quickly as she can. She can hear Callen calling after her, "You should take a first aid kit! Her hands when pretty banged up!"

 **Joshua**

The elder Shepard disappears down the hallway. A minute later and he can hear the sound of the copter pilot taking off. "Alright, they've left. You're clear." The door to his closet opens and Jane steps out. The girl had staggered in and asked him not to let anyone know she was there. When the copter had arrived she told him to say she'd gone for the peak. The girl sits in the corner of his office, cradling her injured hands. "You really should at least go to the local medic. Dillan does good work and could probably fix them up real quick. He could even give you something for the pain."

Jane shakes her head, "Pain's not an issue."

The odd girl had proven to be friendly enough over the last few months, and almost impossibly generous. But she had a tendency to ignore problems that weren't immediately threatening. "It's not my business, but I really think you should call your mother back. Whatever happened, I've no doubt the two of you can take care of it."

Jane hugs her knees to her chest, "I don't know how to explain what I did. I don't know what to say…"

They sit in uncomfortable silence for awhile before he decides to try again, "You know, I made a serious mistake several years ago." She doesn't look up but given what he's observed of her, he knows she is listening, "I made a massive investment in a new tech firm on Earth. I thought they were gonna bring in a new age of prosperity with all their fancy ideas. And when it started to go belly up, I just kept on pouring money into it, avoiding the harsh truth about it. Eventually, I'd spent so much money on them that I actually had to start borrowing money to stay afloat. Long story short, the tech firm folded and all my lenders started calling. I lost my family house of four generations, two freight ships that my father had spent his whole life customizing to perfection. I was desperate and about to sell everything, fake my death, and try to disappear. The only thing that stopped me was you. Your call was my little miracle. Eventually, after I pay off a few outstanding loans, I'll be able to start getting everything back."

She finally looks up at him, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Jane. The last few years before your call were utter hell for me and my family. I almost lost everything because I refused to own up to my mistake and the only reason things are working out now is because the universe offered up a mountain sized miracle. But, not everyone gets a miracle. A lot of people end up getting buried by their mistakes. I don't wanna see that happen to you. Whatever happened, whatever you did, or however bad it is, the only possible way to make things better is to own up to it and tackle the problem, head on... " Jane thinks about it for awhile. She seems to come to a decision and she gets to her feet.

"Can you punch in the call info on my omni-tool? My hands are… kinda… broken." Joshua carefully follows Jane's instructions and sends the call out to Hannah. He ducks away from the camera before the older Shepard answers.

The relief in her voice is palpable, "Jane! Thank god you're OK! Please tell me where you are."

"I'm on the mountain. Look, there's a cave near the peak. I'll send the coordinates in a few minutes. Can you go back to the house and make sure Aethyta's OK? If she is, please bring her to the cave. I'll… I'll explain everything when you get there." Hannah doesn't look happy but she agrees. "Oh and bring a medkit. I need to wrap my hands for a few hours so the bones can set." She closes the channel and walks around his desk. She takes him in a light embrace, "Thank you Joshua."

"Happy to help, anytime." The girl walks from his office with a far steadier gait that she arrived with.

 **Hannah**

She'd found Aethyta smoking a large cigar when she'd gone back to the house. Despite her injuries, the asari had demanded to be taken along. They followed the coordinates to a small plateau about two hundred meters shy of the peak. There's just enough room for the chopper to land. Hannah helps Aethyta out, then grabs the medkit. Gavin takes off once they're cleared, since it looks like the storm is about to start up again. They head into the cave for about thirty feet before finding Jane. She's sitting cross legged in front of a small fire, carefully cradling her hands. Hannah rushes over and hugs her tight. Aethyta limps closer and sits on a crate at the opposite side of the fire. "God Jane! I was so worried! Please, please don't ever run away like that again." She looks down at Jane's hands and cracks open the medkit. Before she can start working, Jane's hands flash with gold and she can see the bones being pulled back into shape under the skin. The girl is struggling though the act but she stays silent. Once they're back in place, Hannah carefully wraps them in bandages and gives Jane a strong shot of medi-gel. As the medicine filters through her system, some of the pain bleeds out of Jane's face. Hannah sits next to Jane as she looks to Aethyta.

"What you saw in there… it's the only thing I never told Hannah about. I wasn't planning on ever telling her. I'm sorry for what I did. You didn't deserve to suffer that much because of me."

Rather than looking pissed like Hannah thought she would, Aethyta actually has a small smile on her face, "Look kiddo, this isn't the first time I've been busted up pretty good. Granted, it is the first time a little girl's done it, but whatever. I'll forgive ya… if you spill. You tell me and especially your mom just what the hell was in there. You tell her about the dreams, about how you have so much trouble sleeping." Hannah knew that Jane didn't sleep well, but she had no idea how to help. Jane would never talk about it.

Jane spends a few minutes quietly gathering her thoughts. She looks both of them in the eye a few times before settling on staring into the fire, "Those were my dreams. Everything you saw in that room, was something pulled straight from my nightmares. Every body, every drop of blood, and every scrap of hell, they all come from my dreams. Do you know why I try to sleep as little as possible?" Jane tended to only stay asleep for three or four hours a day. "There's only a few things that really scare me, and my dreams are almost at the top of the list. The idea of dying is nothing compared to going to sleep and seeing all that every night. The voices in my head stop being whispers when I sleep. In my nightmares... they start screaming."

"Jane, why didn't you tell me?" Hannah can barely keep the tears from falling.

The girl's head droops and she stares at the ground, "I was afraid you would leave. I thought that if you knew how crazy I really am, it would drive you away. This is the first time in my life when I've had anything like a real family. I didn't want to ruin it." Hannah puts an arm around Jane's shoulder and holds her close.

"You never have to worry about that. You remember those papers I showed you on your birthday. Those didn't mean I'll be your mom just if it's easy or normal. Those were a promise that no matter what, I'm here for you. I don't think you're crazy Jane, and even if you were, do you know where I'd be?" Jane looks up at her, "Right here, sitting next to you in a cave, telling you how much I care." They sit together in companionable silence for a long while. The storm is picking up again and Hannah is glad that the cave slopes down towards the entrance.

It's Aethyta that's break the silence, "When'd this all start Jane? You told me yesterday that you've always had bad dreams. Did you mean that you've always seen that shit when you sleep?"

"It wasn't always as bad. When I was little, the dreams were hazy, like a memory that just wouldn't come into focus. Sleeping was easier back then. It didn't get bad until that asari bitch on Omega got in my head."

 **Aethyta**

That really got her interested. "What bitch are you talkin about Jane?"

"When I was on Omega, when I was fighting the Red Wake, they had this asari attack me. She waited until I was exhausted and then she did something to me. She got in my head and tried to take everything from me. That bitch tried to steal everything I am, everything I ever was, and everything that I could ever be. It felt like she was trying to rip out my soul. But she fucked up. She thought that it would be easy to kill me if she got in my head." Jane is grinding her teeth again, "I'm dangerous out here, but in here," she points to her head, "I'm a demon."

She has a pretty good idea what the girl's talking about but she needs to be absolutely certain, "Alright kid, before I can help you, I need to know exactly what's going on up there."

Jane is clearly confused, "But I told you all I can."

"I know that. Which is why I think we need a meld. If I can see for myself what's going on in your head, I'll be able to help you sort it out. Bare minimum, I can teach you how to handle it better." Jane is silent for a long time. Her demeanor has become far more hostile that before.

"It'll be a long time before I let another asari force her way into my head. But… I can bring you into my mind on my own terms."

Hannah perks up, "That's right. Like on Arcturus?" Jane nods.

The girl walks around the fire and kneels in front of Aethyta, "I don't know if it's the same as one of your melds, but it's the best you're gonna get right now." Though confused by what the two humans are talking about, Aethyta assents. Jane reaches a hand out to Aethyta's temple and looks deep into her eyes. Those beautiful violet orbs start to disappear in a sea of ever expanding black. The shadows grow longer and the sights and sounds around them become distorted. She feels a huge surge of vertigo as the ground seems to fall out beneath her.

After falling for who knows how long, Aethyta feels her feet touching the ground and her surroundings come back into focus. She's standing on a dark plain with twin lights circling around her. She looks around at the dim landscape. A sea of shaded sand stretches into the distance in all directions. Millions of indistinct figures rise and fall with the rolling dunes. There are thousands of monolithic mountains in the distance with great shaded statues carved into them. Some statues are humanoid, some look like giant insects, most are amorphous with no defining features. She jumps slightly when she feels someone come up next to her. It's Jane.

"Who are they?" Aethyta points to the statues.

"They're the voices in my head. As each one gets a little louder, their statue gets a little clearer." The best formed one is the closest. It's a bipedal figure with four eyes. Jane points to it as she talks, "That one came to me when I found the archive under the mountain. She told me that I wasn't the only one to be like I am. Apparently there were thousands of others before me. Each one is just a voice in my head now."

This is pretty high on Aethyta's list of fucked up things, but as interesting as it is, it's not why she's here, "Alright kid, I need you to show my that asari you mentioned. I need to know exactly what she did if I'm gonna help." Jane sighs and waves her hand. A flood of memory pours into Aethyta's mind and the bitch in question comes into focus. She looks like the typical asari merc. Dark leathers, enough makeup to pretty up a dozen whores, and the resting bitch face that so many kids had these days. Before she even sees what happens, Aethyta can't stand the little turd. Her disgust grows exponentially as the memories play out. She sees a med clinic under fire. An explosion flashes and she sees through Jane's eyes as she rips dozens apart in a haze of blood drenched rage. She sees the girl build a gruesome temple of revenge.

Time flashes forward and she feels the attack. Her suspicions are confirmed. The asari have theories on what such a creature's attack might feel like, but even the echo of it eclipses anything they'd ever postulated. Aethyta has no clue how Jane survived something so horrific. The most frightening part about it isn't that Jane survived an attack from an Ardat-Yakshi, it was what she did in turn. Jane had actually managed to utterly reverse the attack and feed off the monster. It made her strong enough to keep going but it triggered a change in her mind. Aethyta sees not only what Jane remembers, but also the underlying emotions she had. Something woke up in her head that day, and it's been growing in her mind ever since, feeding off the girl's fear and pain. A well of alien memory had been revealed and the girl was slowly being drowned by everything flooding out.

"Alright Jane, anything else I need to know about while we're here." She's looking at a bevy of pain in Jane's mind but the girl stops her from looking deeper.

"Nothing that has to do with what happened. The rest… I might tell you eventually." Irritated but satisfied for now Aethyta nods and the plain fades away.

 **Hannah**

It takes a while but eventually Jane and Aethyta finish their meld. Aethyta looks pale as she leans back. Jane clearly has a new migraine and sits down next to Hannah. She rests her head on Hannah's shoulder and manages to fall asleep in moments. "Did you two find what you needed?"

Aethyta nods, "Ya. She's got some real shit bubbling up in there. I tweaked a few things while I was in there. She'll sleep a little easier tonight but we're gonna need to do some serious work to get somewhere better." The two of them talk for a little while about what she saw in Jane's mind. Aethyta promises her that she'll teach Jane what she can. Once things are settled, Hannah makes a call to Gavin. The storm has cleared and the pilot arrives soon enough. Hannah actually needs Aethyta's help to carry Jane. She's still out like a light and weighs nearly ninety kilos. Hannah knew from what Jane had shown her in their first meeting, that the girl's body was far more dense than a normal human.

Once the three of them are strapped in, Gavin takes them back to the house.

 _Date_ _: 7.18.2168_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"Details are sketchy at the moment, but what we do know is that the Fulcrum and her teacher engaged in a physical altercation that nearly killed the matriarch. It doesn't appear to have soiled their relationship. If anything, the two have actually grown closer. Our agents groundside have witnessed them exploring more intense meditative techniques. These techniques will take her to new heights. The Fulcrum's skills are growing with each day." Turian nods as Krogan speaks up.

"Well, if she gets friendlier with people she fights with, she's gonna love the blademaster. He loves a good scrap."

" _Ksssht_ When will he be arriving? It has been a few months _ksssht_ since you mentioned sending him."

"Well, I can't exactly order him to go. It took a little while to get the necessary rumors to him, but he's on his way now. Should only be a few weeks."

Hackett has already made sure the way would be clear for the blademaster. "His ship has made several stops along the way. Apparently he's quite popular among the hunting community and is paying numerous visits to old friends along the way. Regardless, we'll keep the way open for him."

 _Date_ _: 8.22.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _She's still haunted when she sleeps, but now she has some measure of control. Jane can keep the screaming at bay and the endless stream of horrible images has been reduced to a trickle. She still sees terrible things, but it hasn't kept her from sleeping for a while now. Aethyta's meditations are a blessing. The two of them are at the spaceport, waiting for something to arrive. Aethyta had mentioned that she was having something brought in from her personal collection, but she wouldn't tell Jane what it was. The curiosity is driving her nuts, so she's about to ask again. Before she can, the matriarch's face lights up, "Now there's a sexy lizard I haven't seen in awhile."_

 _Jane turns to see who she's talking about and she spots a massive krogan stepping down the gangplank of a recently arrived cargo ship. He's average height for a krogan but his bulk is immense. He's got a duffle slung over one shoulder and a huge grin on his face as he stomps down the ramp. Aethyta makes her way over and calls out to him, "Hey Fel! You're lookin a bit heavier than last time!" The krogan turns to Aethyta and his already broad grin stretches to almost impossible width._

" _Damn right Thyta! My hump's bigger and more glorious than ever!" Aethyta gets right in front of him._

" _I didn't notice. I just thought you were gettin fat." The krogan glares at her for a few seconds before bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter._

" _HA! Damn it's good to see you again Thyta. The hell are you doing on some human backwater."_

" _I could ask you the same. Takes a lot to get you out this far."_

" _I heard there was good game here on Mindoir. Hell my clan master practically ordered me to take a vacation here." He throws an arm around Aethyta's shoulder and she starts guiding him over to Jane, "So why are you here Thyta." The asari gestures to Jane. Fel looks her up and down a couple times before turning back to Aethyta, "Doesn't look like much."_

 _Jane taps him on the shoulder to get him to turn back to her. Once he locks eyes with her, she rams her forehead into his. It hurts like hell but it's totally worth it. Fel falls back on his ass, almost taking Aethyta to the ground with him. He stares up at Jane with a stupefied look as Aethyta kneels next to him, "This is Jane Shepard, possibly the most powerful student I've ever had. I really wouldn't recomend pissin her off. She could kill ya with a flick of her wrist if she was so inclined. Got a bit of a hair trigger too." Instead of getting pissed like she expected, Fel just grabs his belly and starts laughing again._

" _HA! I love it! I go on vacation and run across an old flame and she's got a new student, one with a real quad too!" He gets to his feet, a huge smile plastered across his face. He sticks out a massive hand for her to shake. She takes hold and easily matches the pressure he applies. "Name's Raik Fel of Clan Raik! I understand there's huge beasts called stone bears on this planet and that somebody killed one with a sword."_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 - The Master**

 _Date_ _: 8.22.2168_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _She likes Fel. He's big. He's loud. He swears like Aethyta. And best of all, he doesn't look at her like she's a weirdo . The massive krogan hadn't asked a single awkward question after she'd knocked him on his ass. In fact, the only things he'd been asking were about the local game and where the best food was. It's what led them back to Frank's. The big man was practically drooling over the bill. As usual, he was letting Spits eat scraps from the garbage. It saved him a fair amount on disposal fees._

 _Jane and Fel are engaged in an eating contest and for the first time, she may have found someone who can match her. He's downing multiple racks of ribs as she powers through a second slab of ham. It goes on for over an hour as the two of them eat and eat and eat. Steaks, ribs, burgers, it doesn't matter. Eventually, Frank comes over to the table wringing his hands. "I'd love to keep bringing more out, but I'm afraid you've kinda, eaten all the meat I got. Best I can do is a few pounds of mashed potatoes and fries." Fel looks at the big man with narrowed eyes, but Jane just nods._

 _As Frank leaves, Jane starts licking her fingers and Fel speaks for the first time since they started eating, "So what're potatoes and fries?"_

" _Potatoes are an edible plant native to earth. They're good with butter and gravy. Fries are potatoes that have been shaped like sticks, covered in batter, and deep fried in oil. Good with ketchup."_

" _Hold up, it's a plant? Why would I wanna a plant to eat?" Fel looks deeply skeptical as Frank brings up a huge platter with a mound of mashed potatoes and fries. Fel gives the mound a suspicious look but Jane scoops a pile onto her plate. Then she pours a dollop of gravy, adds a stick of butter, and starts inhaling. Fel watches her for a bit before sticking a finger in the potatoes and tasting it. "Not very good." Jane scoops a pile onto his plate before sticking a full stick of butter into it and pouring some gravy. Fel digs a finger in the new mix and tries another bite. Rather than speak again, Fel starts shoveling the mound into his craw. In minutes, the huge platter is spotless. As the two of them argue over who ate more, Aethyta and Hannah talk quietly to themselves._

 **Aethyta**

"You know, if all you heard was them eating, you'd assume it was two krogan." Hannah gives a small chuckle as she eats her food. Aethyta had planned on giving Jane the package sitting next to her, but when Fel had shown up and asked where the food was, they'd all gone out after calling Hannah. Now as Jane and Fel compete, Aethyta answers a few of Hannah's questions.

"So who exactly is Fel."

"He's an old friend. Been about... shit has it really been four hundred years since I've seen him. Used to be a _friend_ of mine, but we grew apart. He wanted kids right away and I wanted to wait awhile. It was before my bondmate and I had met."

"I mean, what does he do? And what brought him here?"

"I hear ya. He's kind of a conservationist crossed with a big game hunter. He goes around the galaxy hunting the biggest, most pissed off animals he can find. After he bags one, he'll fund a study and lead research into ways of preserving or even expanding their populations." Fel put up a tough front, but Aethyta knew he was a big softy when it came to animals. The meaner and uglier the beast, the more he'd gush over them. "He's spent centuries stickin his nose into any nest of butt ugly monsters in danger of going extinct. Hey Fel, how many species have you helped keep alive so far? Fifty, sixty?"

The bulky krogan turns from his argument for a moment, "Eighty two. Eighty three if you count the vorcha purge in 37'. Almost let it happen, but even those nasty little bastards deserve a chance." He immediately goes back to arguing with Jane. The two of them are making increasingly outlandish claims over how much more they could eat.

"As for why he's here, it's a safe bet that he wants to ask a certain someone about the skull mounted in her workshop." After using most of the creature's carcass for food or leather, Jane had carefully removed and cleaned the head. She'd sold the soft tissue to a neurologist in town and then mounted the skull on her shop wall. Now she keeps a pistol hidden inside the mouth.

 **Fel**

Fel snaps his gaze her way as she speaks, "By that statement can I assume you know who slew the beast? Excellent! I look forward to hearing the tale, especially details on the beast itself."

Jane's the one to answer, "It was 2.7 meters tall at the shoulder and 6.12 from nose to the base of its tail. Total weight was 2253 kilograms. Slate gray fur except for a black mane. It was near the end of its life cycle and had been driven insane by cerebral parasites."

"So the hunter brought it down while it was in the throes of madness. Hell yes! This has all the makings of an epic tale. I look forward to meeting this hunter. Truly, he must be a peerless warrior." The woman at the table exchange a glance, but the odd child keeps staring at her empty plate.

"She." The human woman, Hannah is the one who spoke, "The person that killed it was a girl."

The tale grows ever more intriguing, "Indeed? This female must have quite the line of suitors seeking her union. A krogan female with such martial potency would have an army of males seeking her hand ten thousand strong. Tell me, do you know this hunter?"

The child answers without looking at him, "Yeah."

"Do you know her well?"

"Intimately."

"Excellent! When can I meet her?" He can see Hannah and Aethyta snickering to themselves. "What's so funny?"

"Well, you've already met her." Already met her? Of course…

"Ah, Thyta, I should have known when I arrived that it would have been you."

"Not this time big guy." Who the hell else could it be?

He points a huge digit at the elder Shepard, "You killed the beast?" Hannah shakes her head whilst smiling ear to ear. Now he's confused. If it's not Aethyta or Hannah then who? Then it hits him who they're referring to. He turns his gaze back to the girl, "You?" Jane nods, "This tale grows ever more fascinating. I must hear it! Tell about your hunt."

"I wasn't hunting. I was looking for something on the mountain in the Alkin valley and a stone bear attacked. My varren and I fought and killed it." This won't do at all.

"I must say I'm disappointed. No boasting, no exaggeration, no self aggrandizement. Where's the pride in your accomplishment? Why don't you revel in the glory?! I believe you killed it but right now, I want to hear the story. It doesn't need to be all complete fact. I'm sure the battle was thrilling, so inject a little of that into the tale. Exaggerate a bit, make it fun to listen to. Keep the facts for later and spin a tale. You can give me the dry details later. Here, I'll give a little taste of how it could be." Fel clear his throat and marshals the small bit he knows of the incident into a story, "And the great beast, savage in spirit and broken in mind, tore once more into battle with the young huntress. With fury and courage she struck down the mighty beast and made a trophy of its remains." Jane seems to get the idea.

"So you want the version of the story that someone would put in a movie?"

"Exactly! You can tell me the full truth later, but for now, let's just have some fun with it." Jane nods her understanding and spends a few minutes thinking it through.

"Ok. It was a beautiful day and the sun was bathing the Alkin Valley with pure amber light…"

 **Aethyta**

While the kid might not be good at bragging, she sure as hell can put an interesting spin on things. The funny part is, she didn't really exaggerate that much. While it was certainly more thrilling this time around, she still kept as close to the truth as she good. It certainly put Fel in a good mood. He was cheering her on as the story progressed. Once Jane finished they'd all agreed to head back to the house so she could show him the skull. It'd taken a few minutes to drag Spits out of the garbage but eventually they got back. Hannah went inside to finish some work on her computer as Jane lead Aethyta and Fel into her workshop. As usual, thick red light fills the room, giving everything inside a slightly sinister appearance. The skull is mounted high up with the lower jaw propped open. The butt of Jane's pistol is just barely visible between the teeth.

 **Jane**

 _Fel walks up to the massive skull and gently runs a hand over it. "With an appearance this vicious in death, it must truly have been a ferocious beast in life."_

" _They're number four on the Alliance's top ten most vicious animals list. There are several that are bigger and have more devastating potential, but most of those are pretty docile. Stone bears will attack you for simply existing near them and they can shrug off a lot of damage."_

 _Fel spends a few minutes staring into the skull before turning to Jane, "I must face one."_

" _There are caves on the other side of the planet full of them. If you've got a death wish, go for it."_

" _No, no. that's not what I mean. I intend to wait for an opportunity to face one as you did. When the time comes, I would like to formally request your company."_

" _Why?" The three of them step out into the backyard._

" _In my clan, it is customary for a hunter to be accompanied by one who has already bested the chosen prey. In this case, that's you. From what little information is available, only three hunters to have ever brought one of these beasts down by themselves, and you're the only one to have survived the battle. It speaks volumes about your potency in battle. I would be honored if you would accompany me." Jane doesn't look interested in the slightest, but Aethyta can fix that._

" _You know kid, Fel here is a respected blademaster. Been champion of the Citadel swordsmanship tournament 420 times out of the last 490 competitions, and he's done high quality mercenary work from one end of the galaxy to the other. Might be able to teach you a few things." Now she looks intrigued._

" _Is that true?"_

" _Indeed. The losses were mostly from me earliest years of bladework. I've been fighting with a blade for most of my adult life. There's just something… honest about meeting your enemy face to face as you kill them. Let me make you an offer. Honor me by joining my hunt when it becomes possible, and in the meantime, I shall tutor you in the advanced skills of bladework." Jane puts a hand out and the two of them shake on it. "Excellent. First point of order, I'd like to see your blade."_

 _Jane draws the black sword from her back and presents the hilt to Fel. The krogan eyes light up at the sight. "Now this is truly a beautiful weapon, tell me, where did you get it."_

" _I made it." He stares for a while before returning to the blade and running a finger down the length. "Careful, it'll cut through your armor like paper." He runs a finger down the inscription on the blade._

" _What do these runes mean?"_

" _I don't know. I wasn't exactly in control when I was making it."_

 _It doesn't seems to surprise him. Fel grips the blade in a classic swordsman's pose and takes a few practice swings. He nods to himself approvingly, "This is a killer's blade. The weight would make it almost impossible to stop. Even without the killing edge, the sheer murderous power behind each swing would have an effect similar to warhammer. When coupled with a razor's edge, this sword becomes a tool of near unstoppable death." Fel activates his omni-tool and runs a scan over Abyss. When finished he reverently hands the blade back to Jane. "You are blessed the carry such a marvelous blade. In the right hands, a tool like this can shape nations and topple empires." She doesn't get what he means._

" _How can a sword shape something?"_

" _In righteous hands, a killing tool can remove cancerous elements of a society, bleed out the poisons of greed and malice, and in rare cases, act as a symbol for an uprising." He gazes off into the distance, his mind clearly a million miles from here, buried in memory._

 _Aethyta seems to know what's in his head and calls him back, "She's good Fel, but we're still pretty far from the crap you're thinkin about."_

 _It snaps Fel back into the present. He's not angry over Aethyta's tone. In fact he seems grateful, "Right, right. Thanks Thyta." Fel pulls something from his duffel and runs his omni-tool over the object. The object flashes with orange light a few times before taking on the shape of Abyss. "This right here is a little treasure I invented about a century ago. It uses flash fabricators, like an omni-tool, to mimic the shape of a blade and then uses small mass effect generators to imitate the weight of said blade. It lets people train with a near perfect facsimile of their own weapon without running the risk of accidentally killing their sparring partner." He holds out the faux Abyss, "Here, give it a whirl."_

 _She slots the real Abyss into her scabbard and takes the false one. It feels almost perfect. The heft is slightly off, but it's nearly identical. She starts swinging in patterns she's used to practice since she first took up a sword. Fel watches closely, nodding every now and then. "How's it feel?"_

" _Almost perfect."_

" _Excellent!" Fel brings out another device and activates it. It takes on the shape of another blade. This one is a straight edged blade. It's a meter and a half long with a single cutting edge. It looks like a huge machete. "I want you to try and hit me without using your biotics." Jane doesn't hesitate. She shoves off with her back foot, lunging forward as quickly as she can with a stab. Fel pivots faster than she thought possible, deflecting her blade before slapping her in the back with his own. It sends a jolt of electricity through her. Not a powerful one but certainly enough to hurt. She turns to face him and almost pokes her own eye out on the tip of his weapon hovering less than an inch away. "Forgot to tell you about the little jolt. Won't cause any permanent damage but it'll teach you not to make the same mistake twice."_

 **Fel**

"So what do you think you did wrong?" She looks more confused than angry. That's good.

"I… I guess I assumed you wouldn't react so fast."

"First lesson, never assume your opponent is inferior. No matter how fast you are, how strong you are, or how tough you are, all it takes is being wrong about a single enemy and you end up dead. Someone who knows what they're doing has a huge advantage over a novice, even one as powerful as you. You ever faced anyone as strong as you or who could parry your attacks."

"Once…"

"How'd it go?" She looks embarrassed.

"I almost died."

"Why?"

"I didn't know how to handle it. Everybody I fought before him was weaker and slower. I'd never had to figure out how to beat someone who could beat me one on one, so I don't know how to do it."

"Well, we're gonna fix that."

 **Aethyta**

Fel's shock incentive is working. The girl never falls for the same trick twice and is learning the basics lightning fast. The bulky krogan is unfazed though. Everytime Jane beats back one trick, he pulls a completely different one. Feints, chained strikes, flourishes, each gives the girl something new to puzzle through. She gets quite a few shocks as the hours role by, each one just spurring her on. As the two of them break off for what must be the hundredth, Aethyta steps forward, "You know Fel, I got an idea. It might be a good idea for us to train her together. Give her a few good knocks. I've been teachin her a few things for while now and I've found that the harder you push her, the better she learns."

"I like the way you think Thyta. We'll break for food, then you and me are gonna put her through the grinder." Jane doesn't look worried. In fact, she's almost giddy over the idea. It's something Aethyta has grown used to since she met the girl. Jane loves a good fight.

"First things first though. I got a gift for ya kid." Aethyta holds out the package from earlier. Jane opens it and carefully removes what's inside.

Fel's eyes are bulging, "Holy shit... Is that what I think it is?"

"You're damn right it is."

 **Jane**

 _It's a gun, and a very old one at that. It's the size of an SMG and the casing seems to be molded out of a single piece of an ivory white material. It has two heavily worn triggers, with the larger being further back. Two barrels extend from the weapon, each one carved with miniscule figures curling around them. Jane gently runs her hand along the figures, a nagging feeling of familiarity digging at her mind. It doesn't stop Aethyta from telling the story behind it._

" _This right here has been one of my personal treasures for almost five hundred years. I took it from a turian general who challenged me to a duel over some dumbass rule of combat the prick thought I'd broken. I broke both his legs and took this as a trophy while he kept on whining about how biotics weren't fair. Made him look like a little bitch in front of his men. From what I've heard, he'd gotten it from a salarian pirate that he'd killed in the terminus. The salarian stole it from a museum on Khar'shan. They'd had it donated to them about a hundred years before that by a batarian general who'd bested a krogan warlord in single combat. The kicker is that the krogan had pulled it from an old tomb on Tuchanka, one that'd been sealed since a couple thousand years before the krogan rebellions."_

 _Fel chimes in, an almost reverent tone filling his voice, "That tomb has a legend. Supposedly it was built by the gods before they were slain and they stashed all kinds of loot in there. A lot of shamans claim the stuff in that tomb is what inspired most of our early technological developments." He's tracing a circular pattern on his chest, "We almost wiped ourselves out a couple times, so the ancient shamans had the tomb resealed. They say Kalros herself guards the ruins now. That gun is worth millions, maybe billions, even if it doesn't work. It's amazing that something so ancient is still in such good shape."_

 _She's barely heard anything they've said. The beautiful piece she's holding is so familiar. "So kid, you like it. It's an old custom in my house that when a matriarch finds a student she likes, she gives them a token of her faith. It's supposed to be something the matriarch cherishes. That little gun has been the centerpiece of my personal stash for centuries."_

" _I've seen this before…" Aethyta and Fel share a sceptical look before busting out laughing._

" _Jane, that thing is completely unique. No one outside my family has seen it in hundreds of years." Jane puts it back in the case and carries it to her workshop. "Jane?" Aethyta and Fel trot after her and wait as she starts tearing through piles of diagrams and dataslates. Once she gets through every pile she lets out an irritated snarl. Jane runs her hands through her hair, struggling to remember where she's seen it before. Then it hits her. She shoves Aethyta and Fel away from the center of the floor. Gold light gathers around her as she forces the hidden panel open. Revealed beneath is a treasure trove of designs that she doesn't understand. Blades, gear, armor, and most importantly, guns. There aren't many designs in this stash so she finds what she's seeking in no time. She activates the slate and there it is. Aethyta snatches the slate away. "Where the hell did you get this?"_

" _I made it. About five months ago. I get these images in my head every now and then. When it happens I draw them out in diagrams. This was one of the things that I saw a while back. Now that I have the real thing," she pops the case back open and holds up the gun next to the diagram. A perfect match, "I can build a working one."_

 **Unknown**

 **Subject Jortan**

 **Tertiary Agent Status Established Ahead of Schedule**

 **Cause - Subject's Religious Delusions Have Been Subverted**

 **Subject Believes Fulcrum is Batarian Death Goddess**

 **Conclusion - Exploitation Will Allow Manipulation**

 **Adendum…**

 **Subject Jortan Will Likely Proven Unreliable**

 **Elevation to Primary Agent Status May be Necessary**

 **Number of Fulcrum's Potential Locations Has Been Narrowed Due to Potential Fulcrum Activities**

 **The Fulcrum is Not in The Terminus Systems**

 **The Fulcrum is Hiding Inside The Attican Traverse**

 **Number Of Potential Locations Based on Observed Factors…**

 **122 Inhabited Worlds**

 **13255 Uninhabited Worlds**

 **Options…**

 **Continue Observations - Progress minimal**

 **Active Scouting - Chance of Discovery 99** **%**

 **Utilize Tertiary Agent - Success Possible**

 **Estimated Time - 11 - 14 Months**

 **Decision**

 **Convince Agent Jortan to Begin Raiding Settlements in Attican Traverse**

 **Fulcrum Will Either Emerge to Fight or Attempt to Flee**

 **Either Action Will Allow engagement**

 **Contacting Shadow Broker**

 _Date_ _: 8.23.2168_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Jortan**

It's all coming together. He's got tacit support from the Hegemony and a small army of bloodthirsty scum ready to fight and die for the slightest chance at glory and wealth. At the core of his new army is a band of priests that understand the full scale of the threat they face. Each one carries strange blue cybernetics. They say that it's a sacrifice they made to get closer to the gods. They say that one day, he may be blessed in the same way. The Shadow Broker had sent them shortly after revealing that one of his clients was hunting the same target. The priests had told him so much. He was right. It really was Akshar and stopping her was the only way to save his people.

One of them has brought him some new information, "So, the Broker has narrowed down the list of places she could be. Good. We can start launching raids immediately. We'll start with a few probing attacks. After we eliminate the obvious places, we can up the ante and start leveling colonies. The human's are a plague and I've no doubt that she'll raise an army of them to wipe us out." He looks the priest straight in his glowing blue eyes, "Send out three small flotillas with orders to scout the Traverse. Don't engage unless you have to. Not yet at least. If we let her know what we can do too early, she'll just disappear." The priest bows deeply before departing. Jortan looks out his viewport. The ships at anchor represent just one of four rapidly growing fleets. He can feel the righteousness of his cause. The ancient gods are rising again and they've blessed him with sacred purpose. He can't help but gloat to himself, "One day we'll find her. One day I'll have my boot on the throat of a god."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 - Changes**

 _Date_ _: 2.02.2169_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Aethyta**

"Switch!" The girl's blade cleaves down into another target. Jane is fighting at the center of the room, bathed in dark blue light from strobing overhead lamps, sweat cascading down her face. Targets swarm towards her in triplets. Each one is calibrated to be almost as strong as she is. She disarms the first, cuts the second in half at the waste, crushes the third in an overhead strike, before twirling to decapitate the first. Three more immediately pop into existence behind her. They attack simultaneously as Jane whirls about. Keeping true to Fel's lessons, she stays in motion, never pausing, never surrendering the initiative. She constantly twirls about to add the power of momentum to nearly every strike.

"Surrender your momentum and you give the enemy everything he needs to kill you!" Every strike leads into the next in an endless chain of attack. "The best way to defend yourself is to force your enemy onto the back foot!" She's using her environment to her advantage. "Don't hesitate to cripple your enemies! They don't need to be dead to be out of the fight!" Some obstacles become cover, some become spring boards for her to reverse direction, and others are converted into projectiles as Jane slams her sword through them. Her targets fall like wheat and again more appear. Before Jane can turn to them, Aethyta calls out again, "Switch!"

Abyss slams back into her scabbard and Jane is surrounded in an amber aura. Streams of biotic power tear out from the girl, each obliterating a target. Every enemy felled leads to an increase in difficulty. Three more move to flank her and she slams a fist down to send out a small nova. She'd only recently managed to get full control over the ability and it has swiftly become a mainstay in her biotic arsenal. Her targets are blasted into thousands of tiny orange specs. As they drift into nothingness, three more appear. A push blasts one into the wall and a warp tears the second into ash. The third levels a blade at Jane as it charges. The girl ducks under it and slams a gold wreathed fist into the target's chest, blasting into pieces. She's carefully managing her reserves, never expending more than absolutely necessary to bring down each target. Jane's attacks are focussed and beautifully graceful. Everyday her movements become smoother and it's making her ever more dangerous. "Switch!"

It'd taken a long time to get the facility up to snuff, especially given the epic amount of energy needed to give Jane a challenge. The colonial board had scoffed at the idea of such a training facility. "Who'd want to bother us? Were just a farming colony." The argument had stopped them the first time, but after reports of attacks on other colonies had become more frequent, the board had changed their tone real quick. Now there are more than a dozen sim rooms like this one and a lot of colonists are learning self defense here. There are even some proposing the creation of a local militia. The board had kept it from going anywhere but just barely. Remembering the looks on their faces that day brings a smile to Aethyta's face as Jane's blade sails back out. Fel is pacing along the border of the arena, constantly calling out tips.

"Never give an inch! It's all the enemy needs to run you through!" She charges the three newest targets. These are equal to her in strength and it forces Jane to change tactics. Instead of a head on attack, she starts circling, looking for an opening. The holo targets are programed to simulate opponents well versed in battle, with all the advantages and disadvantages of physical form. They cooperate almost seamlessly, each covering the flanks of another. It would stop almost anyone, but not Jane. She circles faster and faster, building to a sprint. The targets turn to keep up but like real warriors, they can't maintain perfect formation against such a rapidly circling target. The one to the right of the formation steps too wide and opens a gap between it and it's neighbor. Jane kicks off a nearby obstacle, leaping in between the separated figures. Abyss blocks the outside target's blade as Jane grabs the center figure's ankle. The figure crashes face first into the ground and she slams Abyss into its back before it can rise. "When survival is on the line there are no rules!" As it fades from existence the other two both swing at her. She deflects one blade with her gauntlet and sends the other flying from the target's hand with Abyss.

She lashes out with her heel and sends the still armed target stumbling away. As it regains its footing, she lunges at the disarmed figure. Abyss slams into its torso and she tears it up. The bifurcated target disintegrates and she turns to the last target. "Switch!" She doesn't hesitate to slide Abyss back into its scabbard. Aethyta manipulates the simulation and super charges the last target. It's now stronger and more durable than ever. Jane's attacks damage the target, but it doesn't slow down at all. It lands a few blows, each one powerful enough to kill a normal human. Jane spins with each blow to bleed off some of the energy. The target throws a kick and she catches it center mass. Nine months ago such a kick would have sent Jane flying, but now she knows how to brace for such things using her powers. She catches the foot in both hands and floods her limbs with energy. She shoves for everything she's worth and the target falls back. Jane doesn't give it a second's peace. She leaps high, a cascade of power flowing around her. A swipe of her left hand knocks its blade out of her path and her right glows nova bright with building energy. Jane cannons her right fist into its head and this time there is so much power behind it that the head ceases to exist.

The final target fades into nothing and the simulation comes to an end. The strobing blue light fades to be replaced by a constant soft yellow. Jane is panting heavily as she gets back to her feet. Her braid's come loose and she spends a minute tying it back up. When she's done, Jane makes her way to the stairs out of the arena. Fel claps her on the back, re-enacting his favorite parts of the session as he and Jane walk over to Aethyta. The three of them have worked hard ever since Fel arrived and it's been pretty entertaining. In the first few weeks Fel had Jane running through expanded physical training. He'd had her race Spits up the side of her mountain twice a week with a weighted satchel on her back, telling her to set a new record each time. What he hadn't told her was that he'd been adding weight to the pack every day. He'd taught her grappling techniques, so she could fight an armed opponent if she's disarmed. With Aethyta's help, he'd taught her how to handle biotic opponents, which essentially boiled down to stab the fucker before they can gather their energy. When they'd moved to advanced bladework Jane had really shined. By the third month she was beating him every now and then, and now she wins half the time.

The three of them sparred almost everyday and it had payed off. Jane was faster, stronger, and more confident than ever. The girl is like a cyclone when the three of them fight. Oddly enough, the more opponents she has, the more dangerous she becomes. There is just something about being attacked from multiple angles that speaks to her. Jane walks up to Aethyta and gives her a hug. She's grown quite a bit in the last few months. Jane is now as tall as Aethyta and her growth spurt shows no signs of slowing down. More than once Aethyta, Fel, and Hannah had heard the girl swearing up a storm as she expanded her plating yet again. It's given them no small amount of amusement to hear Jane complaining about getting bigger.

She and Fel wait outside the showers as Jane cleans up. Once she's done, the three of them head back to the house. A few dozen colonists give a cheery hello as the odd trio make their way through town. They'd become quite popular over the last few months. Fel had seen to that. The bulky krogan had taken to given dramatic reenactments of his adventures every time they went out and always ended up dragging Jane and Aethyta into it. Then there's the huge amounts of money and tech help Jane's been pouring into the colony. She's been studying engineering with Keeva's help and had even breezed through the Elysium University course work she'd gotten into. Someone called Orb Weaver had helped her circumvent various rules and restrictions on age by exploiting legal loopholes between colonies. The result was a technophilic young woman with a penchant for rebuilding and upgrading everything she could get her hands on. The colonial board had asked her to stop doing it without asking the owners. It was a request that she'd promptly ignored.

As they reach the house, Fel breaks off, heading for the den he'd carved out of the hillside. Jane had offered to build another extension on the house for him but he'd never been one for staying inside on nice worlds like Mindoir. "I'll stick to the stars." It was all he'd say on the matter anytime Jane offered a place for him to sleep. Jane heads for her workshop to put the final touches on a new piece for Gavin's chopper. As she gets closer, Spits comes bounding over, almost knocking her down in his excitement over her return. They'd been forced to leave him at the house whenever they used the holo facility. He would never stay off to the side while Jane was training and would always come charging in to help.

Aethyta finds Hannah tuning the excelerator coils for her rifle. She's utterly meticulous in her attention to the details. The only thing she cared about more than that rifle was Jane. She's even had the weapon engraved with the cruciform symbol Jane has on her chestplate. "So how'd it go today?"

"Pretty damn well. Jane's stronger and more focused than ever." She's become close friends with Hannah. The elder Shepard was an avid supporter of Jane's training, due primarily to the fact that it really seemed to be helping Jane keep her rage under wraps. The girl still had serious problems keeping her temper in check but her personal discipline had improved dramatically since the three of them had started training together. "I gotta tell ya, this might be one of the weirdest times in my life, but sure as hell been fun. Been a long time since a single student has been worth so much attention." Hannah smiles broadly as she fits the side panel back on her rifle.

"Got any plans tonight? Sira told me that Jane's gonna be taking her final test for her degree program. I was thinking you, me, and Fel could go to the range and settle our little dispute." Hannah had challenged the two of them the week before, but there just hadn't been time to sort it out. Until now that is.

Aethyta flashes an evil grin, "You're on."

 **Jane**

 _She's still a little tired from earlier but this is worth staying up for. She's putting the final touches o meter polarizing panel for the new secondary hull on Gavin's flyer. Jane wants to be able to see out the side once the final test works out. She's confident everything'll be fine but she'd added better safety harnesses just in case._

 _The last coat of void resin has taken perfectly so Jane packs the panel onto her cart. She's about to head out when a familiar tingle springs up in her hands. She growls to herself, "Goddammit, not now…" She hugs her arms tightly to her chest as the pain swells far beyond the normal levels. It feels like her hands are on fire and being frozen at the same time. She spends several minutes hissing in pain as tiny specks of amber light drift off of her body. The flares are getting worse, even with her improved control. She's been able to hide it so far but it's getting harder every time it happens. Spits gently nudges her with his snout, a small whimper of sympathy issuing from his throat._

 _She gets back to her feet as the pain slowly falls back to normal levels. Jane takes several deep breaths to relax and get back to normal. Eventually the flare stops completely and she opens her shop door. As she pulls the cart away she can't help but whisper to herself, 'Fuck…'_

 _Date_ _: 2.02.2169_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"Am I to understand that in the last few months the Fulcrum has managed to circumvent top secret Alliance security. She's stolen experimental holo tech and then she used this high-end, military grade technology, to set up a gymnasium?" The tone in Drell's voice manages to be accusatory and amused at the same time. The small team Hackett had assigned to keep track of her digital activities was completely flabbergasted.

"This one would respectfully posit that 'gymnasium' is a far too simplistic a word to describe what the Fulcrum has brought to her hiding place." Somehow, Hanar had known about the facility before Hackett had. In fact, Hanar has consistently been more in the loop than Hackett and none of his staff could figure out how.

"I concur with Hanar." Turian has become one of the most vocal supporters of the current situation. Everything Jane does seems to win him over even more, "The facility will give her everything she needs to bring her skills to the next level. Even most turian officers would be jealous over such a place. As I understand it, the people of the colony are utilizing the facility to improve their combat readiness as well. Given the deteriorating pirate situation across the galaxy over these last few months, it seems to be an excellent outcome all around."

"Our agents groundside have confirmed that the Fulcrum is rapidly learning advanced combat skills with the help of the matriarch and the blademaster. The facility has given them a safe place to do so, out of the public eye. And despite the embarrassment of this security breach, our plans have not changed. If fact, less than an hour after the breach occurred, we received a transmission detailing how to seal the hole in our security. I can assure this council that the plans to upgrade Pinnacle Station have not been compromised."

"Glad to hear it Human. It would be for the best if the salarian union never discovers how easily the Fulcrum can circumvent even high level security. It would certainly start a panic in the intelligence community." The idea seems to be disturbingly tempting for Salarian. "Now from I've heard, congratulations are in order for the Fulcrum. Her most recent achievement is quite interesting."

 _Date_ _: 2.02.2169_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _She got to the hanger without anymore issues and immediately started modifying the chopper. Gavin has long since stopped trying to get her to ask him first, due mostly to the fact that she never charged him for the parts and her modifications were almost always beneficial. Over the last few months, she's been using 'Blue' as her guinea pig to practice for assignments and assessments from the Elysium University's engineering degree program. Though a few professors had tried to slow down her push into the field, none had even come close to stopping her despite her age. In fact, she had several allies on their board of directors helping her. They saw the idea of someone so young graduating so quickly as a perfect PR stunt. And then there's Professor William Erdast, the elderly man currently chatting with Gavin in his office. Erdast had become a serious academic ally to Jane and had volunteered to observe her final test._

 _She'd opted for a live demonstration of her technical skill. The test was to take a non void capable vessel like Gavin's chopper, and make it void capable. It had taken a few weeks to get the secondary hull up to snuff and she still wasn't a hundred percent sure it would hold, hence the upgraded safety gear. Not to mention that if the hull failed, the shield emitters would hold the atmosphere in long enough for them to get back down. Jane secures the new panel with little trouble and spends a few minutes running scans to ensure that the seal is perfect. She sets the polarization setting to max as the default. Once she's sure of her work, Jane heads to the office to collect Gavin and the professor. "Alright, we're ready to go. Thanks a lot for coming so far Professor, it means a lot to me."_

" _Think nothing of it dear girl! I've been teaching since before the Elysium colony was even a speck on unmarked paper. In forty years, I've yet to come across a student so utterly worthy of personal attention. Not to mention that, every now and then, these old bones need a bit of adventure." The old man's accent sounds kind of like Miri's but a little more… posh. William Erdast's personnel file said he'd descended from a place called England on Earth. After reading that, Jane had gone through Hannah's movie files for hints about what english people were like. William fit nearly every stereotype those movies had ever exploited. He was pale skinned, well spoken, smoked with a pipe, and had a bizarre obsession over how tea should be prepared._

 _She can hear his cane tapping on the hanger floor as she leads the two men to Blue. Jane straps Spits into a special seat she installed just for him, then she helps William to his seat and points out the safety harness. She'd told him about her varren when he'd volunteered to come to Mindoir and was immensely relieved when the old man had expressed genuine enthusiasm over the idea of meeting a 'tame' varren. As he buckles in, Gavin walks around Blue, doing his usual checks before takeoff. When he's done, he waves Jane over to him, out of William's sight._

" _So, is this really gonna work. I mean, I trust you and all, but this is a chopper. It wasn't built to… you know… go into space. Rotors don't work too good without air to push on." She'd already walked him through it a dozen times. He wasn't too stupid to understand, he was just nervous to the point of brain lock._

" _That's what the new thrusters are for." Jane pats the sleek engine pods tucked just behind the rotors. It had been a bitch to mount them without compromising the rotors, but she'd gotten it done. "Just remember that we can only stay up there on thrusters for about forty minutes. Until I upgrade the fuel systems or build a mount for an external tank, we need to keep thruster use to a minimum."_

 _Gavin runs a hand through his sandy blond hair and takes a few steadying breaths. A smile creeps across his face, "We're really gonna do this aren't we? I mean… we're really going into space." Jane smiles back and gives him a bear hug. She stops before he runs out of air and the two of them hop into the chopper. As Gavin settles into the pilot's seat, Jane straps in on the bench across from William._

" _So how long will it take to reach the ship you've converted?" That was the one hiccup in the entire affair. Jane had forgotten to let William know that Gavin's ship was the one they were taking. Too late to change that now._

" _Not long. Just sit back and relax. We'll be in space in no time." Not really examining what she's saying, William just leans back and waits. He doesn't start getting suspicious until Jane seals the crew bay doors and the cabin pressurizes._

" _I say Jane, that young man owns a remarkable piece of equipment here. How do you think he payed for it all? He doesn't seem to be a businessman of any kind and he's a bit young to have accrued the necessary wealth for something like this."_

" _Well you see, I was the one that paid for and installed most of the upgrades. In fact, Blue here," she pats the side panel of the flyer, "is what I've been practicing on for most of my classes."_

 _Gavin's voice comes out over the intercom, "OK guys, we're passing phase line one. Double check your harnesses. It might be a bit rough up here." There's a bit of turbulence as their assent continues._

" _I'm curious Jane, why is that young man flying us up so high. Choppers don't do well over certain altitudes. Best to stay relatively low where the air's thicker."_

" _That is true for most choppers but I installed some thrusters so Blue could get around quicker." He hasn't figured it out yet, but it's only a matter of time._

" _Passing phase line two, go ahead and run final atmo seal checks Jane." She activates her omni-tool and runs a careful scan of the entire ship. Everything looks good so she sends the all clear to Gavin, "Awesome. Hold on tight, we're reaching the ceiling for the rotors. Switching to thrusters." There's a surge in acceleration as Blue soars higher and higher on her powerful new engines. Spits has his tongue loling out in his usual look of confused contentment. The animal had grown quite used to odd changes in pressure and turbulence as Jane and Gavin almost always took him up when they flew._

 _However William is understandably distressed, "Bloody hell! What is going on Jane? Why are we going so high?!"_

 _Jane manages to look a bit embarrassed as she spills, "Well Professor Erdast, I uh… forgot to tell you that we're going to space in… Blue." The old man's eye are the size of saucers as Gavin makes his next announcement._

" _Passing phase line three. Everything is good so far. Clearing the upper atmosphere in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." The turbulence disappears as they clear the last dregs of air. The only thing shaking the ship now is the engines and that eases up as Gavin starts throttling to lower output. "Alright, everything looks good so far. How we doing Jane?"_

" _Seals are good, cabin pressure stable, and fuel reserves nominal. Congrats on your first transatmospheric flight Gavin." The whole thing has taken almost half an hour. Gavin's nerves had kept him from pushing any faster._

" _You deserve most of the credit Jane. If I'd tried something like this by myself, I'd have suffocated about eighty miles down." Jane carefully releases her harness and drifts out of her seat. Spits is fast asleep. The brute tended to fall asleep at higher altitudes, despite the pressurized cabin. Jane pats his belly as heads for the panel. She doesn't like zero g but she's willing to tolerate it for this. As she carefully makes her way to the side panel, she can hear William undoing his own harness. He reaches her side just as she dials down the panel's opacity and Mindoir comes into view. It's only the second time she's seen a planet from space and just like the first time, it brings a tear to her eye._

 _She can't help but spew out her words at a mile a minute. "So what do you think Professor. Yes we're still technically in the planet's exosphere and there are some dregs of air up here but according to the guidelines of the exam-" William holds up a hand to forestall her babble._

" _You pass. By God you pass. Even though I wish you'd given me a bit of warning at just how soon our little adventure was going to start, I am proud to say that your final grade is still perfect." Jane take the frail old man in a crushing embrace for several seconds. "Jane… Jane… too tight! Too tight!" She immediately lets go and he gasps for breath. He forestalls her apology, "It's perfectly alright," he pauses for a few deep breaths, "I can… understand how… how happy you are. I was quite the excitable little scamp when I earned my first degree." Her eyes light up at that, "Yes indeed. Before I left the university, I made sure to settle thing with the board. As long as you passed the final test, they agreed to immediately register your degree. It will still be a few days before all the formal tosh will be done with, but I'm happy to informally congratulate you on your new status as a university graduate."_

 _She can barely contain her excitement and is about to grab the professor again when Gavin sounds out, "Sorry to ruin the party guys, but we're gonna need to head back down now. We're ok on fuel but I don't wanna take any chances on Blue's first space flight." Jane and the professor get strapped back in quickly and once they confirm with him, Gavin takes them back down._

 _The flight back is much quicker as Gavin is back in familiar territory. They land without a hitch and hop out. Gavin and Jane do a quick survey of the ship and are glad to find nothing out of place. William clears his throat, "Tell me young man. Where does a fellow get a stiff drink on Mindoir?"_

" _There's a couple bars on the main street. Got some good food too." William chuckles a few times before continuing._

" _My good man, I'm not looking to get a 'buzz' as you say. I'm looking for something a bit more substantial. I would like to-"_

" _Get shit faced?"_

" _Sounds about right." Gavin's got a huge grin on his face as he wraps an arm around the old man's shoulder._

" _Got just the place Prof. Hey Jane, I'm gonna take Will here to get something from the Moose Pit. You good?" She nods and the young pilot starts leading William out._

" _Make sure he gets back to his hotel Gavin! I'll blame you if anything happens!" The young man waves as the two of them disappear out the door. Jane quickly locks the hanger up and bolts home, eager to tell Hannah and the others the big news._

 _As she gets back, she sees Fel settling into his den in the hill. She doesn't try to hide her approach so he hears her long before she gets there, "Hey Jane. How'd it go?"_

" _Perfect. Once the paperwork goes through I'll officially have a degree. So what are you doing out here so early. The sun only went down twenty minutes ago."_

 _He grunts at her before taking a swig from his flask of ryncol. He'd offered to let her try it a couple months ago and she'd accepted. It had burned a little, but it had been pretty good. Hannah found out the next day and neither of them had ever made that mistake again. "Aethyta and your mom are still arguing over who won our shooting contest. Aethyta had the tightest grouping but Hannah landed the most shots. I got disqualified for using a flamethrower. Then they started in on the wine and now they're just telling weird stories and swearing at each other. Fun as that is, it started giving me a headache after the first hour, so I decided to come out here and relax." Jane nods and sits on the crate next to Fel's, with Spits curling up in front of his little fire place._

 **Fel**

The girl settles down and the two of them spend a while just looking at the sky. He can hear the occasional bout of drunken laughter or profanity coming from the house and it draws a chuckle from him each time. This has only happened a couple times since he'd come and he's still surprised over how much fun the two of them are when they get drunk. He's thinking about heading inside again when he hears Jane gasp at something. Fel looks to his left at Jane and sees the girl grinding her teeth, a look of pained anger on her reddening face. "Woah, what's going on Jane?"

She turns her face further from him, trying to hide her expression, "Nothing, just a muscle cramp…" She's practically hissing in pain. Fel gets up from his crate and kneels right in front of her. He looks her straight in the eye.

"That's a load of varren shit. I've seen you handle muscle cramps before and it's never gotten you so evasive." She's glaring at him but he can tell how desperate she is to stop pretending, "Whatever it is Jane, don't hold it in. You hold in pain and it has a habit of gettin worse. Let it out, feel it completely and you'll be able to get over it quicker." Her eye twitches a few times before she relents and stops trying to hide it. Jane doubles over, tightly hugging her hands to her torso, and growling in pain. Several specks of golden light fall from her as she lets out heaving breaths. After a few minutes, the disturbing display ends and Jane slowly straightens back up. "You good Jane?" She nods curtly. "Alright, now what the hell was that and don't you dare try and brush it off. You keep it from me and I'll march right up that hill and tell your mother." Even drunk, Hannah was deeply protective of Jane and would remember anything involving her safety.

Jane stares at the ground for a while before responding, "It was a… biotic flare. Pretty bad one too."

"How many times has this happened?"

"It's happened about twice a week for the last month, but today has been really bad. This is the second time in the last five hours."

"Hold up. Thyta told me that the two of you had gotten that shit under control. Why the hell are you having trouble now?"

"It's not the same as before. Those flares were all migraines and nosebleeds. These hurt so much more. It feels like my hands or feet or whatever is hurting at the time, it feels like they're on fire and freezing at the same time. It feels like something inside me is trying to tear me apart." He'd heard stories about biotics with these kind of troubles. Most of it was just shaman scare stories but he'd seen a few of those stories come true in his long life.

"Have you told your mom or Thyta?" she shakes her head. Stubborn little…, "Look kid, I got eighty seven siblings, two of them biotics. My sister had problems with pain and all that. She told the shaman right away, and that old wrinkle ass helped her sort that crap out in no time. My brother didn't tell anyone. He just kept lettin it get worse and worse, trying to tough it out. Eventually he had an aneurysm and died in the middle of lunch. Wouldn't of happened if he hadn't been such a stubborn ass."

"I'll tell them soon. I just gotta figure what to say." He narrows his eyes. He'd heard her say that before more than once. For her, it was code for 'I might tell them if I get caught'. Not good enough.

"You got two weeks. You tell Hannah in the next two weeks or I'll do it for you." Jane looks set to argue but Fel glares at her. She's rarely backed down, but with stuff like this Fel and Aethyta could usually get her to relent. She breaks eye contact first.

"Ok… Ok. I promise I'll tell her." He smiles at her and offers her a sip of his ryncol. A mischievous grin splits her face, "What if Hannah finds out?"

"I'll tell her you took it while I was in the can." She slugs him in the shoulder as she takes a swig from his flask. He rubs his rapidly bruising shoulder as the two of them get back to looking at the stars.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 - Hunt**

 _Date_ _: 2.14.2169_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Hannah**

It's been a slow day. She'd finished her work early and didn't have anything else to do today. Right now she's sitting across from Aethyta, glaring at the chess board between them. The asari woman was good and Hannah had lost half the games they'd played over the last year. She's trying to break the tie and it's looking pretty good. "You gonna make a move sometime today or do I have time to make a quick trip to the Citadel for snacks." Aethyta had a habit of taunting her any time they played. It used to work and had led her to make a number of amatuer mistakes in their early games. She's learned to roll with it, no matter how much it pisses her off. Hannah reaches for a pawn and moves it into a better position. Before Aethyta can make her own move, a spat of profanity draws their attention for the third time in the last hour.

"Goddamn little bitch!" The two of them share a knowing glance and laugh quietly to themselves. "Fucking fucker!"

"Plating?" Aethyta knows what's going on but it's become a bit of a joke between them.

"Ninth time in two months."

"Stupid fucking piece of shit!" They can't help but bust out laughing. The swearing keeps up for almost an hour, with Hannah and Aethyta trying to get themselves under control the whole time. Eventually they get back to their game. Hannah's about to win when a new bout of swearing starts followed by a tremor shaking the house. Then a piece of red plating actually stabs through the wall.

Aethyta points to the walls new ornament, "That from one of her gauntlets?" Hannah nods and the two of them head out to Jane's shop. The girl is struggling to close one of the latches on her breastplate and is failing in epic fashion. After almost five minutes of growling and swearing, Jane pulls the plate away from her chest and repeatedly slams it onto her workbench. It hits hard enough to dent the table. "Havin trouble kiddo?"

She glares at Aethyta, irritated at the asari's mirth, "I have to expand my plating. I've already outgrown the expansions...again! It's the ninth time in the last two months, thirteenth in a year! I'm getting pretty fucking tired of this. When the hell am I gonna stop growing?!" Jane has been shooting up like a weed for a while now. Pretty soon Hannah is going to have to start tilting her head up in order to look Jane in the eye.

Aethyta gets a mischievous look on her face. Hannah knows that look. She sees it anytime the matriarch decides to tease Jane about something. "Well, I know that when my people are growing up, we spend about ten years growin real fast, then it slows way down, and takes about thirty years for it to stop completely." Jane has a horrified look on her face as she imagines having to spend decades making tiny expansions to her plates every few weeks. Hannah decides to come to the rescue.

"Don't worry Jane. Most humans stop growing in their late teens, early twenties at the latest. I stopped when I was nineteen." Jane still looks mortified.

"You mean I'll have to keep doing this for another four years?!" Hannah nods as Jane drops her head onto her workbench. She hits it on her bench a few times and groans in despair. Jane had probably already known that but had been hoping Hannah would tell her it was all bullcrap. No luck. She keeps banging her head on the bench until the front door to the garage slams open and Fel bursts in. He's not wearing his usual mottled brown tunic. Today, he's in full armor, the green-gray digital pattern newly painted the day before. His sword has a fresh red tassel hanging from the hilt. His face is painted with greens and greys and he has a huge grin plastered on his face.

"It's time!"

 **Jane**

" _Can today get any fucking worse?" The thought has been bouncing around in her head all morning. She'd woken up to a new spat of flares that kept her in bed for damn near twenty minutes, not to mention the new scorch marks from the bits of energy she hadn't been able to keep in. Then she'd tried to strap her plating back on. It had been feeling a little too tight the night before and she'd decided sleep without it. That would have been unthinkable a year ago, then again a year ago she wasn't busting out of her suit and boys weren't constantly staring at her. The suit was a bit more forgiving than her plates and she'd only needed to add more material once. It had felt like she was sleeping naked and the same old nightmares hadn't helped. At least she hadn't been back in the fucking green room in a while._

 _Then she'd tried to strap the plates back on and found that she couldn't get a single clasp shut to close the plates around her. No amount of cursing and raging had any effect. Hannah and Aethyta giggling at her plight wasn't exactly constructive either. Jane still hadn't told them about the new flaring and with Fel's deadline fast approaching, she was still at a loss on what to say. When the two of them had come in to check on her, Jane had seriously thought about spilling right then and there. Fel had unknowingly come to the rescue, bursting in with his fresh paint and giddy smile, "It's time!"_

 _They all stare for a few minutes before Hannah asks, "Time for what?"_

 _His smile grows, "Time for the hunt to begin. Many months ago I told you all that I intended to wait for a chance to face a stone bear under the same circumstances as Jane. Well the time has now come! I was at the holo facility when one of the peace officers practicing with his rifle got a call. A small hamlet next to the western sea is currently suffering under the attentions of one of the beasts. From what the witnesses claim, it is a bull and in the throes of madness, lashing out randomly and doing heavy damage to the town. No one has been killed yet, but if the beast's rampage continues unchecked then it will only be a matter of time. The peace officers don't have the training or firepower to stop the creature."_

" _Alright, let's get going." Even Fel is surprised by her immediate agreement. To tell the truth, it's a convenient excuse to leave without talking about her flaring. Not to mention it could lead to the perfect opportunity to test her new toys. Jane grabs the black case she's keeping them in, latching it to her belt, and then she loops the strap for her back up scabbard over her shoulder. Once Abyss is in place, Jane steps up to Fel, "Well, we going or not?" Jane marches out of the garage with Spits close by and heads for Gavin's hanger. A few seconds later she can hear Fel trotting up behind her._

" _You haven't told them yet, have you?"_

" _I'm gonna tell them." Fel doesn't push any further. He's already made it clear that when his deadline comes, he will tell them if she hasn't. The three of them walk in silence for the rest of the way. When they reach the hangar they find Gavin sleeping in his office. Jane wakes him up and they hop in Blue. She tells him the situation as the hangar doors clank open and the rotors start cycling up._

" _We're going_ _ **to**_ _a stone bear?" If he was more awake he might have tried to resist the idea. As it is, he barely keeps the ship steady as they fly to the beleaguered town, a place called Kestra. It had a reputation for peace and quiet. That's a reputation it is currently unable to live up too. Jane can see a couple collapsed building and some people hiding on their roofs. She can see something flailing around amidst the wreckage at the center of the town. It's the beast. When it's not trying to wreck something, the animal is swiping at empty air and smacking its head on the ground._

" _Gavin," the new hull muffles the sound of the rotors and they can speak in normal tones, "land just outside the town. Once we're out go into a holding pattern." The young man sets down behind one of the wrecked buildings and as soon as Jane, Fel, and Spits are out, he pulls back into the air. The three of them move through the wide avenue between buildings until they reach the only paved road in the town. There, less than thirty yards away, the stone bear is dragging its snout on the pavement. It's a little bit smaller than Jane's but still monstrous in size. It has the same grey fur as Jane's but with black speckling on its back. One of its horns is snapped off at the halfway point. Whether during this rampage or some earlier conflict, there's no way to tell. Fel steps to the fore as the beast finally makes note of their arrival. Its huge black eyes lock onto them and it lets out a monstrous roar. The few unbroken windows in the town shatter in a shower of glass. Jane can hear screams from somewhere deeper in town. The beast starts trotting towards them so she steps up next to Fel._

 _The bulky krogan doesn't turn as he speaks, "No. I will face the beast alone… Just as you did. To do less would be a direct insult to the beast." She doesn't like it but she steps back and lets Fel go alone._

" _Do you want Spits to fight with you? He helped me with my stone bear."_

" _No. He fought with you because he has bonded with you. I'll not risk either of your lives in a battle I chose." The stone bear it stalking towards them, fetid air billowing from colossal maw. It looks like it has the mange and one of its ears is missing. "Hear me beast! I am Raik Fel of Clan Raik! I have come to end your suffering!" The creature's reply is another earth shaking roar as it's stalking advance builds to a charge._

 _Fel draws his massive sword, a hungry look in his eyes as begins his own charge. He lets out his own roar as he and the beast close the gap between them. Right before impact Fel feints left, steps to the right, and slashes his blade into the animal's flank. The strike is clean and some blood falls from his sword as he brings it back to a guard position. The beast stumbles to the side and smacks into a nearby store wall, a shallow divot carved into its flank. Fel is strong and his blade is extremely high quality but he's done next to no damage._

 **Fel**

He's not surprised. Jane has told him everything there was to tell about stone bears. Though his blade is excellent in its own right, it doesn't have the cutting power of Jane's dark blade. He'll need to strike at the beast's belly or throat in order to do real damage. As the creature untangles itself from the newly collapsed wall, Fal attacks. He lands a powerful lateral strike across the beast's snout. He can hear the sound of bone breaking. Instead of rearing up as he'd hoped, the beast slings a massive paw at him and connects with his chest. With the impact force of a siege hammer, Fel is catapulted across the street. His head breaks his fall and he has to force himself to stay conscious. He can hear the stomping stride of the beast approaching. As he gets to his feet, the bear swipes at his face. He jerks back, barely avoiding a crushed skull. As he falls back, he swings his blade from below and catches the beast with a glancing blow across the face. It doesn't break the hide, but it does get the creature pull back as it tries to cover its eyes.

He takes advantage of this tiny respite to load one of his special charges into the hilt of his blade. Arcs of electricity surge along the sword's length as the beast resumes its attack. He parries another massive paw and a bolt of electricity tears into the animal on impact. This time it violently pulls away, swiping and roaring in his direction. The bear smacks its paw on the ground trying to get the stinging pain to go away. Fel leaps into action, flanking to the right. The beast stumbles on a paralyzed foot as he circles. Once on the creature's flank, he leaps forward with an overhead strike. The blade is hurtling towards its exposed neck. At the last instant, the creature pivots its head and brings the intact horn into his attack angle. The blade slams into the horn and shatters the boney outcropping. Robbed of nearly all power, the strike bounces off the creature's neck. In response, the beast powers another paw towards Fel and manages to clip his left shoulder despite his attempt to pivot out of the way. He knows his arm is broken as he tumbles to the ground several feet away. This time the creature's claws have managed to sink in and he sees a lot of blood scattered by the strike.

Fel fights through the searing pain, something he's done through hundreds of battles. It's not the first time he's had to keep fighting with a broken limb. The beast doesn't immediately charge in. It's grown wary of this tiny creature with the quick reflexes and painful sting. Fel had built more powerful ARC cells purely for this battle. Jane had told him the beasts had heavily insulated nervous systems. That meant they were incredibly resistant to pain, so he'd needed to up the voltage twenty fold for it to be of any value. It did the trick but it also burned out the cell in just a few hits rather than being usable for a full engagement.

Fel quickly slots in another charge as the two of them circle each other. He can see just how badly the creature is faring. His own attacks have done little beyond surface damage, but whatever disease assails it has wreaked havoc. Most of its face is covered in tattered, rotting flesh. One of its eye sockets is grossly swollen and pus is leaking from sores scattered all over its head. It's no wonder that the creature has gone mad. Such horrific decay on a still living creature would drive most beings insane. He can practically feel the beasts soul deep suffering. It's a mercy to put the animal down.

The bear charges and Fel charges back. If he's going to kill it, he's going to need to take a risk like Jane did. As the beast leaps at him, Fel slides onto his knees under the creature. He grips the blunt side of his blade and forces the razored edge against the soft underbelly. He manages to cut deep but the animal delivers a thunderous kick from its hind leg directly onto his hump. There weren't many injuries that hurt as much as a busted hump, something he's learned from personal experience. The blow hurts but fails to puncture the soft tissue, his backplate absorbing most of the impact. Unfortunately, the plate shatters and the pieces fall from his back as he stands. The beast is not so lucky. He can see loops of black intestine hanging from the wound and a small river of blood pouring out. The edges of the cut are scorched from his ARC cell. The creature doesn't slow but its movements become more erratic. It swipes in his general direction, hitting nothing but air or rubble each time. Fel takes a few deep breaths before charging back in. That jolt isn't going to keep it confused for long.

He launches a flurry of swift slashes at the beast's eyes. None connect but that's not the point. Each slash confuses the creature more and more. Eventually he gets what he's been hoping for. The animal finally rears back to avoid the blade's sting and he surges forward. Focusing all his strength into his sword arm, Fel stabs the blade through the creature's soft belly and into it's heart. His elation is short lived as the beast slams a paw into his side and hurls him away. Somehow he manages to keep hold of his sword, his momentum dragging it out of the animal's chest. He lands hard on his back almost twenty feet away. His left arm is shattered. If he survives the battle, it'll take weeks for all the bones to set properly, even with his people's natural regenerative abilities. **If.** It's no guarantee. Even taking the animal's heart has failed to kill it. He's struggling to think of what else he can do when Jane's voice pierces the haze in his head.

"They have two hearts! Two hearts!" Shit! She'd told him that earlier and he'd forgotten! "The second one is half a meter lower!" He's trying to get to his feet when he feels a set of monstrous fangs fasten onto his left thigh. The pressure and pain are immense. If the beast was in its right mind, he likely would have lost the leg. As it is, the creature can't seem to focus enough to finish the job, opting to chew on him rather than clamp all the way down. He tightens his grip on his sword and stabs the blade into the creature's good eye. The shriek that comes from the animal is ear splitting. Thankfully, in opening its mouth to give voice to its pain, the beast has released his leg. It thrashes about madly, desperately trying to scratch away the stinging jolt. It falls to its side in a twitching heap. This might be his last chance. Fel gets to his feet despite his savaged leg's protestations. He hobbles over to the prone beast as quickly as he can and faces its belly. He can't get close enough yet. Those huge paws are flailing away at random , blocking his way forward, but he can't wait. The ARC charge to its head has it stunned but that won't last more than a few seconds.

Fel grits his teeth and backs up. Once far enough away, he starts building to a charge. His leg is screaming at him the whole time and that tiny voice in his head has a bit of sage wisdom for him, ' _This is really gonna fucking hurt'_. Fel levels his blade and leaps at the creature. It seems the ancestors are smiling on him as he gets between the flailing limbs just enough to slam his blade through its second heart. The beast lets out one last guttural roar before its chest goes still. Apparently its nervous system still has a few impulses left as it's back left foot twitched forward hard enough to throw him into the rubble nearby.

 **Jane**

 _It twists her guts just standing there watching the fight. She wanted so badly to join in and help, but she trusts Fel. She had told him about the twin hearts before the fight but apparently he hadn't been paying attention. Once he'd made his final move, Jane went in. Victory or not, Fel wasn't going to be able to keep going after the pounding he's taken. She reaches the beast and is relieved to see that it's dead. It's good that the animal's suffering is over. She looks around for Fel. She can't see him, but she can hear him. He's… he's actually singing. The song is interrupted by a few bouts of coughing, but he's singing bombastically all the same._

" _BEHOLD AND HEAR AND FEEL THE FEAR…" a sputtering cough interrupts. "WE RAISE A SWORD AND BURN THE HOARD AND VICTORY IS CLEAR! LIFE'S A TEST BUT WE'RE THE BEST AND SCREW THE REST!" More coughing followed by the sound of someone hocking a massive wad of phlegm up. She hears the glob smack into the ground and the song continues. "OUR HEAT SHALL SEAR AND ALL SHALL FEAR FOR ARALAKH IS HERE!" The song devolves into hysterical laughter as Jane runs up the the pile of rubble that it's coming from. She heaves debris away and finds Fel in a bloody heap. His arm is broken, his leg is mauled, and he's oozing blood, but he's smiling like a loon. Another bout of giddy laughter lets out and she can't help but join in. "Oh did you see that my friend! That was a battle I shall cherish for years to come! And these new scars are truly a badge of honor!" He tries to stand up but his injuries are bad enough to keep him down._

" _Yah I saw it. You had me worried for a little bit. I though I was gonna have to drag your ugly mug back in a bag." Fel manages to put on a face of faux offense._

" _Bah! Perish the thought! No beast could slay me!" He tries to stand again but it's still not happening, "Would you mind giving me a bit of help? It seems I've gone and pulled something." Jane gives him a shot of medi-gel before using a mild biotic pulse to help him stand without aggravating his wounds. She pulls his good arm around her shoulder and helps him limp over to his kill. Jane runs a quick scan over the body and sees what she expected._

" _It's got the same parasitic infection as mine did. In fact, this one's a lot worse."_

" _Aye, it was truly mad. We'll need to... examine the infection and begin working on a counter to it. If more are infected then it's only a matter of time before another wanders into a settled area in a bout of madness. Get some deeper scans while we wait for your pilot friend. I gonna... sit down for… for a bit…" She helps him settle onto a piece of rubble then sends the all clear to Gavin. As he brings Blue in, Jane runs a more thorough scan on the animal. There are a few conservation officials that'll be interested it what they've found. As Blue takes position above them and the tow lines drop, Jane can hear cheering. The people from the town are emerging from hiding and most of them seem to have figured out who saved them. Fel looks around with a toothy grin, a grin now missing a few teeth, and raises his good arm high. Despite having the piss beaten out of him, he's still holding his sword and the people cheer even louder as he raises it high. Jane starts closing the deepest holes in the carcass before attaching the tow lines. When she's done, she turns to see a portly man shaking Fel's unbroken hand._

 _She catches the end of their conversation, "Again my giant friend, you're always welcome here. We can never thank you enough. If there's anything we can do just name it and we'll give it our best shot."_

 _She knows Fel is about to say something about how the battle was its own reward and that they don't need to do anything. She'll need to head that off, "Actually there is something you can do." Fel and the older man, likely Mayor Michaels if the file she read was right, turn to her._

" _And you are?" Fel points and declares._

" _That my good man is Jane Shepard. The only other person to bring one of these beasts down and live to tell the tale. She's a true friend and her advice is what let me end the creatures madness." The older man looks at here with a bewildered expression. Good. People are easier to manipulate when confused._

" _Oh my. Ok. What can we do to express our thanks Ms. Shepard?" Several other townsfolk have gathered and are nodding their heads at the question._

" _There's a biannual meeting of the colonial board in a few months. Can you be there and make a proposal for me. I'd do it, but I haven't lived on Mindoir long enough to have any real pull with them."_

" _Well I suppose. But what proposal are you… well… proposing?"_

" _I want you to call for the formation of a colonial militia. It would help keep towns like this one safe from anymore animal attacks. Not to mention, what with the growing number of pirate and slaver attacks across the Traverse, that a militia would help keep people safe if the worst should happen." The older man pales at the mention of slavers. She wasn't lying. The entire colony knew what had happened to several of their sector neighbors, including the poor bastards at Balt's Landing._

" _Well… given your compelling and mildly frightening case, I suppose the people of Kestra can certainly make the call for better defenses. You can count on our support."_

 _Jane and Fel give a few gracious goodbyes and Jane ties the wounded krogans belt plate to the last open tow line. She climbs up and retracts the line. She's glad to see that Spits understood what was going on and has clamped his jaws onto the bottom of the line. She helps Fel and Spits up, securing both of them to their seats. The flyer quickly leaves Kestra behind. Fel spends the entire trip talking through dozens of ways they can deliver treatment for the parasites they'd found. His good spirits in spite of his heavy injuries keeps her smiling the whole way. They get back to the main colony just as the sun sets. They'll need to store the carcass in Gavin's cargo warehouse until Fel's feeling up to handling it._

 **Hannah**

"They'll be fine. Quit pacing kid. You're gonna dig a rut in the carpet." Hannah can't help it. She knows that Jane's killed one of those things before but that doesn't stop her from worrying. After she'd found out exactly what Jane had fought that day Sira had come to see her, Hannah had spent hours fussing over Jane, asking if she was OK or if there was anything she needed help with. She'd only succeeded in annoying the girl but Jane had seemed fine with it otherwise.

"I know. I just can't help but be worried. I mean these things are monsters, real monsters. Jane's the only one in the records that's even survived a fight with one. What if this one's bigger or faster or stronger? What if there's more than one? What if Spits gets squished? What if Fel gets hurt? What if-" Aethyta finally cuts her off.

"HEY!" Hannah stops her rambling, "They'll. Be. Fine. Fel's been fighting for centuries and Jane is way more powerful now than she was the first time. It's all gonna be OK."

Hannah takes a shaky breath and tries to calm down. Failing miserably, she goes back to pacing. Aethyta opens her mouth to speak but gets cut off by the sound of singing from outside. It's horribly off key and slurred, but she recognizes it. The song is one of Clan Raik's drinking songs, one he always sang after a successful hunt. The front door bursts open as the song wraps up, "FOR ARALAKH IS HERE!" Fel is laughing like a maniac as he limps inside. Jane is right behind him, a slight yellow glow coming off her. Now that Hannah sees a bit more clearly she can see the slight haze around Fel. The girl is using her biotics to help the obviously wounded krogan walk.

"Hannah! Thyta! Tonight we celebrate! For we have been victorious!" Fel's words are heavily slurred. Jane holds up her omni-tool and shows Hannah the medi-gel dose information. Fel is loaded with enough medicine to kill a human and it has him wobbling like a drunkard. He hobbles over to the couch, trying to sit down. He gets close but trips and lands face first on the coffee table. In a stunning sign of good craftsmanship, the table actually holds up to the heavy impact. A heavy cracking noise comes from the table but it holds. In seconds, the three of them can hear heavy snoring. Fel is out like a light.

Jane sits down on the couch and looks at Hannah and Aethyta with a Grimace, "I know it looks bad but he'll be okay. A couple tertiary organs ruptured but they've already regenerated and the medi-gel has all the cuts closed. His bones will take a while to set but he made it very clear that he'll handle it. He'll need a while to get back to normal but he should be fine… eventually." Aethyta is smiling as she looks down at the snoring krogan.

"Well big guy, I hope you had fun." Fel's only response is some nonsensical grumbling.

"Urhhg, fucking klixen. Get you ugly ass over here… stab that pipe up your…" The three of them carefully shift him onto the couch and turn to leave. Just before they get to the door to the kitchen, Fel has to go and ruin it. "Don't forget… make Jane… tell them… not good to… hide it… not safe." Hannah and Aethyta stop in their tracks and fix Jane with suspicious stares.

"What's that mean kid? Fel doesn't mumble something like **that** unless it's a big deal." Jane tries to brush it off.

"Nothing. He's just hurt and mumbling." She tries to push past but Hannah steps into the doorway and looks her right in the eye. Jane could easily push her out of the way, but doesn't have it in her to treat Hannah like that. Her adopted mother fixes her with a withering look and her resistance crumbles. "I… I'm having… flares again. And this time they're really bad." The angry look on Hannah's face immediately shifts do concern.

"I thought the flares were done with. Are you ok? When did they start again?" As Jane starts explaining, Aethyta watches closely.

"I'm ok right now. They started about a month and a half ago. These aren't the same as the old flares. Yah those hurt and all, but these are worse. And the pain is different. The old flares felts like someone was stabbing he in the head with an ice pick. They were slow to build up and dragged on and on, but I could keep going while they happened. These come on fast and they can knock me down for a while." Aethyta has an odd look as she speaks up.

 **Aethyta**

If it's what she thinks it is, then the situation is a lot worse than the girl probably realizes. "What does the pain feel like Jane? I know it hurts, but I need to know **exactly** what it feels like?"

"It's like a magma hot burning sensation mixed with with a feeling like I'm sticking my hand in liquid nitrogen." Shit. "It feels like something is it trying to rip my insides apart." This is bad.

Hannah's more worried than ever, "Do you know what it is Aethyta?"

"I gotta a pretty good idea. You need to start spending energy more often Jane. Like as much as possible. Do that and let me know if it keeps getting worse." Jane nods.

"I'm gonna eat a couple sandwiches and go to bed." She can see Jane use her biotics to gather her food and then the girl walks upstairs, her sandwiches hovering behind her. They hear Jane's door close and then Hannah locks eyes with Aethyta.

"What's going on? I know you know, I can see it. What is happening to her? You said the flares were under control."

"They are. This is something different. Every biotic naturally builds up dark energy over time. Even I do. Most end up expelling it passively after they've been trained. I'd bet my family's estate that Jane is generating too much for it to naturally filter out."

"What can we do?"

"Not much we can do here. I can do a meld with her and help set up the beginnings of some mental 'infrastructure' but she'll need a much younger asari to help her through the rest of the process."

"Why can't you just help her do the whole thing? You're a matriarch, you've got to be powerful enough."

"Being a matriarch and having the power that goes with it is the problem. I've seen **a lot** of shit over the years. If Jane touches on some of it while we're melded… it could make things worse. She needs an asari mind that isn't cluttered with all the crap I got up there. It'd also be pretty risky for someone as powerful as me getting in that head of hers in an actual meld. Jane's body is powerful, but given the shit she's been through, I'll bet her mind is a mess behind the front she puts up. I might accidently burn part of her mind out if I go too deep. We need an asari young enough to keep a low profile inside her mind without much effort." Hannah looks incredibly confused but roles with the situation.

"Ok, so where do we find an asari young enough but still trained in what we need?"

"Well, there's only one place we're gonna find the kind of help we need without attracting unpleasant attention. I need to take Jane to my family's colony, deep in asari space." A mix of emotions play across Hannah's face. Relief, confusion, worry, but mostly anger. She jabs a finger at Aethyta and squares her shoulders. It's amazing how much the human woman can change at the drop of a hat. Hannah might be relatively small, but she could be intimidating when she needed to.

"I'm not sending Jane away. The last thing she needs is to be locked away in some academy all alone. I will **never** abandon her." She positively seething.

"Woah, woah, woah. Take it easy kid. I'm not talkin about locking her away or keeping her isolated. In fact, I want you to come too."

"Huh?"

"The kind of work I'm talking about isn't exactly safe or easy. She's gonna need support. That means she'll need friends and even more importantly, family, to help her through it."

Hannah eases back, the anger bleeding away, "If it's what she needs then I guess we could do it. How long does she have? How soon do we need to go?"

"Hard to say. I'll need to see one of these new flares to tell just how bad it is. I'd say no more than a year and a half, maybe less. It'll take quite a while to set thing up at home. The sooner we go the better. If we wait too long… it won't be pleasant."

"What do you mean? What's going to happen?"

It's not the kind of thing she likes talking about. Hell even hardened commandos get queasy talking about it. "Look, dark matter is a natural force of repulsion in the universe. It's what's forcing the universe to keep expanding as fast as it is. If too much builds up inside her… it… well…" She's not sure she has the heart to tell Hannah.

"What? Well what?!"

"If too much builds up… it could rip her apart from the inside." Hannah's utterly horrified by the idea. "I've only seen it once in a thousand years, biotic after a severe brain injury. She couldn't remember how to expel the energy anymore and it just…" She can't even finish the sentence. Those days have haunted her for more than eight hundred years. So much blood. The young woman had lasted for days, begging for someone to end her suffering. "Look, right now it's apparently just painful for her. We've got time. I'll start getting things rolling back home, but like I said it'll take a while. We just need to stay calm and keep moving forward. As soon as things are ready we can go. You just need to convince Jane to go along with it." Hannah nods and the two of them sit down across from each other at the dining table, hashing out how to handle things until they can get going.

 **Unknown**

 **Possible Fulcrum Locations Narrowed Due to Tertiary Agent Efforts**

 **Possible Locations...**

 **63 Inhabited Worlds**

 **4220 Uninhabited Worlds**

 **Agent Efforts Must Escalate**

 **Fulcrum Escape Must Not Be Allowed To Slip Away**

 **Conclusion…**

 **Increase Attack Frequency and Severity**

 **Addendum…**

 **Agent's Religious Beliefs Must Be Altered to Reinforce Purpose**

 **Subject Jortan Is Too Focused On Batarian Prosperity**

 **Dispatching Device To Allow More Invasive Manipulation**

 **Device Designated "Oracle" Will Arrive In 2 months**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27 - Calls**

 _Date_ _: 8.30.2169_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _She's sitting in front of her comm terminal. It's the middle of the night, she's tired, has a headache, and she can tell a new flare is on the way. Aethyta's advice about spending as much energy as possible had helped keep the flares spread out, but they're still coming. What's worse, it's getting dangerous just being around other people when they come. She'd almost killed Fel at the beginning of the month. She'll need to head out of town to handle what's coming, but first she has a few calls to make. Jane punches in the first set of codes and waits for the answer. She gives Spits a scratch under the chin while she's waiting. It takes a while but she understands. Mirdan is pretty busy these days._

 _Eventually, the old salarian's face appears on the screen. Jane's glad to see how much he's recovered since Omega. He'd seemed… hollow after Sara's death, but now he's got some life back in him. It's probably because he's back to working with major STG operations again. Jane had hacked into their systems to keep track of him. His recent work was really making a difference and it's given him new life. "Hello Jane. It's wonderful to see you again."_

" _Hey Mirdan. Good to see you too. I wanna say thanks for the books you've been sending me. They really helped with Spits' parasite problems and his molting. Those first aid lessons were great too." Mirdan had been tutoring her on how to handle anything from bullet wounds to a goring from a klixen or acid splash from a thresher maw._

" _I'm glad to hear it." They trade a few more platitudinous compliments before getting to the real reason for the call. "While I would like to keep up the pleasant mood, I know you need something more." Jane nods. "Tell me about the flaring."_

" _It's getting worse. I mean, they don't happen as often as they used to, but they're so much more painful. I can barely move when a flare starts and it's impossible to think. Aethyta gave me some advise to follow and it's kinda helping. Did the scans tell you anything useful?" She can tell the news isn't great. His eyes narrow slightly and the skin under his horns crinkles a bit. Most people would miss it, but Jane's gotten good at telling when a salarian has bad news._

" _Not much I'm afraid. The only concrete information I've got is that you have indeed sprouted another implant." Shit. Jane had had her suspicions that the implants weren't done growing. She'd been more than a little pissed when Mirdan had revealed that he and Keeva had not only known about multiple new structures growing inside her, but that they had deliberately withheld the knowledge. When she'd found out, Jane had called and berated both of them. At the time, they'd seemed more relieved than anything._

" _Any idea what it will do?"_

" _I can't be certain, but given its position and structural design, I believe it may be some kind of biological biotic amp. I've given the scans to my nephew and he's spent several weeks in intensive study. He's mapped out the pathways inside the new structure and he has told me that this bio-amp will, in time, vastly exceed the qualities of any artificial amp. The downside is fairly obvious. While your power will vastly increase, it will most likely do so faster than your body can adapt. The flaring will get worse as a result." It's what she expected but that doesn't stop her disappointment._

" _Shit…"_

" _I'm sorry I don't have better news Jane."_

" _It's alright. Thank you for helping as much as you can Mirdan."_

" _I'll keep looking into this. My nephew has promised to continue as well. I'll send some painkillers to help with the aftereffects of the flares."_

" _Thanks Mirdan." The call ends and she starts punching in the next set of codes. As she does so, the familiar tingling sprouts up in her hands and chest. It won't be too much longer before she needs to go, but Jane needs to finish the calls. There are few things that won't wait. It takes almost half an hour for this call to go through. Again, Jane understands. Keeva had told her just how busy she was after the captain of the Terragoth had accepted her pilgrimage gift… well, gifts. The quarian woman was a bit of a rising star in the flotilla. Eventually a familiar face plate pops up on her screen. Keeva has grown a bit since they'd last seen each other, but the big changes are on her suit. While it's the same dark red color, now she has a new gold highlighted hood for it and more than a dozen new swirling patterns on her arms and shoulders. "Hey Keeva."_

" _Hi Jane. I'm sorry I haven't called in a while, I've just been so busy that there hasn't been time."_

" _I understand Keeva. I wanted to thank you for your help. I got my degree and it's all thanks to the lessons you gave me."_

" _Hardly. If you weren't so relentless, it never would have worked out. Did you get the special heat sinks?"_

" _Yep and they work better than I hoped. They dissipate the excess heat almost forty percent faster than what we expected."_

" _I'm glad to hear it. After I sent them, I was so worried that I'd sent the wrong kind or that they wouldn't work or that they would blow up again. Have you gotten the final products assembled yet."_

" _I've got the framework put together and the firing mechanisms are working this time. I just need to finish the recoil compensators, slot everything together, and they'll be ready."_

" _Make sure to record the first test fire when they're complete." Jane and Keeva had been working on bringing the designs to life for a while now. Aethyta's gift had given her something real to work towards and thanks to Keeva's help they'll soon be ready. "Anyway, how are you doing?"_

" _I've been better."_

" _Are the flares getting worse?"_

" _Yeah. Mirdan and his nephew are looking into it but I don't think they'll find anything to help. The new implant is going to increase my power but I can't adapt fast enough for it to be safe. Aethyta says that she can help if I go with her to her families colony. I'm not sure though." The matriarch had been trying to convince her for a while now. Even Hannah was pushing the idea. Jane didn't object to the idea but she's not convinced it'll help._

" _If there's anything I can do to help just let me know."_

" _Thanks Keeva. So how are you doing? Is the Terragoth everything you hoped?" She excitedly bobs her head up and down._

" _And more!" The quarian woman spends twenty minutes detailing all the things she thinks are great about her new home, from the abundance of talented engineers to cooperate with to the massive variety of work she gets to do. Jane can tell Keeva is smiling ear to ear under her faceplate. "You should come visit some time. All you'd have to do for them to let you onto the ship is transmit that saying I told you. Once they know who you are, they'll let you in with open arms."_

" _Maybe some day. So how's your little cousin? What'd Rael name her?"_

" _Tali. It's a bit more traditional than most but Rael was always a sucker for stuff from the old poets."_

" _How long will she be in that little bubble thing?" The first set of pictures she'd gotten from Keeva had had Jane rolling on the floor laughing. Seeing that baby quarian in a big plastic bubble had simultaneously been the funniest and most adorable thing she'd ever seen. Jane keeps a dozen pictures of Keeva and little Tali tacked up on her wall. Even on the worst days, those pictures make her smile._

" _She'll have to stay in one until she's able to walk easily on her own. Maybe another year, year and a half at the most." The thought of more bubble girl pictures gives her another smile._

 _She can feel another twinge coming. Jane doesn't want Keeva to worry so she wraps things up. "I expect a bunch more pictures. Thanks again Keeva, for everything you've done." After promising more pictures, the quarian woman says goodbye. As soon as the screen goes blank Jane starts hissing through her teeth. It feels like something is crawling under her skin and the muscles in her chest are spasming. She's got maybe an hour before she'll need to go. Spits is nuzzling her leg, trying to help her like he always does. The big goofball might not be able to make the pain go away, but his attempts did help her deal with it._

 _The next call will be annoying, but she still needs to put up with it. It wasn't that he was so willing to obey her that pissed her off. It was that he never, ever,_ _ **ever**_ _questioned her. His complete and utter willingness to bow to her whim without ever raising his own concerns. It never occurred to him that she put value on what he had to say. As usual, within moments, Doth answers. He immediately starts bowing and sucking up, "My lady, it is a great honor to hear from you again. I hope you approve of ours works and forgive our failings and-" she raises a palm to halt his sycophantic spew._

" _Cut the crap Doth. I'm not in the mood." He doesn't get upset at her tone. He never gets upset at her. "Are the ships performing as expected?"_

" _Indeed my lady. In fact, they have exceeded our wildest hopes." After taking control of that shipyard orbiting Jupiter, Jane had ordered that the best ships be completed immediately and had them routed to Omega. Doth and his were using them to mount slave rescues, pirate hunts, and all manner of evil ending missions. "The vast majority of scum in this sector fall for your ruse completely. By the time they discover the truth of their predicament, the Q-ships have crippled their vessels and the assault shuttles are already en route." Initially Jane had been surprised at just how good Doth and his followers were at ship assaults. Then she'd learned that a large number of his converts were ex-military. Men with dark pasts trying to atone for the atrocities they'd committed. It made for a potent force for good, once they were properly motivated._

" _Has Aria given you any trouble?"_

" _No my lady. Oddly enough the harlot queen has actually been helping by providing occasional bouts of Intel. In fact, her forces have directly assisted us in battle in four separate engagements." Interesting. Why would Aria be helping them? What did that arrogant bitch have to gain? Is there something she's trying to make up for?_

" _I don't like that. Don't trust her. Use her Intel but always be ready for betrayal. Never forget that she's only marginally better than the swine you're hunting right now."_

" _Of course. We shall increase our scrutiny of her offers and keep a close eye on her for any sign of betrayal. Do you wish us to make ready to remove her?"_

 _Its tempting, so fucking tempting. But she's still useful… for now. "No, not yet. Contact me with any changes in her patterns of behavior. However, if she gets in the way, you have my permission to make her life a living hell. How have you done this month?"_

" _Even better than projected. We've destroyed thirty two pirate vessels. Their bounties have all been donated to the charities you designated. We've also shut down fifteen slaver cells. Hundreds have been rescued and those who wish are provided safe passage home. However, many choose to stay and help our cause. Most simply wish to fight the same foes as we do. I regret to say that the large majority of them choose not to join our inner circle." One bit of good news._

" _I want you to encourage them not to. You're work is extremely dangerous and I don't want innocent people hurt because of a misguided attempt to appease me." As per usual, Doth doesn't question her._

" _Of course my lady. Do you have any new directives for us in the following month." She spends a moment thinking._

" _I'm sending three more Q-ships. I want you to use them to expand your sphere of engagement to eighty five light years. Your rules of engagement remain the same. No civilian casualties, execute slavers on sight, extract all possible information from pirates before cutting off a hand, killing half their crew, and sending them on their way." It's a strategy that has led to numerous extended battles and grand rescues._

" _Understood my lady. If I might beg a moment of indulgence for a question?" That's new. Intrigued, Jane motions for him to go ahead, "Please forgive my curiosity, but how did you turn a failing shipyard around so quickly and completely."_

 _It had actually been pretty hard to get the damn thing out of the red but Doth doesn't need to know that. "I gave the former controlling interest a choice. He could either end his embezzlement and run the place like an actual business, or I'd find someone who would. His successor is a much wiser man." Especially given the fact that the former manager's head is mounted in the main office as a bit of… inspiration._

 _Doth bows with another bout of sycophantic praise before giving his customary goodbye. "As always I am your humble servant. I am yours until the fires of death take me." Jane nods and the call ends. Then she doubles over in pain. It's like a demon is dragging his claws across her brain and her gut is doing it's best to rip itself free. Spits is whining now. His distress over his inability to make her pain go away keeps him agitated. After cradling her stomach for several minutes, Jane finally straightens out and starts punching in the next sequence. At least this one will be quick._

 _As she waits, Jane feels something trickling down her lip. She dabs a finger on her lip and it comes away stained with dark red blood. Her nose is bleeding. Jane grabs a wad of tissue and shoves some in her nose just before Callen answers. She liked hearing about the mine's progress and Callen was always happy to talk about how well they were doing. Just as she gets her nosebleed under control, Callen's face pops up on her screen. He's wearing one of his favorite dusty brown suits with a yellow bowtie. His massive spectacles give him a slightly bug-eyed appearance that always made her smile. "Ah, Jane. Wonderful to see you again."_

" _Hi Joshua. How are things on the mountain?"_

" _We are proceeding as planned. The final automated boring machines are completed and have joined the others. Production has increased to forty five percent of final projections. Once we're through the bedrock production will max out after about four months."_

" _Glad to hear it. How many men will it take to keep everything running?"_

" _We'll only need about forty to run the machinery but the town that's sprouted up to support our boys already has nearly two hundred." That little town was a fun place. More than once Jane had gone up there with Fel to eat a fortune's worth of BBQ or to have a drinking contest with the miners. Jane still holds the record. Callen looks closely at her face for a minute, adjusting his glasses before a concerned look crops up. "Why do you have tissue in your nose Jane? And you are sweating a lot, are you alright?" She runs a hand across her forehead and it comes away drenched. Crap she really is sweating a lot._

" _It's just the flu. I'll be fine." She should know better. Joshua might prefer to mind his own business and leave people alone, but he still cared._

" _Just the flu huh?" She nods but he's obviously not convinced, "Well then, I trust you'll let Hannah know about this 'flu'. I know you remember what I said about ignoring problems."_

" _Ya, I remember and yes Hannah knows. We're… we're working on it. You don't need to worry."_

 _Callen gives a tight grimace but doesn't force this issue, "Well, in that case, I hope feel better soon. I'll keep you in the loop." As his face fades away, Jane starts seeing double. She can taste blood now and there are tiny specks of golden light falling from her. It hurts_ _ **so much**_ _she can barely breath. The only thing that stops Spits from yelping out to any other member of Jane's pack for help is her left hand clamping his mouth shut. Time is short and she'll need to get out of town very soon. Just one more call. She needs to talk to her again. Jane loves talking to her. The final set of codes is the longest and it takes several hacks through different security files to get to her. Miranda was supposed to be staying hidden and that meant that they needed to be absolutely sure no one could trace their calls. It made the process slower but it's all worth it when the face of her raven haired angel pops up on screen. The young woman is just as pretty as the last time with her beautiful black hair, light blue eyes, tasteful makeup, and fancy white suit._

 _At first she smiles at Jane, as happy to see the girl as Jane is to see her, but that doesn't last long. Miranda wasn't very forgiving of people making stupid decisions and she wasn't afraid to call people out. "Hello Jane I… oh dear God. How bad is it?" Jane can see her reflection on the screen and it's not pretty. Her face is so pale that it's almost alabaster white. The tissues in her nose are dotted with red and she's trembling heavily. "Dammit Jane, you've got to stop putting it off so long. Until you've got this thing under control, you need to stop doing just the things you want to do, and focus on what you have to do."_

 _She can't keep the shame off her face, "I'm… I'm sorry Miri. I was going to take care of it. I just wanted to see you again." Miranda's expression softens a little. "Can we please just talk for a little bit? I promise when we're done I'll go and take care of this right away."_

 _Jane is pretty sure that Miranda wouldn't put up with this from anyone else. The older girl gives a slight smile, "Alright. Five minutes and then you take care of yourself. Deal?" Jane nods enthusiastically._

" _So how are you and Oriana doing?" Miranda's smile is back._

" _Better than ever. My new job is everything I could've ever hoped for and I've found a loving family to take care of Oriana. They'll be able to give her the life our father denied me and would've denied her."_

" _Wait, I thought you'd want to take care of her. Why find a family away from you?"_

" _I want Oriana to have a normal life. That's not something she can have with me around. The family I've put her with will give her everything she needs to find her way in the world, without the insane demands of our father or the very real threat of being discarded if she ever stumbles. And these people don't have any serious emotional baggage for her to deal with. Trust me, I did my research." Miranda was good a finding out about people. "So what about you? Other than ignoring the obvious and very real problems you're facing, what have you been up to?"_

" _I've been working on my training for my biotics, bladework, and finishing up some certifications to expand on my engineering degree. Nowadays, I can actually take on Aethyta and Fel at the same time and still win about half the time. Then there's the coursework for a degree in physics. I'm also helping build some stuff in the colony. The training facility is really popular. About a quarter of the colony is ex-military and a lot of them volunteer there to train people in self-defense. The miners on the mountain really love it. A lot of them spend a couple hours there everyday. At the colonial board meeting in a few weeks, I'm gonna use some friends to try and push for the the construction of some surface to orbit guns and the establishment of a PDF."_

" _PDF?"_

" _Planetary defense force. It's something I read in a sci-fi book but the concept is a good one. It's a planetary militia. With the facilities we have set up and the money from the mountain, Mindoir has the capacity to train and field a good quality defense force. That's especially important given how bad the pirate situation in the traverse has gotten." Dozens of colonies had been attacked and a couple had even been leveled. The alliance was already stretched pretty thin in a borderline cold war with the batarian Hegemony so a lot of colonies were left on their own. It wasn't going well._

 _Miranda opens her mouth to respond but Jane's cry of pain stops her. She doubles over again and this time she can't straighten up. Everything feels like it freezing and melting and ripping and tearing. Now Spits is barking and yelping madly, desperate to help but clueless on how to do it. As horrified as she is, Miranda doesn't hesitate, "Fun's over, I'm calling Hannah."_

 **Hannah**

She was about to win a huge pile of money from Aethyta when her omnitool lights up. Her controls are bypassed in seconds and the face of a familiar young woman pops up, "Miranda? How did you-" The young woman cuts her off and the sounds of Spits yelping and barking drifts down the stairs.

"No time to explain. Jane's is trouble. You need to get to her right now! She's at her comm panel." While she doesn't know a whole lot about the woman that Jane seems so friendly with, Hannah does know that Miranda wasn't one for exaggeration or wasting people's time. Hannah immediately drops her cards and bolts upstairs with Aethyta barely a moment behind. They burst into Jane's room and find her curled up and the ground, violently shaking and gasping for breath. There's blood pouring from her ears, eyes, and nose. Hannah pulls her up and puts her hands on either side of Jane's face. Spits is desperately pawing at her prone form and looking up at Hannah. The girl's eyes are completely dilated. "Jane! Jane come on! Talk to me!"

Aethyta takes one look and knows what to do. She sends out a call of her own, "Fel! Get up to Jane's room on the double, we got an emergency." The bulky krogan only takes a few moments to reach them. As he gets his arms under Jane and hefts her up, Hannah can hear Miranda again.

"I've already called Gavin, he'll be there in moments." As the four of them run downstairs, they can hear the familiar sound of rotors as Gavin rapidly swoops in and lands in front of the house. They all climb aboard without hesitation. Gavin doesn't need to ask what's going on. This isn't the first time, but it is the worst so far. He activates the boosters and Blue is out over the uninhabited plains in minutes.

Once the colony is many miles out of site, Gavin picks a meadow at random and sets down. The moment the skids touch dirt, Aethyta and Hannah drag the bay door open and Fel hops down. He carefully sets Jane on her feet, hoping that she'll be able to stand. The poor girl is completely out of her mind with pain and drunkenly staggers away from the chopper. Hannah tries to follow but Fel wraps an arm around her. "Hannah no! If you're too close when it happens you'll be torn apart!" She doesn't care. Jane needs help. Hannah has to help! Why doesn't he understand?!

"Let go of me! Jane needs help! Let go!" She actually manages to drag Fel about a foot forward before the bulky krogan picks her up and holds her off the ground.

As he pulls Hannah back, Aethyta calls to Gavin, "Take off kid! Get a mile out! We'll call you when it's safe." As Blue lifts off, Aethyta uses a biotic pull to keep Spits away from Jane. He's just as frantic as Hannah and it takes all that she's got to hold him back.

Jane's about thirty yards away when a golden haze surrounds her and the smell of ozone gets a hundred times stronger. They can hear an ear splitting shriek tear across the field as a massive sphere of golden energy blasts out in all directions. Arcs of what looks like amber lightning are stabbing out from the epicenter. The ground shakes for a hundred yards in every direction and the dirt is liquefying under such a hellish barrage of power. Jane is suspended in the air a full meter, screaming loud enough to wake the dead. Her suit is being torn apart, her flesh burned. The light she's emitting is so bright, it hurts just to look at her. A dozen crazed air currents are ripping the surrounding vegetation to tatters. Even the local gravity seems off. One moment it feels like she's standing on luna colony and the next it's like she's crushed by a starship.

It's never been this bad. Her flares needed room to avoid hurting people but they've never been so horrifically terrifying.

Hannah hasn't felt so horrible in fourteen years. Not since she'd cradle her husband's lifeless body and wept over her baby being taken had she felt so worthless. It's the desperation to do something, anything that makes her try to brave the storm. Fel keeps a tight grip on her but she still tries. She has to get to Jane. She has to help her daughter. She can't fail. Not again...

 **Jane**

 _There is no field. No grass or dirt. No earth or sky. No fear or hope. There is no world. There is only pain. Impossible, unimaginable pain. She can't think, her mind is bathed in agony so profound that all else is burned away. Jane can hear someone screaming. Were she in her right mind she would know that it was her own throat giving voice to the hell she has been plunged into. It's not just her body that has found its way into the river_ _Phlegethon. Jane's mind is drowning in sensations no mortal was ever meant to withstand. Pulses of thought that aren't her own tear out of her in random directions as streams of boiling golden power. Everything they touch is obliterated. Trees a hundred yards away are reduced to flinders. Colossal divots are blasted out of the ground. The air itself ignites in flashes of plasma as power cascades out of her in an uncontrolled flood._

 _She can't take it. It's too much. TOO MUCH! A thousand thousand ideas flash through her mind as she feels herself slowly unraveling. Faces of people she can't name. Places she's never been to. Sounds she's never heard. Worlds she's never burned. Plagues she never suffered. Hope she never had. Deaths she never died. Underpinning it all is an abyss of hatred. It's a bottomless well of rage and pain stretching back eons. From that well a single, tiny voice cries out. "This is not how you end." The voice is quiet but strong. It doesn't push away the agony, but it does push away the weakness. "You are not going to die here." Thoughts of rage and revenge pour into her. She sees the first grown people she killed. The first people that deserved to die. She sees_ _ **him**_ _. His vile, reptilian smile. His disgustingly polite demeanor. She_ _ **hates**_ _him. She kills him. "You are not finished."_ _ **He**_ _fades into a new face, a face with four eyes and an alien sneer. Behind this face is something darker. A great black hand is reaching for her and as the pain tries to strip her soul away, the hand closes around her. It's trying to crush her. "What happens here is whatever_ _ **you**_ _allow." Jane somehow manages to pry her eyes open and sees the meadow around her._

 _Everything is standing still. She can see Hannah frantically reaching for her, only held back by a desperate Fel who also has Spits' tail in a death grip. Aethyta is crouched next to them holding up a dark blue barrier in front of them. She has blood running down her face but she's grit her teeth and endures to keep them safe. She looks above and sees a massive column of light spearing into the sky. "Choose your fate. Live… or die. Survive or submit. It's up to you." Jane drops her eyes to the ground directly in front of her. Her shadow is standing in front of her, eyes glowing bright. It's holding a hand in front of her chest and looking her in the eye, as if asking for permission to make contact. Somehow, she manages to nod. Her shadow's hand curls around her heart and unlocks everything she has. That beast inside surges out and takes on the burden of agony. She can breath. She can think. She can fight. Jane gathers every scrap of control she has and channels everything straight up. The already bright column of light above her becomes like a second sun. Beings for a hundred miles look into the sky and see what looks like the spear of God blasting into the air._

 _Slowly, after what feels like hours, the pain starts to fade. The power bleeds away. The beast inside, the beast which had for a moment carried her pain, retreats back into the depths of her soul, it's flesh scorched and bleeding fire. Her shadow pulls its hand away and slowly fades from sight. Jane's light dies down and she's finally released, slowly drifting down to the ground. She feels a moment of relief before crashing to the dirt in a boneless heap. She's completely exhausted and immediately blacks out._

 **Hannah**

It takes several moments to wiggle out of Fel's grip once the horrifying spectacle ends. Once free, Hannah and Spits sprint to Jane. She grabs hold of the girl, desperate for any sign that she'll be ok. Jane isn't moving. The are cuts all over her and her suit is in tatters. Blackened trails of blood paint lines from the corners of her mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears. Jane's hair is wild and scorched in places. Spits is mewling off to the side. It's one of the saddest sounds she's ever heard. As Hannah frantically tries to get some sign of hope from the girl, Aethyta and Fel trot to her side.

Aethyta drops to one knee and runs a scan with her omni-tool. "She's alive. Completely exhausted and dehydrated, but alive. Pick her up Fel, let's get her home."

"I've got her." Hannah stands and despite it being a serious struggle, she lifts Jane in her arms. Fel nods and gives the all clear to Gavin. The young pilot lands gently a few yards away and they help Hannah get Jane into the ship. Once they're all on board, Gavin throttles up and leaves the cratered and glassed field behind.

 **Aethyta**

The flight home is much slower with only the rotors carrying them. For awhile they ride in relative silence, the only sound being Hannah gently singing to Jane. The girl is laying down across half of one row of seats. Hannah is cradling her head in her lap and Spits has his head resting on Jane's legs.

Aethyta's made up her mind. They need to get the ball rolling. "We can't wait anymore." Fel and Hannah look at her. "I'm willing to bet Jane just barely survived that. If it happens again, there ain't fuck all we can do to help her. We gotta get her to my families colony and to the help she needs." Hannah just bobs her head and goes back to singing to Jane.

Fel scratches his chin, "You know it's not that simple Thyta. You don't handle things right and your whole family will get declared traitors."

"I know, I know. I'm working on it." Hannah song stops and she cocks an eyebrow.

"What are you two talking about? Why would you be a traitor for helping Jane?" Aethyta grimaces at the idea of sharing such an ancient embarrassment, but Hannah deserves to know why it'll still take a few months to get going.

"Long time ago, about fifteen thousand years, one of my ancestors made a deal with the ancient asari Queens. In exchange for autonomy in perpetuity over our colony, my ancestor swore to never allow those outside our family on the planet without the Queens' permission. The agreement's a bit outdated but it's still binding under the modern system." Hannah looks a little panicked now.

"If you can't bring in people outside the family then how were you going to help Jane?"

"Well, there's only about nine dynastic lines of Queens left, most died out when the Asari started gettin all frisky with the idea of democracy, and I've got four of them on my side. I just need to convince one more and then Jane's free and clear forever."

"Then what's the problem?" That an uncomfortable question.

"Well uhh, it's uhh, kinda… you." Even Fel arcs an eyebrow at how awkward that was.

"How is she a problem Thyta? Is it cause she's an alien? That's a pile of varren shit. They let me go." She'd only told Fel about the risk she faced, not the reason.

"That's because you're married to my sister. Technically you are family. Hannah and Jane aren't and some of those uppity bitches think I'm already pushing the limits of acceptability bringing Jane. I've been trying to convince them that you need to be there for her and I'm wearing them down. It's gonna take a little while longer."

Hannah bows her head and looks at Jane's face for a long time. She gently runs her palm along the girl's cheek, wiping away some of the dried blood, "If it comes down to it, if her life depends on it, don't you dare keep trying that." Aethyta is stunned by the venom in Hannah's voice. "If those rotten bitches think I'm such an affront to their delicate sensibilities then you take Jane and get her the help she needs. And when you're done you tell those lousy twats to suck a big one." It makes Aethyta's happy anytime someone has something bad to say about the Queens. She holds a hand out to Hannah.

The human woman takes it and shakes, "It's a deal babe."

They can hear Fel chuckling from the side, "Well since it'll piss off the powers that be for yet _another_ alien to come, I'll be sure to book passage right after you guys go. That way you can't be blamed for another alien showing up and they can't turn me away because I'm technically family." It's smiles all around. "It'll be good to see the kids again."

 **Unknown**

 **WARNING… WARNING… WARNING…**

 **Omega Level Signal Detected**

 **The Fulcrum Has Accessed Deeper Levels of Astro-Temporal Awareness**

 **The Call Has Been Heard**

 **Potential of Threat Level Increase is Extreme**

 **Engagement Required**

 **Fulcrum's Potential Location Has Been narrowed**

 **Possible Locations…**

 **Inhabited Worlds - 3**

 **Uninhabited Worlds - 0**

 **Identifying Potential Locations…**

 **Colony Alacas - Population 8600**

 **Colony Benedict - Population 3800**

 **Colony Mindoir - Population 9500**

 **All Must Be Assaulted**

 **Tertiary Agent Jortan Will Serve**

 **Artifact Designated "Oracle" Has Served Its Purpose**

 _Date_ _: 9.1.2169_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Jortan**

Soon. Soon he'll have her. The priests have revealed the last three places she could be hiding. Three colonies that need to be leveled. He'll need to be careful. If they go too fast, the response will come way too soon. They'll need to spread the destruction out over a few years to avoid the council's personal attention. Twenty thousand people dying overnight drew a bit too much attention. He needs guidance. Thankfully, in their divine wisdom, the old gods have seen fit to bless him with one of their "Oracles". This miraculous artifact let him commune with them directly. As he approaches the Oracle, he runs a hand along one of its tendrils. It looks so much like a dark blue, metallic hanar. Faint lines of entrancing blue light dance along its surface.

Jortan places a hand upon the glowing orb at the center of the oracle and a flood of whispers pour into his mind. The voices are varied and they have so much to say, but by listening closely he can hear their wisdom. They approve of his plan and many even praise him for his foresight and caution. They're saying that he needn't change anything, that his plan is perfect. Having the faith in his plan reaffirmed, Jortan steps away and calls in his new second. The young turian snaps a sharp salute before standing at a perfect parade rest. No more slouches in his inner circle, "Taracus, recall all units and make ready for a new campaign. I want full loadouts for every man in our army and I want the tanks in perfect shape. We have our targets. Once we're ready to attack, we'll hit all three in rapid succession. Akshar will fall and after that…" He steps over to his grand window and looks out over the surface of Torfan, "After that we get started on the rest of the humans." The young turian snaps another salute and marches out. Jortan spends hours looking over his base, listening to the whispers still bouncing around inside his head.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28 - Decisions**

 _Date_ _: 9.5.2169_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

A full gathering has never been so quiet. Before today, there had always been a council member or two clamouring for attention or just looking to air some doubts. But not today. Today Hackett is the only one that seems to have any idea what to say. He wonders what they'd think if they knew just how lost he was. The report from Jane's observers had him wringing his hands in gut-wrenching anxiety over what to do. When he'd first learned of her almost two years ago, Hackett had thought he understood what he was dealing with. She was supposed to be the key to stopping what they all knew was coming. Like a key to the most important door in the universe. What happened a few days ago has dispelled that wonderfully simplistic idea. Based on what the old stories said, it seemed likely that Jane would end up like many of the others forced to carry her burden. Just another tortured soul, lost in the abyss of the coming doom.

Her 'incident' had been partially witnessed by almost four hundred people. None had directly seen her, but many had seen the spear of light in the sky or the remains of the meadow. The colony administrators currently had the site of her episode locked down and were going over it with a fine toothed comb. Their official position on the matter was that the location had been the site of an illegal weapons experiment. When his people had broken into the administrators' private files, they'd found a feverish curiosity coupled with a profound and a relieving ignorance of the truth. Despite that, many of his closest advisors believed it was only a matter of time before some scrap of information regarding what happened leaked out. They needed to make sure Jane wasn't on Mindoir when that happened. The risk of discovery was too high.

"At 0150 hours on August 30th the Fulcrum endured the most powerful biotic flare ever recorded. The resulting explosive expulsion of energy glassed a large swath of a two hundred meter wide meadow and did catastrophic damage to the surrounding forest. There were no fatalities, but the Fulcrum herself was nearly killed by the incident. Our reports indicate that she was brought to that field in a deliberate attempt to prevent any innocent casualties. Since the incident, the Fulcrum has show no signs of further flaring. However, this is most likely due to a massive increase in personal meditation. Our agents on the ground report that since the incident, she has spent close to five hours everyday performing the advanced biotic meditative technique known colloquially as the cruciform. Such meditation requires a massive expenditure of energy and will hopefully help her avoid another flare of such… disturbing potency."

"It will help in the short term." Finally someone else. Asari obviously speaks from experience but her voice is shaky, "Such meditation will burn away excess energy easily. However, in the long term, it will also increase personal reserves and given what happened, I cannot see that increase as anything other than dangerous at this point. If we cannot help her overcome this problem, then it is only a matter of time before this happens again." A few quiet murmurs between councilers sound out, but none hold any real weight. Most of it is just fearful mumbling.

"With great worry, what are we to do? How are we to assist the Fulcrum in overcoming this darkness? With horrified overtones, if a powerful asari matriarch cannot solve the problem, then who can possibly help?" For once, most of the council is just as afraid as Elcor.

"From what this one understands, there is already a plan in motion, set forth by the matriarch herself." The entire council listens carefully.

Hackett is pinning his hopes on this, "That is correct. The problem was identified several months ago by the matriarch and since then she has been attempting to convince the remaining asari Queens to allow her to bring the Fulcrum to a secluded colony and provide highly specialized training."

Turian leaps on this hope, "Then what are we waiting for? If the problem is known and we have a viable solution, why is this meeting even taking place? Why by the spirits is the Fulcrum still on that colonial backwater instead of leaving with the matriarch and getting the training that she needs?"

"As this one has been informed, the Queens are reluctant to allow the Fulcrum's adoptive mother to accompany her."

Hackett nods to Hanar, "That is correct. Due to the terms of an ancient agreement, the matriarch is unable to bring both the Fulcrum and her mother without approval from the majority of the Queens." Now it's Batarian's turn to vent.

"Why the fuck is this even an issue Asari?! Your people haven't been beholden to hereditary monarchies for millennia!"

"That is correct. However, the modern courts still honor even the most ancient of legal agreements. The matter is not a lost cause though. The matriarch can convince them to allow the Fulcrum and her guardian, she just needs more time."

Salarian lets out a bitter chuckle, "Ha, time is the one thing we don't have. We need to clear the way for the Fulcrum. Now. I put forth a proposal to have at least two of the Queens opposing the plan assassinated immediately." Everyone goes completely silent. The council had used assassination before, but never on anyone of such cultural importance, let alone two of them. Asari is nearly apoplectic.

"You putrid, hateful vermin! The Queens are the last vestiges of our most ancient traditions! I don't expect a soulless worm like you to understand, but to simply cast them aside is to spit upon our people's ancient and treasured history!"

"And to let them continue to bar the way is to burn all our peoples' futures to ash…" No response. As much as she no doubt would hate to admit, there is no possible argument in her favor at this point. "I call for a vote. We do not have time to waste anymore. No matter how painful it is, we must move forward or we risk sliding into the same oblivion as the trillions that came before us." No one speaks. Eventually each council member casts their vote, one by one. Nine for the plan, one undecided. In the end, even Asari votes in favor, bringing the total to a unanimous ten. The eleventh member of the council has yet to be replaced. "And so it is decided. Asari… I know this is a truly dark request, but we need to know which Queens will cause the least damage in death."

"No you don't. I understand the council's will and the importance of this terrible deed. I shall handle it. It is only right that I handle it." Before anyone can respond, Asari's channel closes.

The rest of them stay quiet for some time. None had wanted to do something like this. Hackett decides to bring things to a close, "I think that's enough for today gentlemen. Are there in other matters that need to be brought forward?" Silence, "Then I call this council adjourned."

 _Date_ _: 9.6.2169_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _There is pain, but it is a good pain. It's the type of pain that she welcomes. It's the kind of pain that she has chosen. Jane is in the air, holding the cruciform for the fifth time this week. Since Aethyta had taught Jane how to do it, she had only used it occasionally. After last week that's not an option anymore. She could still feel ripples of what happened. The flare still echoed around in her mind, and she is still struggling to understand. Jane knows why it happened, the reason being her own bullheadedness towards taking care of herself. What she couldn't understand was that new voice. It wasn't like the others. Where they were aetherial, this one was clear. Where the others constantly competed for attention, they all made way for this one. Who is this new voice? Is it one of her predecessors or is it something else? Why was this the first time she's ever heard it?_

 _The questions have tortured her since she'd woken up the evening following the flare. Hannah had been sleeping in a chair next to Jane's bed, holding her hand in what a normal person would have thought was a death grip. To Jane it had only been a bit tight. The clock had told her she'd slept for almost seventeen hours. As she'd gotten up Hannah had woken and latched onto her with surprising strength. They talked for awhile and Jane had finally agreed to go to Asari space. Once Aethyta gets the all clear, they'll leave immediately. After convincing Hannah that she was OK for the time being, an achievement in and of itself, Jane had started the cruciform. Everyday she spent a little longer in the air._

 _After four hours, Jane finally lets herself down. She towels off the sweat and a few beads of blood before getting dressed. Seeing the shredded remains of her suit had been rough. Right now she has to settle for some of the backup clothes Keeva had commissioned for her back on Omega. They were a little too small now and didn't quite cover enough anymore, but a long coat kept anyone from seeing too much and she had a heavy belt to keep it in place. She'd called Vollo and commissioned a new suit. The lovable jelly had been beside himself with grief that his creation had failed her. After declaring his shame to the heavens in a shockingly long winded and theatrical speech, Vollo had sworn that he would replace the suit for free. He promised that the new suit would be coveted by the Enkindlers themselves._

 _Once she's cleaned up, Jane goes to head out. It's only possible after prying Hannah off her. Her adoptive mother has become more protective than ever. Hannah now calls her multiple times everyday to make sure she's ok and she always checks Jane gear belt to make sure she has enough ration packs and medi-gel capsules. Jane and Spits quickly make their way through town to the council meeting hall. They meet Gavin out front and Jane heads inside with him after telling Spits to take a nap out front. Most of the colonists were used to seeing him and won't think twice about it. Once inside, Jane looks around the small stadium to take in the faces of the five hundred that have decided to come today. She can see the five members of the colonial development board sitting behind a simple table up front. There's a mid quality portrait of each board member hanging on the wall behind them. Each member has gotten in her way at some point before now, but not today. Jane's made sure she has allies in the room. She spots Cira on the other side of the room. The young woman had promised to support her at the council meeting after Jane had helped her recover an entire semester of classwork from a corrupted data drive. Cira sees Jane and waves happily._

 _As Jane continues scanning the room, she picks up on some more of her friends. Up front is Callen dressed in his best pinstripe suit, there by invitation of the development board themselves. The mine was pouring money into the colony via local taxes, as well as goods and services the people were gleefully providing for a reasonable fee. His invitation was more of an expression of thanks than any serious attempt to include him in the colony's business. Jane hears a forced cough behind her and turns to see who is trying to get her attention. It's Mayor Michaels from Kestra, here to follow through on his promise of support. The portly man is wearing a well worn suit paired with a dark blue tie. He dabs his forehead with a red handkerchief and nods to her. She nods back before resuming her search of the room._

 _A few rows down she spots Frank and a few other local business owners that were particularly found of her. Then on the far left, Jane spies Arnold Capp the retired Alliance general that she'd gotten to run the holo facility. Next to him is Jean De Vue, the spaceport administrator who currently owed Jane almost thirty thousand credits due to a number of loans she'd given to help her in… troubled times. In the second row Jane sees the mayors of the other nine hamlets scattered across the hemisphere. Each one either owed her money or favours and today she was going to collect._

 _Her scanning of the room hasn't gone unnoticed. Three of the board members are frowning at her. They know why she's here but haven't figured out just how much influence she has now. They aren't gonna stop her this time. As the last few people attending take their seats the board leader stands and calls the meeting to order, "Hello everyone and thank you for attending. I would like to apologize for the long delay for this meeting. As you all know there have been a number of incidents in the fields this year that required a lot of extra hands to deal with." Most of the people in the room nod solemnly. A few heavy pest infestations had kept putting the crops in danger and a lot of people had to been sent out to take care of them. "The main topic of today's meeting is the growing agitation over certain unfortunate events that have befallen or neighboring systems." The response is less than cordial._

 _Frank is the first to make himself heard, "Unfortunate! You call slaver raids and hundreds of people being murdered unfortunate! What the hell's wrong with you?!" Since the last meeting, more than a dozen colonies had been hit hard. Some had been hit so badly that the survivors had abandoned them altogether. Most of the people in the room shout their agreement and the board leader raises his hands trying to placate the crowd._

" _Please! Everyone calm down! We are not trying to belittle the suffering of our neighbors. We are simply trying to state the situation in a non inflammatory manner." Most of the people quiet down after another bout of angry grumbling. "Now, I know you are all concerned over what has happened. Many of you demand action. Therefore we will now open the floor to anyone willing to put forth ideas to improve local security." Jane elbows Gavin in the gut._

" _Huh… oh right." The young man stands up and raises a hand. The board leader sees him standing next to her and Jane can tell he's grinding his teeth. While she knows he doesn't want to acknowledge Gavin, legally he has to._

" _Yes Mr. Farris. What is your proposal?" Gavin freezes as the entire room turns to him. Dammit. She's actually going to have to hold his hand through this._

 _She uses her omnitool to tap into the comm bead in his ear. Then she whispers into her tool, too quiet for the room to hear but just loud enough for him to pick up over the comm. "Tell them that given what's been happening around the sector you think forming a militia is a good idea."_

 _He takes a few deep breaths before finally talking, "Well uh, I uh was just thinking that umm, since a bunch of crazy stuff is going on in other uhh systems then we might sorta, wanna form a militia."_

" _Real fuckin eloquent Shakespeare." The young man's face reddens slightly as he sits, "Sorry. Don't worry about it. I've got more than enough support today. I'll buy you some food at Frank's later as a thank you." He gives her a slight smile as the board leader answers._

" _While we appreciate your concern Mr. Farris, the board does not believe that a peaceful colony such as Mindoir is in enough danger to justify the formation of a militia." The bloated idiot launches into an obviously pre rehearsed speech on how a militia would just make things worse. Jane taps a new call address into her omnitool and she's glad to see Mayor Michaels answer right away. All she does is nod and the call immediately closes. She doesn't turn as Michaels stands and clears his throat. The look on the board leader's face as his meticulously prepared speech is cut off mid flow is absolutely hilarious. Jane can barely keep a straight face as the board is forced to respond, "We recognize Mayor Michaels of Kesta township." The crowd turns to the portly man as he starts to speak._

" _With all due respect to the 'honorable' board members," his disdain is palpable, "the people of Kestra have seen first hand the price of relying solely on a volunteer peacekeeper force in extreme circumstances. While they do a good job keeping drunks of the streets and dealing with domestic disputes, not one person here can honestly tell me that untrained volunteers can handle the greater threats that our home has. A single stone bear wandered into Kestra several months ago and leveled half the town. The peacekeepers simply did not have the tools or training to handle the matter. The only reason no one died is because of an off world warrior with centuries of combat experience came to our rescue and even he was nearly killed." The entire crowd is nodding along with the story. The story had reached every ear in the colony and was still a pretty popular tale. "We need a corps of properly trained and equipped men and women to handle the threats that our peacekeepers can't. I also call for the formation of a militia." A small cheer goes up and the other town mayors all add their voices to it._

 _The board leader is about to call for order when Cira stands and raises her hand. The board leader sighs in relief, obviously thinking Cira, being the sweet and peaceful person she is, will be on his side. The young teacher clears her throat as the room quiets down. "Hello everyone. As you know my name is Cira Halstrom and my husband is Thomas Halstrom. Since we came here I've been teaching at the school. My husband works in the fields with a lot of you during the warm season." Several heads bob up and down. The Halstroms were well respected by the colony at large. "What some of you might not know is that during the cold season Thomas works on one of the freight ships for the route from here to Tiptree. He makes good money and for awhile he really enjoyed it. Then the pirate attacks started getting worse and worse. It's only sheer luck that his ship hasn't been attacked more than once but he's told me a few things about what's happening out there. Most of the colonies that have been attacked were just as peaceful as Mindoir and most weren't near as wealthy as we are. He might not even take the job this year since the number of peaceful freight ships being attacked has gone up so much. If we just keep everything the way it is then what's keeping the bad guys from coming for us? I believe we need to be ready in case the worst happens. I want to call for a militia too." Half the people in the room clap as Cira finishes._

 _It goes on and on. A dozen more colonists stand up to add their voice to the call. The crowd gets more and more excited with every new supporter. The board struggles to get the room under control as Callen decides to weigh in. The board leader holds a hand out to him, "The board recognizes Mr. Joshua Callen of Callen Mineral Tech. Surely you can help the people understand how starting a militia would only bring unsavoury attention to us."_

 _Callen clears his throat and speaks calmly, "While I myself am a peaceful man, I am also a realist. Before coming to Mindoir, I consulted the Alliance's index of hostile intent. It is a database established to track the patterns of pirate behavior. It indicated that, while relatively low at the time, the pirate threat in this region would steadily rise if the military presence did not increase. Indeed, the fact that Mindoir hasn't been hit yet is due to the fact that until recent years, the Alliance has been aggressive in its defense of the colonies. Growing pressure from the Citadel community has forced them to adopt a number of absurd reactionary policies that have left many colonies on their own. Five years ago your policy of unarmed pacifism would have been safe enough, because there were men and woman actively hunting piratical scum before they could harm innocents. That is no longer the case. Therefore, the only possible way to insure the colony's continued survival and prosperity is to immediately form a militia and arm them with the best tools available."_

 _A round of applause keeps the board from responding for several minutes. Apparently Frank is tired of waiting. The giant of a man hops up on his chair and starts shouting at the board, "It's pretty obvious what the people want! Why the hell are you still against it?! I say screw you! I invoke the clause three of the colony charter and demand a public vote!" Jane had been hoping for this. Clause three meant that if a single member of the colony's development board agreed with the call, then whatever issue was in question would be put to the general population for an immediate vote. A vote the council had no control over. Luckily she didn't have to_ _ **hope**_ _one board member would support it. She had come prepared._

 _Most of the board members look like fish out of water. None seem to understand what's happening. None, except Titus West, the oldest of the group. He was one of the founding colonists and the first member of the board. He'd voluntarily taken a secondary role on the council years ago, citing his advanced age as his reason for taking the back seat. A few weeks ago he'd had an accident whilst hiking on Jane's mountain, now named Jane's Peak, much to her annoyance. She'd stumbled across him while exercising and carried him to the mine's med center. The old man had been so grateful that he'd agreed on the spot to help her during the next board meeting. Right now he was just sitting back enjoying the show. Jane manages to catch his eye and the elderly man nods. West stands and taps his cane until the room goes quiet. "As a member of the colonial development board, I hereby voice my support for a clause three vote on this issue." The room erupts with applause. Soon a signal is sent to every citizen via omnitools, comm stations, and half a dozen other forms of communication devices. In less than an hour the vote is in. Ninety five percent of the people have voted in favor and most have even written in a caveat demanding that the militia be out out the board's control._

 _West smiles, "It's decided. A militia is to be formed immediately. Of course we will need a someone to lead it." Jane quickly sends a message to administrator De Vue, along with a little monetary incentive to obey her instructions. The nervous woman stands up with almost obscene haste. The crowd quickly zeros in on her._

" _I would like to nominate General Capp." The people seem pretty enthusiastic about the idea. The general himself feigns surprise and humility at the idea, but he had known full well what would happen today. He'd helped Jane plan the whole thing._

 _General Capp stands and raises both hands to quiet the crowd. Once everyone settles down, the general steps to the front of the room. His hands are behind his back and his easily projects his voice to the entire room, "Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your vote of confidence. While I came to Mindoir for retirement, I find myself pining for a bit of excitement. If you'll have me, I will gladly accept this responsibility." The crowd stands to applaud for a few minutes. Jane spends the whole time looking straight into the board leaders eyes, smiling wide. Eventually the applause dies down and several groups break off to discuss details. Many are perplexed when an anonymous third party provides an unsourced donation to cover the costs. When Jane decides to head out, she meets Gavin by the door._

" _Holy crap Jane, I never thought it would actually work." She raises an eyebrow and stares at him for a bit. He has the good sense to look embarrassed over his lack of faith, "Right, sorry. So… what do we do now."_

" _Right now,_ _ **you**_ _go to Frank's and get something good," Jane transfers enough credits to him for a huge meal, "and I go take care of something private. In the next few weeks we start training people how to fight and start building things to improve the colony's defensibility."_

" _You're not coming to Frank's?"_

" _No, I've got something I need to do. Have a nice night Gavin." Jane leaves Gavin behind and heads home with Spits trotting alongside. By the time she gets home, that old tingling sensation is back in her hands. She doesn't stop to do anything she enjoys before heading outback. Once behind the house, Jane spreads her arms and lets her power lift her up. She'll need to hold the cruciform until the tingling goes away. She can her Hannah come out after a short time, but she doesn't come down. Hannah will understand. She'll grab hold of Jane and hug her close afterwards, but she'll stay back for now._

 _Date_ _: 10.21.2169_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"Are these reports accurate Human? The Fulcrum is raising an army?" There's a bit of genuine respect in Turian's voice.

"Not quite. She spearheaded the formation of a militia and has taken a leading role in it alongside a retired Alliance general."

"This one has heard many positive things about this redoubtable soldier. As this one understands, he is a veteran of over twenty victorious campaigns against a wide array of nefarious characters." That's an understatement. General Capp had led the Alliance's most brutal combat missions in the years before the Shanxi incident, during the real first contact war. Nearly all his files were sealed at clearances above top secret. Even the Citadel Council didn't know about them.

"That is correct. The general is a highly respected and qualified man. He's perfect to guide the newly minted 'Mindoir 1st' and the Fulcrum has proven to be a colossal boon to that endeavor." If he didn't know anything about Jane, he'd have been astonished that the people of Mindoir gave a damn about what she had to say. Despite the fact that she's still technically a child, Jane has become General Capp's most important instructor. Hackett's men on the ground have observed her teaching the volunteers how to shoot, dress wounds, how to fight with their hands, even the best ways to kill specific aliens. They're at the earliest stages, but things are looking good so far. "The militia already lists more than four hundred full-time members, one thousand weekend volunteers, and plans are in the works to have the entire population learn the basics of self defense within nine months."

"With nervous perplexion, why is the Fulcrum seeking to train colonists in the art of battle? What are her plans?"

"This one believes the honorable Fulcrum has studied the growing pirate threat in the region and is seeking to arm the noble colonists with the skills and technology necessary to protect themselves should the worst happen."

"Why has the situation in the Traverse deteriorated so badly?" Krogan had railed against the signs of weakness the Alliance has been showing for the last few years. In truth, Hackett agreed wholeheartedly but had been overruled by his fellow admirals every time.

Batarian doesn't hesitate to answer, "Because the weaklings on the Citadel Council believe the Hegemony will stop their tacit support of the murderers, slavers, and rapists currently running wild across the Traverse if the Alliance is less hostile towards them." A state of virtual cold war existed between the Alliance and the Hegemony, and the sanctimonious bastards on the Citadel Council had thought the Alliance's proactive policing actions were the cause. They had placed sanctions in order to 'promote a more peaceful and open discussion'. The result has been gruesome.

"It would be best if we move the Fulcrum as soon as possible. I can have a Hierarchy warship diverted to pick up her and her entourage by the end of this year."

"That won't be necessary Turian." Asari has been subdued the entire meeting. Her voice is thin and wavering. "Certain… arrangements have been made to clear the way for her and her own. As much as I despise admitting it, the plan we agreed to has proven to be necessary. I have discovered that the five Queens opposing the Fulcrum's visit to our space not only plan to permanently block her mother's entrance, but they intend to block the Fulcrum herself." Hackett had heard the rumors. A series of vicious power plays and attempted Coup d'etat had struck the more conservative layers of asari society. Many older circles were tightening security and the results were less than helpful. "I can assure this council that the… necessary changes will soon be implemented and those that survive will change their tone… or be removed."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29 - When the Rain Comes**

 _Date_ _: 11.30.2169_

 _Location : High Orbit - Colony_ _Benedict_

 **Taracus**

They're finally on the true hunt. The boss has been preaching to them for almost two years about the dangers of the monster they're after, and now they're really doing something about it. At first, Taracus had thought the claims were insane. Who wouldn't? A little human girl that could slaughter battle-hardened mercs like an adult could crush insects? Absurd! At least that's what he used to think. Then he'd started watching the security tapes they had. The Shadow Broker had sent them hundreds and it helped the boss rally thousands to his cause. Most were batarians but plenty of krogan, salarians, and Taracus' own people had signed up with the Wake. The things that monster had done to turian captives had been reason enough for him to join.

And now here they are, high above one of the three places she was suspected of hiding at. It's not much to look at from here. Barely a speck on their sensors and the reports from the boys on the ground paint a dull picture. Benedict is just another tiny mining colony with a few thousand rats pulling metal out of the dirt. The boss had already called it. She's not here. No one had put up a real fight. Hell, they hadn't found more than a couple crappy pistols. "Taracus, status report."

"Shuttles are docking now sir. Three minutes until everyone's back." Jortan sits there fuming for the short time it takes for docking to finish. The last shuttle got clipped by some lightning on the way back up. Taracus watches as the smoke trailing shuttle thumps down in the docking bay floor and fire suppression crews rush out to keep the burning engine under control. "Everyone's back sir. What are your orders?" Taracus has a pretty good idea what Jortan will do, but he waits for the order. That's what a good soldier does.

"This little pisshole has been a waste of time. I should have known she wouldn't settle for somewhere so small and meaningless. No she'll be somewhere with connections, somewhere that's actually at least somewhat important. Tell the transports to head back to the staging area. Refuel, rearm, and have the raiding fleets head out to draw the response as far away as possible. We'll need to make sure the way is clear for the next attack."

"Sending the orders now." It's time. He can barely contain his excitement. "What about the colony sir?"

Jortan stands and spreads his arms in the viewer's direction as if offering up his own heart. "We should free the survivors from their pitiful existence. Purify it." In moments Taracus can feel a slight vibration as the Spite and a dozen other warships open fire. Taracus watches the enchanting sight for several minutes. Disposable drones send images from the surface. He can see the shells falling from orbit. Each one tears a giant divot in the ground. The few untouched building are blasted to pieces and the survivors along with them. For the first time in history, it's raining on the colony of Benedict.

 _Date_ _: 12.12.2169_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Fel**

It's a sight that warms his heart. Dozens of men and women marching in lockstep as a pair of retired Alliance drill instructors bellow instructions. It's been a longtime since he's participated in something like this. Jane really has worked a miracle. That Capp guy's done pretty good too. The 'Mindoir 1st', as Jane insisted on calling it, is rapidly becoming a disciplined and coherent fighting force. They've even managed to get some real combat experience thanks to answering a few distress calls from freighters at the edge of the system. A couple pirates thought the system would be easy pickings. Now they were just heaps of slag drifting through space. Jane had led the first boarding action to rescue the captured freighter crew members, but she'd let the militia members fight as hard as they could. Then she let them off their leash for the next three. There were injuries but no deaths yet.

Right now, Jane is shouting at a group of recruits on the firing range. He has to chuckle at the sight. Grown men and women cowering at the sight of a bellowing child, Though from a distance, she doesn't look very childlike anymore. Jane's almost six feet tall now and with her new suit on she looks like she's covered in old blood. That hanar friend of hers had gone all out. The new suit had self adjusting seals, expanded pocket space, enhanced medi gel dispensers, two built in shield generators, and a power supply strong enough to keep them going under heavy fire. Jane had been positively giddy over the new suit and had wasted no time. Even Fel though it was a work of art, mostly because he recognized several of the patterns running up her back, arms, and hood. They harkened back to a time when the quarians and the krogan were far far closer. Jane doesn't know it yet, but there's a story written in those spirals.

Fel himself is leading a lesson on hand to hand combat. These farmers might not be warriors, but they're the perfect mix of strong and stubborn. Even the weakest of them refuse to back down until they get something right. Like the little runt in front of him now. "Again Taglin." The little man with the blonde hair and black eye gets back on his feet and squares up across from Fel. He raises his fists and advances. Fel's been teaching them how to deflect a melee attack. It usually takes a few tries plus a couple loosened teeth, but they get it eventually. The little man advances as Fel takes his swing. Taglin throws his arm up at just the right time but over commits. It knocks him off balance just enough for him to absorb the blow on his shoulder instead of his face. He staggers heavily but stays on his feet this time. "Gettin better Taglin." The little man nods his thanks and gets back in front of Fel. "Again."

 **Jane**

" _Dammit Hollis! Squeeze the trigger! Don't pull! Tine! Look through the scope! Don't lean against it! The fuck are you waiting for Jonas?! You spend a week lining up a shot in battle and you'll get everyone around you killed!" Her throat's a little sore from yelling all day, but Jane is still having fun. The colonists are getting better. Pretty soon even the worst fighter won't need someone to hold their hand. Jane is leisurely strolling behind the line of militiamen as they take shots at targets down range. Her hands weren't tingling yet so she has a while before she'll need to go home. At first the people hadn't taken her seriously when she'd offered to start teaching people how to shoot. Those dicks had laughed when she'd stepped in front of them on the firing range. It was the first time she'd gotten to fire her new twin guns in front of anyone. She hadn't even named them yet. The result was a hell of a good time. She'd drilled shots into every target from twenty to a hundred yards, and that was only with the single fire trigger. By the time she used the full auto triggers, no one was laughing and everyone was paying attention. Fel had made a killings on the bets that day._

 _As she continues to shout helpful, if somewhat insulting advice, Jane occasionally fires a full auto burst over the heads of the nearest recruits. One serious problem they'd run into is that a lot of the colonists tended to panic when the bullets started flying around them. They'll need to break that instinct. As she steps up behind Frank, Jane aims both her guns over his head and fires off a long burst. To his credit, Frank barely budges. He's really turned out to be the most unshakable militia member so far. It's why Capp made him a team leader. Jane can see his accuracy stays high despite her earnest attempt to spook him. She pats him on the shoulder and moves on._

 _A few hundred yards away, Jane spots Blue banking tightly over the assault course. Gavin was getting better and better at combat drops and Blue was no longer just a simple chopper. The rotor ship pilot had evolved into, as General Capp called him, the deadliest tour guide in the galaxy. Nowadays Blue was packing hull mounted rocket pods, a heavy duty shield, advanced refractive armor, four bay guns for its passengers, and a heavy rail cannon running along the belly. She wasn't as fast as a dedicated interceptor, but she had enough firepower to take on multiple military grade gunships and win._ _Blue could also deliver a full squad to any spot on the battlefield despite heavy AA fire. If the colony gets hit, Gavin and Blue will be critical to keeping it safe._

 _She reaches the end of the line and is about to turn back and walk it again when her omnitool chimes. She's got a message from Hannah asking if she's ok and one from Capp. She responds to Hannah with a picture to prove she's fine and a promise that everything is going well. Then she heads to Capp's tower. The general had convinced her to invest in a command center that extended below ground almost a hundred meters and only twenty above. It wasn't finished yet, despite the huge amount of money she was pouring into it, but it'll be worth it in the end. The office on the surface was just for general use. In the event of an actual attack, it became one of only three entrances into the colony's soon to be finished shelter, along with the entrances under the school and the spaceport. The place could take a nuke strike and still be perfectly safe… hopefully._

 _She finds the general in the elevated comm tower, a place he calls the crow's nest. There are a few volunteers working the comm systems. When Capp sees her, he waves her over with a grim look on his face. "Looks like you called it Jane." Shit._

" _Who got hit?" She'd been tracking colony attacks for a while now and all signs had pointed to a rapidly escalating threat. She'd predicted that the next attack would completely destroy the target._

" _Benedict, mining colony about eighty light years out. By the time Alliance reinforcements arrived," The general brings up images from the first responders, "there was nothing to save." Weaver's data mining was better than ever. These scans and images would barely have filtered through Alliance command yet and they sure as hell hadn't been released to the public. She'd be happy with Weaver's work, but smiling at what she sees is out of the question. Benedict had been a small but prosperous colony. Now there's nothing more than a field of craters. "What we've got now could put up a hell of a fight, but we won't stand a chance against an orbital strike."_

" _Then we'll need to expand the plans. I'll take care of orbital defenses. Can you pull any strings and get some patrols in this sector."_

" _I don't have the pull I used to, but I'll make some calls." The general lights up a pipe and takes a few drags. Sweet scented smoke starts filling the room until one of the nearby volunteers turns the ventilation up. "So, as far as orbital defense goes, what do you have in mind?"_

 _Date_ _: 1.21.2169_

 _Location : Colony_ _Alacus_

 **Jortan**

The screams are music to his ears. This dirt hole had actually managed to put up a fight and his boys were reveling in it. The outcome had never been in doubt but the catharsis of battle was good for the spirit. Some of his men had complained about not being allowed to take slaves from the last colony so Jortan had let the boys take a pound of flesh for themselves this time. The holds are full and they're getting ready to leave as he ends his stroll along what used to be a tree lined boulevard. This place was just a ugly as most human settlements but at least there had been a few warriors here. Like the man in chains kneeling before him. He'd killed twelve of Jortan's best with a shotgun and a sledgehammer. As he steps up and looks down on the human, the wretch hocks up a load of phlegm and spits on Jortan's boot. Taracus slams his fist into the human's gut and lands a few solid kicks for good measure. The chains are the only thing keeping him up as he vomits what little was in his stomach onto the pavement. The young turian draws a jagged dagger and holds it to the man's throat, "Misbehave again human, and I'll skin one the kids we caught." The man bows his head and doesn't move again."

Jortan lowers himself to the man's level and pulls up an image on his omnitool. He reads the name tag on the man's uniform, "I'll make you a deal… Wilson. You tell me where this little monster is, and I'll let you and the kids we rounded up, go free." The brutalized man looks up through swelling eyes. His eyes lock onto the image and he stares for a while. The human is trying not to show it, but Jortan can tell he recognizes the crimson haired bitch on the screen. "Think long and hard about your answer. I can tell you've seen her before. You tell me where you saw her or…" He gestures to one of his men. The hulking batarian drags over a young girl bearing a striking resemblance to the man, "I'll have to ask this one. And I promise, I won't be as polite if I have to do that." He draws his own knife and stomps over to the girl. He grabs the kid by the throat and holds the knife to her left eye. The girl is weeping freely and choking out a plea for help.

"Daddy… please help… me…" The man is staring with bulging eyes, desperately trying to break free.

Jortan sighs theatrically and draws back the knife. Before he can step forward he hears the man cry out, "Wait!" He looks to the defeated human and holds still, his knife less than an inch from the girl's eye. Wilson breaks down and spills, "I… I saw her on a cargo run. We were picking up some food for the colony."

"So she isn't here?" No real surprise. If she was, they would have lost a lot more during the fight.

The human shakes his head, "No. It was on Mindoir, at the spaceport. She was picking up a package with an asari." Jortan lets go of the girl and watches her run to the man. He signals Taracus and the turian unlocks the chains. As the two embrace, Jortan calls his men.

"Let the kids go and mount up." A few dozen more children are released and herded into the square. Jortan's shuttle lands a few meters away. As he reaches the ramp he turns back to the man with a predatory grin, "Thanks for the help human." He and his men climb aboard and the shuttle powers away from the surface. Jortan nods to Taracus and the turian relays the order to the fleet.

 **Wilson**

He holds his daughter tight, desperate to alleviate her terror, to make something feel normal for her. It won't help. They've lost to much for things to ever be normal again. The colony has been butchered and they're being left for dead. Wilson is trying rally the courage to tell her everything will be fine when he looks to the sky. A rain of doom is coming down and he hugs her as tight as he can. When the end comes, he's still there, holding the most important person in the galaxy as fire consumes them all.

 **Taracus**

As they march onto the bridge, Jortan starts belting out his next orders, "Tell everyone to head to the rally point. Rearm, repair, and fill any gaps in the roster. Order the raiding fleets to go to town on every system they can reach at least two relays out from Mindoir. We're gonna spend a little more time drawing the Alliance away. Make sure the boys know that the next attack is the big one. She's gonna be there and there's no way it'll be an easy fight." Taracus starts sending the orders to everyone in range. The fleet makes its best speed for the relay and gets ready to jump away. "And Taracus?" He snaps to attention as his commander turns to him. "Send a message to the priests. I want one of them to join the attack. It's only fitting that the gods' messengers have a representative on the ground."

As Jortan leaves the bridge, bound for his personal shrine, Taracus carefully composes the message. Those 'priests' creeped him out. Them and Jortan's religion were the only things that bugged him. He knows the monster needs to be stopped, but he doesn't buy all this shit about her being some kind of demon. He knows that she's probably just some illegal Alliance lab rat. In the end, it doesn't matter. Jortan's the best shot they've got at killing the little freak. Then from there, they start working on stopping the humans before they get strong enough to launch some kind of crusade against the galaxy. It's what General Arturius had said would happen after first contact. But did anyone listen? No. They removed his colony markings and banished him to a shameful exile. Even his son, the spectre hero, carried the supposed shame. It's that kind of injustice that inspired him as a child and it's what eventually led him to the Wake. It's men like him that will set things right. If that means he needs to put up with a bit of fanaticism, so be it.

 _Date_ _: 3.09.2170  
Location : Mindoir_

 **Aethyta**

"You're sure? You're absolutely certain?!" She can't believe it. She'd wanted to clear the way but not like this.

As the asari on the other end of the channel gathers her thoughts, Aethyta's omnitool flashes a message from the militia, "Attention all citizens. Test firing of surface to orbit guns will commence in thirty minutes." She wants to see that, but first she needs to finish this.

"Yes mistress. Details are still sketchy, but we can definitively say that Queen Serissala and almost half her house have perished." The young asari on the other end of the call is trying to keep her voice neutral but Aethyta can tell Nis has been shaken. She's not the only one. Queen Serissala was one of those who'd been opposing Aethyta's plans to bring Jane into Asari space. She was also one of the most beloved figures in the church of the Athame and her violent death will send shockwaves through the asari culture. Some people would buy the official story without question, but Aethyta's been around too long to be tricked by some varren shit story about a plague hitting her family. Nis' agents had seen the Queen's body, and no disease left exit wounds like explosive shells did. Serissala had been assassinated and half her house house had gone down with her. "I'm afraid the news gets worse."

"Goddess. What the hell else happened?"

"Queen Viatin has not been seen for almost a month. All those that have gone looking for her have disappeared. Rumor has is that her ship was forced to make an emergency landing on Eas. No survivors have been identified." If it was true then there wouldn't be any survivors. Eas was classified as a grave world, a world that only the dead landed on.

"Shit…" Queen Viatin had also opposed her. As the high priestess of the Siari faith, Queen Viatin held enough political clout to do pretty much anything. Her death coupled with Queen Serissala's assassination opened the way for them, but the asari as a people would be mourning for decades to come.

"Mistress, please forgive my morbid words, but is this not a workable situation. Though clearly not ideal, it does clear our opposition and give us an opening to exploit." This is why Aethyta had chosen Nis to lead her house's spies. The girl could put aside her personal feeling in almost any situation and focus on the higher goal.

"Yes and no. Yes in that our opposition is gone and we can come home anytime now. No, because if we move right away, the other houses will think we're responsible. We can't afford that kind of scrutiny. We'll need to delay our departure for a while longer. Continue the preparations and keep me in the loop." Nis nods and the channel closes.

Aethyta spends several minutes alone with her thoughts. She can make this work as long as the other Queens don't think she had something to do with the deaths. At this point she can only hope. Another message pops up on her omnitool. "Attention all citizens. Test firing of surface to orbit guns will commence in fifteen minutes." Aethyta gets moving.

She weaves her way around the masses of people working in town. News about the colony on Alacus had Mindoir on its toes. Houses are being reinforced with plating, stores are selling out supplies as fast as they can get them. Everyone on the planet old enough to hold a gun is being taught how to use it. Deployable defenses are being installed on every street. At the center of the town, Aethyta can see the newest addition to their defenses slowly being assembled. The shield array had cost close to a billion credits, but the colony had barely spent anything. Two unsourced donations had paid almost the full cost. Aethyta had a pretty good idea who the colony's anonymous benefactors were. She was pretty sure a certain red-haired hellion was one and her friend on the mountain the other. In fact, Callen had been dumping millions into the colony's budget to help protect it and his investment. At the last dinner he'd shared with them he'd made his reasons clear. "A safe Mindoir is a wealthy Mindoir." Aethyta agrees wholeheartedly.

She finds Jane standing next to one of the new orbital denial guns at the edge of town. They weren't technically legal, but Jane has proven to be almost immune to Citadel weapon regulations. The girl is helping a group of techs run final checks as Aethyta steps up. Jane nods to her before speaks to the techs. "Send out a final warning message. One minute till test fire." The tech acknowledges and Jane turns to Aethyta. She's not as down as most of the colony. Then again, she was an avid weapons enthusiast so getting to fire the big gun was like a huge dose of Lyf for her. She hands Aethyta a headset, "Keep it on until after the third shot."

She gets the set in place as the techs start the final countdown. She can feel the ground start shaking as the gun cycles to full power. When the countdown reaches zero, the huge gun's accelerator coils launch a slug with almost impossible speed. She can see the air itself catch fire for an instant as the shot tears into the sky, along with shots from the other nine guns around the colony's permitted. Five seconds later, another shot, then another five seconds after that. Jane's smiling ear to ear as she looks into the sky. One of the techs is pointing at his screen and talking to Jane. "We've got an eighty percent accuracy on the guns. To get higher we'd need someone painting targets in orbit." Jane nods and takes her headset off.

"Sounds good Will. Run a test every four hours and let me know how it goes." The tech nods as Jane and Aethyta walk away. "The guns should be ready soon. They can take down shuttles, gunships... even frigates if they focus on one at a time. If they come with anything heavier… we'll be in trouble." They get to a hill overlooking the town and sit on one of the benches. The colony doesn't look like it used to. There are concrete barriers and people practicing house clearance all over. General Capp had barely needed any effort to convince the people to train for it after the news about Alacus had reached them.

"I should tell you something," Jane looks at her, "the way's clear for us. We can head to my family's colony as soon as you're ready." Jane chews her lower lip for a moment.

"I want to. I really do, but we can't leave yet. As soon as I'm certain the colony will be safe sure, but… I can't leave before that."

"I know. I just thought I should tell you." They sit on the bench for a few hours, just enjoying the peace. Aethyta hates to interrupt that serenity but she can tell Jane is starting to get uncomfortable, "Tingling coming back?"

Jane clenches and unclenches her fists a few times, "Yeah. I'll take care of it in a few minutes."

Aethyta can see a tear going down Jane's face, "What's wrong kid?"

Jane wipes her face, "I just keep thinking about what'll happen if this place gets hit. We've helped them get ready, but it'll still hurt. These people don't deserve that." Aethyta can't really make her feel better. She's seen places just as peaceful and just as deserving of peace before. It never stops the galaxy's shitheads from starting something.

"Well kiddo, at least Mindoir will be ready if it happens." Jane smiles and stands up.

"Yup. At least they'll be ready." Jane walks down the hill towards the house. Aethyta stays for a while longer, trying to quiet the incessant voice in her head. It's the voice telling her that she should have tried harder to convince the Queens. If she had, maybe they would already be gone. Maybe, they could have avoided this crap altogether.

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170  
Location : System Edge - __Mindoir_

 **Jortan**

It's time. It's finally time. The universe has tried to stop him. Solar flares at his staging area, increased Alliance patrols, rooting out moles, and more. They had slowed the inevitable, but none had stopped him. His crew was excited. After the freak was dead, they could move on to the next step and work towards purging the humans from the Traverse altogether. After that… then things got interesting. "Sir, all ships report a clean exit from FTL. Comm dampeners are working. The surface has no clue we're here."

He's almost giddy over the good news. Jortan had heard rumors that Mindoir was bolstering defenses and he wanted as much surprise as they could muster. "Have the transports deploy shuttles immediately. Tell the ground forces to come in from the north of the colony after they touch down. All warships are to enter formation in geosynchronous orbit over the main settlement. Make ready for orbital bombardment. And make sure to jam the FTL comm relays. We don't want any distress calls getting out." He can't keep the smile off his face as his men leap to obey. His tactical display shows a swarm of contacts as the first wave of shuttles powers ahead. Soon… soon.

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170  
Location : Surface - __Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _The colony is as ready as it can be. The guns are working, the shield has been properly calibrated, and the people have a strong foundation in basic combat tactics. The full time militia has armor and weapons equal to some of the best military units out there and enough grenades, mortars, and heavy guns to ruin almost anyone's day. These are the thoughts that keep her smiling despite her worry. In a couple days she and her odd but lovable family were going to be on their way. The only reason they were still there is because Jane wanted to spend her birthday planetside. Aethyta, Hannah, and Fel had made a huge feast and they'd eaten and celebrated all day._

 _Now, Jane's on her way up the mountain to see Callen. He said there was something important he needed to talk to her about before she left. She didn't mind, in fact, Jane wanted to say goodbye to him and his crew properly. They were some of her best friends after all._

 _As she passes through the lively little town that supports the mine, she reaches the main gate. Jane can tell something is off. While the gate was usually wide open, there are always guards on duty, but not now. In fact, she can't see anyone. All she sees is a sign in the middle of the road that reads, "Head to Overlook." Confused but intrigued, Jane walks to the small clifftop plateau overlooking the main courtyard. There's a large red pavilion set up and a sign out front reading "Come in". She walks over and opens the front flap and is greeted by Callen and his entire crew shouting, "Surprise!"_

 _She's so shocked she almost draws her sword. The fact that no one is pointing a gun at her is the only thing that stops her. Everyone is applauding and cheering as she steps in. Joshua is up front and calls for everyone to calm down. She has no clue what's happening, "Huh?"_

" _I would like to make a toast!" As Joshua raises a glass of what smells like cinnamon wine, the entire crew follows suit. "To Jane Shepard. On this day, two years ago, we began this glorious endeavour." Another cheer sounds out and Callen waits for it to subside before continuing. "And now, after two years of hard work, and the patience of Job himself, we have pulled over eighty billion credits of ore from this mountain. Each of us is now wealthy beyond all hope… and it's all because of one person." Callen walks over to her, holds a hand behind her back, and faces the crew. "She offered up what might as well be King Solomon's diamond mines for nothing for than a pittance of twenty percent in return. In doing so, she saved this company, made us all rich, and indeed she saved my own life. It is sheer luck that today is also her birthday. So, I say to you all, EAT, DRINK, CELEBRATE! To Jane Shepard!"_

 _The entire crowd parrots the toast back, "TO JANE SHEPARD!" Loud music starts pounding out from a booth in the corner and she spots a table completely covered in food. She's almost drooling as Callen signals for her to go ahead. She makes her way through the crowd, completely speechless over the massive outpouring of gratitude._

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170  
Location : High Orbit - __Mindoir_

 **Jortan**

"All ships report ready sir." It's the moment right before the game begins that Jortan savours the most. When he holds the power of life and death in his hands. The feeling is intoxicating and he revels in it. The gods have blessed this day, he's sure of it. The presence of one of their priests is proof of that.

"Status of the shuttles? Have we been detected?" Taracus quickly scans his terminal.

"No sir. No surface chatter. No calls to the FTL distress buoy. Not even a single call asking why we're here. Looks like Teg did his job. They're clueless. Shuttles for the first wave will be landing in fifteen." He takes several deep breaths. He wants to remember this moment for the rest of his life. Decades from now, when he's an old man and sharing stories of his glory with his grandchildren, he knows that the story of today will be their favorite and his. He turns to the priest for his blessing. The hooded man nods once, his glowing blue eyes the only thing visible on his face.

Elated, Jortan turns back to the main screen. "The order is given. Launch the first salvo." He sits there in absolute serenity as the shells fall. It's perfect. It's all so perfect.

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170  
Location : Surface - __Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _It's almost midnight and things don't show any sign of slowing down. She's downed two hams, four racks of ribs, three chickens, a mountain of fries, and an entire gallon of ketchup. Frank had shown up a couple hours ago with even more food and she just can't help herself. Her new energy spending schedule had left her famished for months and now she can finally get full for once. The miners are trying to keep up but they keep falling short. She's already drunk two of them under the table. No one on the mountain knows about the little razor wire bastard in her liver that filters toxins out better than any machine in the galaxy. She feels a little weird but who cares! She hasn't had this much fun in long time._

 _She spots Callen sitting with a nice older woman from town and vaguely recalls meeting her last year. She thinks the two are dating but can't quite remember for sure. As she heads up for more food, her omnitool starts chiming at her. She'd ignore it but this time it's on her emergency channel. That gets her head clear in seconds. Jane makes her excuses to the crowd and steps outside. She goes to open the channel but whoever is on the other end really knows their stuff. Her security is overridden in moments and the screen lights up with a familiar face. "Jane! Jane! Are -u there!" It's Miranda, but something's wrong. She looks like she just got out of bed. She doesn't have her makeup on but still manages to look insanely pretty. Her hair is in a wild mane and her eyes are filled with worry. This has gotta be bad. Jane Hasn't seen Miranda this worried since her last day on Omega. "Jane! Please -lk to me!"_

" _Yeah I'm here Miri. What's wrong?"_

" _Thank God. -ve been tr-ng to get through - hours. The comms - being jammed."_

" _Wha-"_

" _Just listen! You need - send out an alert! The colony is-" The channel is overwhelmed by static for a moment._

" _Miri? Miri you're breaking up!"_

" _-tacked. Jane Mindoir is about to be attacked! You've got to-" The channel goes dead. Jane is paralyzed for a moment as she struggles to understand. Attacked? Why would Miri know before her? How could she know before her? They had a good orbital sensor grid in place and a stable comm network. Any attacker would be detected a long time before they got there… unless something knocked out the control station. She tries to call the sensor station to the north. Nothing, so she hacks into the camera network and her heart almost stops. All that's left is a single malfunctioning camera and the remains of the two people that ran the station. Before the feed fails, she catches a glimpse of a lone figure stalking away, a still smoking rifle in its hands._

 _Callen walks out behind her, "What are you doing out here Jane? The party's inside." She turns to him with horror stricken eyes. "What is it? Jane what's wrong?" Before she can answer, a flash of light draws their attention to the rain in the sky. Jane stands next to Callen, staring in mute horror as the first shells slam into the planet._


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30 - Opening Shots**

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _She can barely believe it. The attacker's opening salvo, fired with the advantage of complete surprise, has missed. The shells crash into the Alkin valley like the fist of some belligerent, moronic god. Thousands of trees are vaporized in a massive firestorm. The shockwave from each impact spreads the damage further. Almost two dozen shells hit the near empty valley, turning the beautiful forest into a puddle of molten rock. She has to capitalize on the enemy's boneheaded mistake. Jane punches in the comm codes for the shield control bunker._

 _A young man pops up on screen. It's Frank's son Ben. He might not be a giant like Frank, but he's a borderline genius. It's the main reason he was chosen for shield duty. "Hey Jane. We got some weird reports about something happening in the va-" she cuts him off._

" _No time Ben! Raise the shield! Now!" A lot of people would be confused enough to argue, but Ben immediately gets busy. Jane watches the horizon and is relieved to see a tiny flash of light at the edge of sight._

" _Shield's up… Everything looks good. So what the hell's going on?"_

" _We're under attack." The young man's eyes go wide as he tries to process what she means. Luckily, they've been preparing for this. His training takes over and he goes to work in earnest. "Whatever it takes, keep that shield up until General Capp or I give the all clear."_

" _Copy that. We'll keep the gates barred." The channel closes and Jane can see another salvo falling from orbit. She's about to send the alert on the colony's emergency frequency, but it looks like Capp has beaten her to it._

 _She can hear sirens echoing across the valley from dozens of towers they'd put up to warn the scattered farmhouses and forest dwellers. Her omni-tool's emergency channel activates and Capp's stern voice sounds out, "Attention all citizens of Mindoir. We are under attack. This is not a drill. Repeat we are under attack. All militia members report to your assigned stations. All noncombatants move to the nearest bunker entrance. Please remain calm. This situation is exactly what we've been preparing for. Remember your training and everything will be fine. Stand strong people and we'll send these bastards screaming into hell." The comm shuts down as the next wave of shells hit._

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170  
Location : High Orbit - __Mindoir_

 **Jortan**

Something's wrong. He can hear Taracus growling off to the side. "Report!"

The batarian on fire control stutters as he tries to answer, "W-well sir, I uh, w-we… a-and uh, the shells-" the sound of Taracus' fist slamming into the wall cuts the fool off.

"They missed! By almost forty miles!" Taracus has always been the picture of the disciplined soldier, but such a blunder has him raging. He's not the only one. Jortan doesn't move. He barely breaths. His rage is so intense, it takes all his self control to not start shooting at everything in sight. "Explain you brainless bareface!"

"It's not my fault! We didn't take the planet's weird magnetic field into account! We can correct for the nex-" The boom of Jortan's hand cannon cuts him off. The incompetent fool's brains paint the wall near his station as the headless corpse slumps to the ground.

"Taracus take over! Fix the problem and fire again!" The turian leaps into action and Jortan can see his hands playing over the controls with feverish speed.

"Mag field adjustments in place! Firing!" Another wave of shells blasts out and sails into the planet's atmosphere. Less than a minute later he can hear the console indicate a hit, but Taracus kills his hope before it can break free. The young turian repeatedly kicks to corpse of the former tac-officer as he shouts, "You stupid! Bare-faced! Sack! Of Shit!"

"Report!"

"The damn apes have raised a shield! It's got enough power to stop any shots from up here and the first wave is under attack in the air!" He can't believe it. Mere moments before, everything had been perfect and now his glorious victory is in jeopardy. He needs to move quickly to save the day.

"Deploy the second and third waves immediately! Have them surround the main settlement! Fuck subtlety, just get down as fast as possible!" He turns to the robed priest, looking for advice. The man speaks with an echoing, almost ethereal lilt to his voice.

"Worry not Jortan. All is as it should be. I shall join the attack as part of the third wave. Remain here and direct the battle. Remember your purpose… you are the blessed chosen." He watches the robed figure leave the bridge, an immense feeling of relief spreading through his chest. The gods are still with him. It must be a test. Yes! It's just a test of his faith. He won't fail. Not when he finally has a real chance to end her.

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _The security feed from the colony shows a rain of shells slamming into the shield. Ripples of energy roll across the surface, but nothing gets through. The shield is holding with no trouble, but that doesn't mean they're safe. Jane punches in Gavin's number and waits for him to answer. The young pilot slept like a rock so she's not surprised that he's still in his underwear when he answers, despite the incessant wail of the sirens. "Yo Jane. What the fuck's going on?!"_

" _The colony's under attack. Get dressed and get Blue into the air as fast as you can! Come pick me up at the mine."_

" _Holy shit! Uh, right... Right! On it!" The channel closes and Jane walks back into the pavilion. The men inside are confused by this sudden turn of events. The miners have trained harder than anyone else in the colony, but this will still be their first full-scale battle against a combat ready enemy._

" _Listen up! You heard the announcement! Mindoir is under attack. Get to your armory, gear up, and help the incoming people get to the bunker inside the mountain. Remember, anyone in armor that doesn't have the colony's seal on it," she points to the emblem on her shoulder, "is an enemy. I know this isn't what we wanted, but the scum of the galaxy don't care what good people want. Let's get to it!" The men are snapped out of their confusion and start moving with a purpose. They thunder down the path to the mine's armory. In minutes, all forty of them are charging out with weapons and armor ready. As they start guiding civilians through the gate and setting up defense points, Jane moves back to Callen and his lady friend, "You two need to head to the bunker. I'm going back to town as soon as Gavin gets here. Once you're in the bunker and you're sure all the civilians are there, seal the doors." Callen tries to object but she doesn't have time for it, "I need you down there to help keep people calm. I'm going to the main settlement to help. Don't worry, we'll get through this." The old man nods and takes his lady's hand. The two quickly walk the mine entrance and wave the civilians in before them._

 _Jane can see a number of citizens break off from the crowd and head into the armory. The town has another ninety members for the militia and they are ready soon after entering. They take their place under the command of the the miners as Jane picks up the sound of Blue's boosters. Gavin has to have burned them pretty hard to get there so quickly. The chopper-turned-gunship banks into view and quickly descends. The landing skids extend and Blue settles onto the landing pad. Automated fuel tenders quickly latch on and top off the gunship's fuel reserves. "Hey Jane! Got about two minutes before refueling's done. Get some gunners and we'll head out." Jane acknowledges and heads to the gate. She finds about half the local militia guiding people in. The rest have gone into the town to make sure everyone got out._

 _As she trots up to the militiamen, half turn to salute and the others keep working. "I need volunteers to come with me! I need at least four gunners and anyone willing to come fight in the colony proper." Twelve men break off without hesitation and head for Blue. "The rest of you hold the mine no matter what!" The men raise their rifles with a cheer as she runs for the gunship. She leaps in and hops into the copilot's seat. The fuel tenders finish their work and Gavin immediately takes off. Jane can see men and woman setting up heavy guns across from the gate as well as several mobile shield generators. The mountain's bunker is just as sturdy as the one under the colony and the militia up here are some of the best on the planet. Hopefully it'll keep the people up here safe._

 _Gavin cycles up the boosters as Jane charges the belly gun, "Big gun's got about a twelve degree arc in every direction. If you see a target just point Blue in their general direction and I'll take it from there." The young man nods as they approach the colony. They can see a swarm of shuttles breaking through the atmosphere just to the north. Gavin banks into an intercept course and Jane calls to the men in back, "Remember, the guns in front are anti-armor. Just hit your target and you'll do some serious damage. The ones in back are anti-infantry chain guns. If you're aiming at anything with armor, aim for engines and cockpits." She hears a quartet of affirmatives moments before the big gun is in range. She lines up the targeting system with a shuttle at the rear of the formation. The system finishes charging and Jane fires the first shot. Blue shakes as the cannon launches a shell at hypersonic velocity towards her target. The gun's software needs a bit of tweaking. She'd been aiming for center-mass. Instead, the shell slams into the ship's nose and rips it clean off. The shuttle drops like a stone, tiny figures falling from the new opening up front. As the remains plummet towards the ground below, she lines up another shot, this time adjusting for the software's glitch. Her second shot slams into the center of a heavy duty shuttle and blows it in two. Her third shot rips the engines off another. By now, the rest of the shuttles know they're under attack and are starting to drift apart. "Gavin! Fly us right to the middle of the flock!"_

 _Blue hurtles into the enemy formation and the door gunners open up. The side guns don't have anywhere near as much power as the belly gun, but they fire faster and have a much larger arc. The gunners are roaring in satisfaction as more shuttles are being punched from the sky. Armor-piercing shells are ripping huge holes in the flanks of shuttles on both sides. Sometimes they blast clean through their targets, dragging a plume of gore through the new holes. The chain gunners are lashing out with a deluge of fire. One shuttle has its cockpit punctured by a hundred rounds. The now pilotless shuttle drifts to the side and crashes into another, sending both spiraling to the ground in single burning mass. A light hopper shuttle falls to the ground with engines perforated by hundreds of shots._

 _Twenty shuttles are torn apart in minutes, but it's not enough. There are too many for them to hit them all, and some are making it down intact. Blue's shield is starting to take hits as more and more of the enemy deploy ground side and start pouring fire into the air. Gavin is doing his best to keep them out of the incoming firestorm, "Hey Jane! Not gonna be able to stay over them much longer. Incoming fire's gettin worse!" As if trying to help him make his point, a pair of RPGs flash by, missing by inches and detonating right above them. Blue shakes heavily and the console flashes a warning. The shield is about to fail. Jane triggers the cannon and sends another shuttle screaming into the ground._

 _She tries to respond but General Capp's voice over the comm stops her, "Shepard. I know you're having fun up there, but we've got a problem. The shuttles you're hitting are only the first wave. We've got another, much larger swarm landing en mass to the west and a third coming in a few minutes behind them. The guns aren't firing either. I think something's wrong at the sensor station." She triggers the main gun again before responding and a tank trying to ease out of a heavy shuttle is blown to pieces along with a dozen mercs cowering behind it._

" _I hear you. We'll swing by and take care of it." Gavin starts to bank towards the station but Capp has other ideas._

" _No, we need you groundside with the militia. Send someone else to handle the sensor station and get yourself into town. You've been critical in teaching these people to fight and they're going to be looking to you to lead them in the field." She can't think of an argument against it. She knows he's right._

" _I copy." The channel closes and she turns to Gavin, "get us to the house, fast as you can. Once I'm out, I'll find someone for you to take up to the sensor station." She fires the cannon one more time as they make a final pass over the burning field of shuttle wrecks. The gunners lay into the scum on the ground as they flash overhead, leaving a swath of shredded dead in their wake. Jane can see several survivors going down under concentrated sniper fire from town. Looks like the militia is itching for a fight._

 _They reach the house in no time and Gavin touches down on the usual spot. She can see Fel and Aethyta marshaling the militia members assigned to the area. Jane had turned the house into a small fortress and about forty people were assigned to it to form one of the hard points in the defense plan. Hannah is waiting next to the pad. She takes Jane in a tight hug that lasts a little too long. "I'm fine, I promise. We need to get ready. This is gonna get a lot worse." She signals one of the miners to take her place on the cannon's controls. Aethyta and Fel make their way over._

" _Looks like someone was dumb enough to start something. Can't wait to kick um right in the hump." Fel crashes a fist on his chest. Him and Aethyta are armored in extremely high quality gear. Aethyta has on commando leathers reinforced with shielded ceramic plating. A heavy assault rifle is mounted at her shoulder. Fel has a set of super heavy armor on. It'll turn him into a walking tank in the field. He's got his modified claymore cradled in one arm and his massive blade in the scabbard at his back. "Why aren't the guns firing?"_

" _The sensor station got hit right before the attack started. The bastards had an infiltrator kill the operators so we're blind up there. We need to retake the station and blow those fuckers out of the sky. I'm going into town to move between the main defense points, so I need one of you to get up there and set things right."_

 _Aethyta steps up, "I'll take the sensor station. We kill the dickhead that knocked it out and get er going again."_

 _Jane sends a data packet to Aethyta's omnitool, "I'm giving you a special data file. It'll restore basic function and give you full control. Take a few militiamen with you." Aethyta nods and runs to Blue. She keeps four men in the ship in addition to the gunners. Gavin takes off and Blue quickly disappears in the distance._

 _Fel inspects his shotgun one more time, "I'm headin to the main residential area. The tight streets'll give me a good killing field for my weapons." Fel stomps off to the ten man team that he'd chosen as his favorite fighters. They give a cheer as he draws his blade and leads them away. Jane takes a few deep breaths and tries to calm herself. In a situation like this, she can't afford to let her anger take control. Once she feels centered again, Jane heads into her workshop._

 _She steps into her armor cradle and adjusts the setting for their current situation. The device draws her chosen plates out of storage and quickly attaches them to the proper points. Keeva had helped her design and assemble multiple variants of her plating. She'll need to move around town quickly so she's chosen the assault plating. It's not as durable, but it will let her move more easily thanks to the lighter weight and enhanced servo system. She closes her eyes and hums a quiet tune until everything is in place. Jane steps free of the cradle and runs through some basic movements to make sure everything is in place. Then, she slots her guns into place. Abyss is on her back as usual. Once she's filled her grenade and medi gel pouches, Jane heads back out._

 _The militia has finished setting up their emplacements and are carefully scanning the area for the enemy. Jane spends a few minutes looking for Hannah and finds her on the roof. Her adopted mother is wearing the dark violet armor Jane bought her and running the final checks on her Viper rifle. She's been using it for years and is a top quality markman with it. Hannah spots Jane and walks over to stand in front of her. She's grown so much over the last two years that Hannah has to tilt her head up to look her in the eye. "You're going into town aren't you? Fight them head on?"_

" _Yeah." She can see a tear forming in Hannah's eye as the shorter woman hugs her close. "I'll be alright. I promise. Will you be okay without me here?" Hannah steps back and primes her rifle. Jane nods and walks to the edge of the roof. "We'll get through this". With nothing else to say, Jane steps off the edge and pulses her biotics to smooth the landing._

 _Spits is standing guard out front and immediately trots over as she walks up to him. She'd built an armor cradle for him too, then trained him to use it whenever the sirens went off. Thankfully he's remembered his training and is fully armored. She kneels down, putting a hand under his chin. Her varren chuffs happily as she gives him a good scratch. "You ready buddy?" Spits' answer is to shove his tongue in his nose. "Good enough for me." She pulses the activation signal for his shields. A dark blue screen flashes for a second as his shield comes online. The four miners that Aethyta left step up and stand at attention, "We're going to the western edge of town. The enemy is massing and we need to kick their teeth in before they can get their shit together." Nothing more to say, Jane turns to leave as she slides her helmet into place._

 _The six of them take off down the street to the west, the sounds of battle spurring them on. She can hear hundreds of weapons firing as she approaches the western edge of town. There are militia members falling back in ragged bands, but they stop their retreat she she comes into view. The few that can't fight anymore are carried off to one of the designated areas and the rest fall in line behind her. About a hundred yards ahead, Jane can see a line of invaders marching down the middle of the street. She can also hear several explosions going off as the invaders get a taste of some of the traps laid in advance. Every building on the edge of town has a remote controlled surprise and only a few alleys are safe to travel. They're gunning down any wounded militiamen the come across, letting out a series of vile insults and cheers with each kill. She can't stand it. The people here didn't deserve to die like that._

 _The enemy still hasn't noticed her and her growing band and Jane takes advantage of that. She flood power into her barriers, draws her twin guns, and slows to a steady walk. It's easier to aim when she's not running. Before she engages, Jane calls to Spits, "Norut'noka!" Her varren peals off into the alleyways to look for an opening. She calls out orders to the nearest militia sergeant, a man named Holdin, to have his men flank through the un-mined alleys until she has the enemy's attention. Jane hasn't meditated in a while and she can feel the power boiling just below the surface. Her barrier has never been stronger and she's about to put it to the test._

 _She aims both guns at the enemy and pulls the single fire triggers. Two shots scream free of the barrels and flash into her chosen victims. Their shields provide no protection. As the two lifeless swine crash to the ground, Jane adjusts her aim to the next pair of invaders. Two more shots, two more dead. She does this again and again and again. The enemy is finally taking note. A few badly aimed shots flash by her as she pulls the triggers again. She's less than fifty yards away now and can see the enemy more clearly now. These men aren't impressive. They have no major merc clan markings, no unifying symbology, nothing to paint them as professionals. In fact, their gear looks like crap. Half of them aren't even trying to advance from cover to cover. They're just strutting out in the open._

 _Jane would feel insulted if she didn't understand what they were. These idiots are cannon fodder. A meat shield to distract them so the real soldiers can form up free of danger. She'll need to change that. Jane switches from the single fire triggers to full auto and charges forward as quickly as she can. Now that she knows the first line is just the chaff, she can trade accuracy for speed. Both guns are pumping out streams of death from twin barrels. The enemy's substandard gear is little more than window dressing to her weapons. She catches the occasional glimpse of men being dragged to the ground and ripped apart by Spits. The lovable brute rips a few pieces off of each victim before breaking away and attacking from a new angle. By the time she reaches what used to be the enemies front line, almost fifty of them have been shredded. The rest have abandoned their bravado and begun focusing entirely on trying to kill her. Even their guns are crap. Through her barrier, each shot feels like a tiny grain of sand gently brushing against her skin. The uncomfortable memory of the time Hannah took her to the beach at one of Mindoir's seas is more painful than their firepower. She catches a glimpse of the real threat a further hundred years out. Jane can see whole blocks of invaders gathering just outside the town. She needs to end this quick so the militia can get back into position._

 _Jane patches into the militia's comm, "Holdin! I've got their attention! Hit them now!" She's relieved to see a hurricane of fire pour out from multiple nearby alleyways. Dozens of mercs are blasted off their feet as the militia re-engages from the alleys. The militia are packing gear on par with the Alliance military, thanks to her deliberate disregard of Citadel arms regulations in regards to civilians. The people of Mindoir tear into the invading swine with reckless abandon. None are spared as the militia take revenge on their tormentors. Spits joins the fun, bearing multiple enemies to the ground and savaging them with tusks and brute force. It takes less than a minute to wipe out the rest of the enemy's meat shield and resume the march to the edge. Holdin trots over to her._

" _What do we do now? There's a lot more down the road." It seems that the two groups of mercs weren't communicating. The enemy hasn't changed their pace even though their forward group has been wiped out. They still think their dupes are tearing it up._

" _We get everyone back in position. Get as many of the heavy weapons up and running again. Tell everyone to stay low and quiet until I give the order." The sergeant nods, quickly running back to his men. They leave the main road and slink through the alleys. Jane uses her omnitool to bring up the basic tac-net they'd managed to put together over the last few months. It's not much, but it does give her an idea of what's going on. The northern attack has been completely smashed, with only a few enemies struggling to hold onto the shuttles. The survivors are being rapidly ground into paste by determined, if reckless, militia groups. The entire western face of town is a battleground. Though the main push had been in her area, there were other groups trying to take ground elsewhere. Jane can see one such group is hitting the main residential area, with absolutely no success. Fel must be having fun. There are scattered reports that another wave is landing to the south and Jane can only pray that Hannah and her group will be okay. Once she finishes going over the rest of the field, Jane cycles back to the units in her own area. She's glad to see that most of the forward positions have been re-occupied and several of the heavy guns are still functional. Luckily, the militiamen have listened to Holdin. Everyone is laying low and holding fire. She sends out runners to spread the word on how this is going to work. Since the enemy thinks the edge of town has already been cleared, they won't be expecting to be engaged as soon as they try to march in._

 _She watches the tac-net as the runners move down the line and is glad to see a series of affirmative light up her screen. Everyone is in position, just in time too. The real enemy has begun their march. If she didn't know better, Jane would think these assholes were on vacation. Most are sauntering along, like the fight's already over. Several are even trying strike up a tune with their fellow dirtbags. It would piss her off if it wasn't so helpful. These pricks are overconfident and it was about to bite them in the ass. She eases into position and takes careful aim with her twin guns as the enemy lazily marches into range. The only thing bugging her is that she doesn't know how Aethyta is doing. Jane hopes the matriarch can get the guns up and running again. It's the only way they can actually end this._


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 - Blood and Fire**

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2170_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Aethyta**

Shit just keeps happening to slow them down. If it's not some uppity bitch blocking the way forward or that uppity bitch dying in a bloody and highly suspicious massacre, then it's an army of pricks being pricks. At least they'll be leaving after this is over. It's the only thing that keeps her from grinding her teeth as they fly north. Aethyta takes some small satisfaction from the field of smoking corpses and wrecked shuttles just to the north of town. Jane really did a number on this group. The militia is doing pretty good too. Aethyta can see the flashes of dozens of weapons from militia teams working on clearing the last few wrecks. They're only over the killing field for a couple seconds as Gavin pushes Blue hard to get to the sensor station.

The fact that the invaders managed to sneak someone planetside and take out the operators is disturbing. Jane will probably want to stay even longer to make sure that doesn't happen again. Aethyta knows they really can't afford that. This battle will keep her power drained for a little while, but they can't afford any more delays. Jane is at a tipping point. If she doesn't get the training she needs soon, she'll be torn apart by her own power.

It only takes a few minutes to reach the station. Aethyta can't see any obvious problems from here, so it's probably a trap. "Hey Gavin, let us down on the side opposite the landing pad." Confused but quick to get her meaning, Gavin flies past the pad and lowers the ship to the small field to the north. Aethyta and her four chosen militiamen hop out and start moving cautiously to the sensor station. "Gavin, go ahead and take off. Don't hold in one position til we know how bad it is." The young man acknowledges and lifts away from the ground. Aethyta and her group quickly close on the objective. Everything looks completely normal, which just makes her more anxious. In the near thousand years she's been kickin around the galaxy she's learned to be suspicious of "normal".

It doesn't take long for her to feel vindicated. Just before crossing into the station's courtyard, Aethyta spots the first trap. She has to put an arm in front of the militiaman behind her to keep him from tripping it. The device is a simple trip wire with a shaped charge attached. There's probably a dozen more tricks just between them and the door. If they had more time she'd carefully scan the area and disarm each one. Instead, she opts for the quicker, slightly more reckless route. Aethyta gathers some energy and projects a low yield warp across the courtyard. It's not enough to really hurt anything, but it's perfect for setting off delicate contraptions. A series of blasts tear through the courtyard. Her estimate was off a little. It was fourteen devices instead of the ten to twelve she had been expecting. Hoping for the best, she steps through the gateway and walks into the small courtyard. The area is blackened by fresh scorch marks and there are scraps of shrapnel scattered everywhere.

They cross in short order and stand at the threshold. The door is slightly ajar. Aethyta waves the group back before raising a barrier. Once the energy field is in place, she blasts the door off its hinges with a push. As the metal slab breaks loose, another trap is set off. Her barrier stops hundreds of tiny pellets from a claymore. She looks back to check her militia followers, who look a little shaken but otherwise fine. "You guys stay out here and keep a lookout. We know both the operators up here are dead so if you see someone other than me, blow their fuckin head off." The four men nod confidently and take position as she heads in.

It's not a pretty sight. It's clear that their infiltrator wasn't big on a clean job. There is blood splattered about and more than one severed finger on the ground. She finds the bodies of the former station staff laid out right next to the main console. The bodies have been mutilated and there's a huge puddle of blood covering most of the floor. Aethyta holds her position, carefully listening to her surroundings. There's the occasional beep or click from the control console. The slight hum coming from the flickering overhead lights. The sound of her own breathing… and that of the man hiding in the shadows to the right. She almost has to chuckle to herself. The infiltrator is good, but she's spent centuries kicking the crap out of pricks that were just 'good' at what they did.

Aethyta throws her right arm out and lets loose a warp. The man manages to dive out of the way mere moments before the warp starts eating into the wall. She tracks his rapid movement, gathering power for another attack. He pivots towards her and lunges with a large dagger drawn. An instant before he can plunge the dagger into her chest, she locks him down with a stasis field.

Aethyta takes a moment to examine her enemy. It's a middle aged batarian in dark grey armor. He has an old rifle on one shoulder and half a dozen unused explosive traps hanging from his belt. The batarian struggles against the stasis field as she moves to the console. She's about to upload Jane's datafile when she spots her mistake. She forgot to see if the console itself was rigged, and sure enough, as soon as she tries to start the upload a final charge lights up between the savaged bodies of the former operators. Her barriers stop most of the blast but she's still thrown against the wall hard enough to knock the sense out of her. She's struggling to stay awake as her stasis field fades. Before the infiltrator can take advantage, her militia friends storm in and immediately pour fire into the bastard. The last thing she sees before passing out is the infiltrator being reduced to a greasy puddle.

 **Jane**

 _It's almost time. Jane can hardly wait for the blood to start flowing. Her veins are burning with power and she can barely keep control. The beast inside is on the prowl, drooling like mad at the prospect of combat. She takes a few deep breaths to steady herself and starts looking for anyone important in the enemy formation. Jane can tell that only about a third of the landed force is coming her way. Most are spreading out to work towards encircling the colony, but there is still plenty of scum headed their way. Spits is still hunting through the alleys and judging by the large number of inhuman screams coming from behind her, it sounds like he's having a good time. She spots a foppishly dressed idiot in the back ranks. The salarian is covered horn to toes in what might be the ugliest set of armor she's ever seen. She whispers to one of the militiamen nearby, "Hey Winsor," The young man turns to her, "You see that ugly one in the back?"_

 _Winsor eases his sniper rifle into position and peers through the scope, "Which one? They're all ugly." The dozen militia members with them quietly chuckle as she elaborates._

" _The one in the lime green armor and all the feathers."_

" _Hold a bit," he pans his rifle about for a couple seconds, "Yeah, I got him. Christ, he looks like someone rubbed my baby brother's used diapers on him."_

" _Think you can take him from here?"_

" _No problem. I could've blown his head off from twice as far."_

" _Good. Wait for my signal." She turns to her runners again, "Tell everyone to hold until Wensor takes his shot. Hit or miss, once that happens, pour everything into them." The men nod and move fast to carry her instructions. The tac-net quickly lights up and she refocuses on the line of advancing scum._

 _There are hundreds of them. Though batarians are the most numerous, almost every race is represented. Turians, salarians, humans, vorcha, krogan, a few drell, even a single volus manning a heavy gun atop an armored vehicle. She's surprised there aren't any asari. She's never had an opportunity to kill so diverse a force before. Jane is eager to go after the volus once the range closes to near zero. She's always wanted to see what they look like inside those suits._

 _The enemy line is only a few dozen meters away. If they wait much longer they'll be spotted. "Now Winsor." The young man immediately pulls the trigger. A fraction of a second later, the gaudy salarian's head explodes, spraying dark green blood all over the mercs nearby. Before the enemy army realizes what's happened, the militia opens fire. Hundreds of assault rifles, shotguns, hand cannons, and smgs pour a deluge of fire into the enemy ranks. Jane fires her twin guns on full auto, mowing down mercs with little trouble. These pricks have better gear than the first group, but her guns still put them down with only a few hits. Despite the carnage she brings about, right now she is not the deadliest being on the line._

 _That honor goes to the heavy weapons operators. Close to twenty heavy emplacements are lashing out with heavy machine guns, cutting beams, and four booming autocannons. The cannons are proving to be the most effective. Each shell from one of these blows a merc into gory past and each gun fires four every second. The enemy's entire front line is annihilated in the opening volley. The second goes down moments later. The third is mauled but finally manages to make a move. Most of the mercs are diving to the ground to make themselves smaller targets. The mercs have to creep through a newly formed river of blood to get into firing position but most don't seem to mind. The rate of incoming fire is rapidly growing._

 _She can see several militiamen lose their lives to accurate return fire. A few yards down the line, one militia unit is crushed as the building they're using collapses. Two men in her own spot are killed by sweeping fire from the volus gunner. Jane ducks down and brings up the tac-net. The line is holding, barely. They stalled the enemy here, but other units weren't as lucky. She can see at least three different breaches in the line. Luckily, General Capp is on top of things. Multiple rapid reaction teams further in town are dispatched to deal with each breach. As the enemy elsewhere is stalled, Jane turns her attention back to the matter at hand._

 _If it was just the mercs on foot, they'd be able to hold for hours with no trouble, but they aren't that lucky. There are six tanks slowly grinding towards them in three lines. They're old models, still plodding around on treads, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. That point is driven home when one swivels its turret to a ruined storefront where close to twenty militia members are taking cover. The tank fires its cannon and the heavy shell screams across the field in an instant. The ruined store is reduced to rubble. She can't tell if there are any survivors. The rest of the tanks follow suit and start hurling shells into the line of buildings. More and more militia units are lost in the blasts. They can't stay like this. She opens her comm to everyone in range, "Even numbered units on the western line, fall back to secondary position!" Half the men break ranks and sprint to the next layer of defenses. The enemy picks up on the change immediately. The mercs try to capitalize on their enemy's reduced numbers with an all-out charge, but the heavy guns slow them dramatically. A couple minutes pass before she gets a tac-net pulse telling her that the second line has been occupied. "Odd units, pack up the guns and get to the secondary line! I'll slow them down! Nobody look back! If you do, you'll be blinded!" She waits a few moments, hoping that everyone will follow her advice._

 _When she feels that enough time has past, Jane stands and gathers a huge orb of energy in her hands. The enemy is almost on her as she finishes building up her attack. It feels like her hands are on fire as she draws her arms back. A batarian stomps up the ruined front of her cover and aims his rifle at her. She almost has to waste the attack just to defend herself, but someone's still got her back. The contents of the batarian's chest are blown out his back is a gory spray. Less than a second later she can hear the sharp report of a high powered rifle. She thanks whichever sniper is looking after her before hurling the golden orb out towards the enemy horde. As soon as she lets loose, Jane turns and bolts from her hiding place. A few seconds later, an eye scorching amber light bursts into existence behind her. She can hear a plethora of screams sound out as her flare blinds anyone foolish enough to be looking at it._

 _She reaches the second line in no time. Jane hears a call from a nearby rooftop and looks up to see her sniper friend. It's Cira. The young teacher wasn't a violent person but she'd proven to be an excellent marksman. She and Hannah were good friends these days and they'd gone shooting together several times over the last few years. She's wearing light armor with an urban camo scheme. Her rifle is a near carbon copy of Hannah's. She waves to Jane before returning her eye to the scope and laying down a steady rate of fire into the advancing horde._

 _She gives a sharp whistle and is relieved to see Spits come charging out of one of the alleys. He bounds over to her, a severed turian arm flopping around in his mouth. He downs his treat as he takes his place at her side. The militia is getting their heavy weapons set back up. The tanks won't be able to use the smaller side roads and most buildings are rigged to deter any attempts to drive through them. A blast from the outskirts vindicates that particular trap. She can see a tank's severed turret arc gently through the air before crashing down onto a squad of mercs. The enemy infantry are sticking to the main road as well. The few that don't are blown to pieces by the now active smart mines in the alleys._

 _The enemy are getting closer. Several are already firing on the militia. At this distance, their fire is very inaccurate but some people are still hit. The return fire is just as ineffective. In fact, they're doing far less damage. The mercs are being more careful now. Most are trying to take cover behind the pair of tanks up front as they grind down the middle of the road. The heavy guns could probably cripple a few of them but they can't risk losing their best weapons this early. Jane calls to the nearest militia sergeant, who happens to be Holdin again. "Holdin, I'm going after the tanks. Make sure the line is ready. Once the tanks are down and I've got the mercs attention, I want you to take half the militia members on this line and move through the alleys to surround the enemy."_

" _How are you gonna take down the tanks?"_

" _Leave that to me. Just be ready to move once they're focused on me." The man nods as she turns towards the roof Cira is standing on. She gathers some power and launches herself up onto the building. She lands next Cira, eliciting a short yelp from the young woman. As Cira regains her composure, Jane uses her biotics to heft Spits onto the roof alongside her._

" _OH! Uh… hi Jane."_

" _Hey Cira, I'm going after the tanks and I need you to cover me. Don't bother with anyone using pistols or SMGs. Focus on grenadiers and anyone with a portable heavy weapon." Cira nods and aims down the street while Jane moves towards the enemy with spits right behind her. Once she's less than twenty yards away, she draws her twin guns and starts pouring fire into the enemy from above, prioritizing anyone who looks like they know what they're doing. She can't see any officer markings, instead relying on a good rule of thumb Patriarch had told her about. When fights mercs go after the biggest and ugliest ones first. The enemy is trying to return fire, but steady shots from Cira's high-powered rifle keeps anyone from bringing a heavy weapon to bear._

 _Jane hoses down a batarian in high-shouldered red armor as she comes to the side of the first tank. She doesn't want to give the rear ranks a clean shot so she skips to the second row. These two are in the heart of the enemy formation. Hopefully that means the other tanks won't try to shoot at her while she goes to work. Jane backs up from the roof's edge and pulls two concussion grenades from her belt. She tosses the grenades into the enemy below, before gathering energy around her. As soon as the grenades detonate, she charges to the edge and leaps towards the nearest tank. While she's in the air, Jane shapes the energy about her into a concentrated orb. As she falls to the tank, she leads with her right arm. Once the orb makes contact with the roof of the tank she releases her control and the power blasts straight down into the vehicle. The turret is crushed, along with the upper third of the tank. She hears a brief scream from inside as the crew is smashed into paste._

 _She sees Spits land in the heart of the closest mercenary team. Her buddy goes wild, chomping and clawing everything in sight. The arc charges she worked into her plating let loose huge jolts of electricity at anyone stupid enough to get close to him. A few mercs manage to get their guns in place before dying, but it does little to help them. His plates are thicker than her's and she's been constantly upgrading his shields. She can't help but beam in pride as her best friend tears through thug after thug like a scythe through wheat. Once his first targets have been shredded, Spits immediately charges into the next group as Jane leaps to the next tank._

 _The tank commander makes a hideous blunder. He actually opens the top hatch to see what landed on the roof. She kicks his head hard enough to knock it all the way back. As the corpse falls back inside, Jane drops a primed phosphorous grenade through the hatch and slams it shut. She hops down just as the grenade goes off. She can hear the crew screaming as the phosphorous burns their flesh off. The tank at the rear of the column fires its main gun at her. The shell screams past, missing by several feet. The gunner must have panicked and now she's going to make them pay for it. Jane floods power into Abyss. The blade grows painfully hot in her hands as she gathers the power she'll need. The huge cannon re-aligns and she knows it's about to fire again. Before is can, Jane swings Abyss in a vertical slash whilst forcing the power out. A golden biotic wave tears towards the enemy vehicle. The wave crashes into the tank and splits it in two down the middle. She must have hit the main magazine because less that a second after the wave hits the ruined vehicle explodes, showing the area with burning wreckage._

 _The last two tanks have turned away from the militia and are grinding back towards her. The tank to her right fires at her with as much accuracy as her most recent victim. The other one isn't aiming at her at all. She follows the direction of its cannon. Those fuckers are aiming at Spits! The gun fires and nearly lands a hit. The shell smashes into the closest building and the blast bulls him over. She's not going to let them get another shot off. Jane floods power into Abyss again and launches another wave. This one isn't as powerful but it still manages to destroy the main cannon. She charges forward and leaps onto the back of the tank. The best part about these older models is that they often used combustible fuel reserves. She slices open the fuel bay mounted to the rear of the tank. The smell of fumes assails her nose as she primes a thermal charge. Jane drops the timed charge into the exposed fuel take and jumps away. She feels a wash of fire as the charge ignites the fuel and blows half the tank off._

 _The final vehicle pans its cannon towards her and fires. The shell flashes over her shoulder and slams into the ruin of the other tank, blowing it to pieces. Her barriers have taken a pounding and a piece of shrapnel gets past them and stabs deep into her shoulder. The pain briefly weakens her control and the shadow inside takes advantage. With a piercing shriek, she lets her power loss. The offending tank is surrounded in a blinding amber aura. A series of mechanical screeching sounds belt out as the tank is crushed by a huge surge of gravity. By the time she gets her control back, the vehicle is less than a third its original size. Jane can see blood oozing from a number cracks in the wreck's side._

 _As she gets her sense back, a wave of weapons fire crashes against her back. Her shields are breached and a dozen shots glance off her plating. Before the enemy can fully breach her defenses, Spits charges into the attacking squad. He bites and slashes everything in range. The last merc in the squad becomes a quick snack as Spits rips the salarian's head off. She can see several more squads pressing in and she reconstitutes her barrier. That should be enough attention, "Holdin! Get moving!" The sergeant acknowledges as Jane gets back to work._

 _Even with the loss of their tanks, the enemy still has dozens of squads pressing in, along with the armored vehicle carrying that volus. Said volus is now pouring a barrage of fire in her direction. She can hear the fat little bastard laughing psychotically as he finds his range. Jane rolls to the right, barely dodging away from the stream of fire. The volus still manages to land a few hits. Her shields haven't had enough time to fully recharge and break under the heavy gun's fire. One bullet breaks through the plating around her left arm. She roars in pain as the shot lodges inside her arm. Now the little fucker dies. Jane sprints towards the armored vehicle, firing one of her guns the whole way. Her shots keep the volus from finding range again, letting her close the distance in no time._

 _The volus struggles to bring his gun to bear but she's inside its minimum angle. Jane throws a grenade into the cab and bolts to the passenger compartment. Her grenade converts the driver to an orange mist as she stabs Abyss into the passenger bay. She runs forward, dragging her blade through the vehicle. The sword slices through the volus at the hip. She can hear screaming through his respirator as she hops onto the top of the vehicle. Jane grabs him by the collar and hauls half the volus out. He leaves behind a foul smelling grey fluid. She cast a warp over his body and looks him in the eye as his suit is vaporized. The volus is just a grotesque quivering blob without his suit. Of course his pathetic form may just be a result of the extreme lack of pressure. Without his suit, the volus' body rapidly splits open and a flood of pale grey gore pours out of the rips in his flesh. The little bastard dies in a quivering puddle. She draws more fire than ever, but she's not worried._

 _Just as her shields are about to fail again, Holdin launches his attack. It's not as clean as last time, but the militia are out for blood. The mercs are caught by surprise and the people of Mindoir rip into them with the kind of fury that a krogan could be proud of. Most of the mercs are killed in a hail of gunfire but when the range falls to zero, the militiamen don't hesitate. Their training was primarily in ranged combat, but that doesn't stop them from venting their rage. With gunbutts, shock mauls, even bare fists, more and more mercs are messily beaten to death. Holdin leads by glorious example._

 _The man is swinging an actual mace with powerful strokes. Jane had made it for him a long time ago as a thank you for helping her build one of the house's extensions. Each strike crushes whatever he hits. A batarian's skull bursts like a melon and his brain paints his squadmates, but Holdin isn't done. His next swing caves in a turian's chest, hurling the bastard to the ground. The next crushes a human's throat and Holdin leaves him to suffocate. Even the krogan facing him goes down as he smashes the big lizard's hump with a huge overhead strike. The ugly bastard falls to the ground, screaming hysterically. He doesn't hesitate to slam the mace down three more time to make sure the prick never gets up. Holdin's squad follows his example with glee. Two of them throw a batarian to the ground and beat him to death with their rifles. Another man runs a salarian through with a jagged bayonet. The only woman in the squad drops her gun and goes wild with a pair of daggers. She slashes a drell's throat before stabbing him in the gut more than a dozen times. The rest of the squad lays down murderous support fire._

 _The sheer bloody fury of the militia has more than one merc trying to turn and flee, but that doesn't change their fate. Jane and Capp had made it very clear what the people should do with enemies that try to run. The militia doesn't hesitate to pour fire into the backs of fleeing mercs. Dozens drop like puppets with cut strings. Those that keep their nerve make the militia pay for every kill. Several people are blown away before Jane can put down the last few enemies. Once the gunfire eases to a trickle, Jane finally has time to survey the area. Hundreds of shredded bodies are scattered about. Most are mercenaries but it breaks her heart to see so many of their own people among the dead. She can see another group of mercs moving down the road, and they don't have enough to meet them here. "Holdin get everyone back to the second line and hold the enemy there no matter what."_

 _He takes a few deep breaths and nods. He calls to the others, "Alright people, good work! Let's get back to the line and dig in! These fuckers think they're here for riches! I say they're here to die!" The militia let out a cheer as they make their way back to the line. Jane stays for a bit to get a good look at the incoming enemy. Spits trots over dragging a batarian carcass by the only limb still attached. He sits down next to her and gnaws on the carcass as she thinks to herself. She's about to head back when General Capp's voice comes over the comm._

" _Shepard, we have a problem."_

" _No shit. What's wrong?"_

" _A group of invaders managed to break through to the northeast. They're attacking the shield pylon. All our reaction teams are engaged. I need you there now."_

" _I can't leave yet. There's another group about to hit the line here."_

" _I know but this is more important. If the shield falls, they can wipe us out from orbit." She knows he's right. That doesn't make it feel any better._

" _Copy that. I'll be there in a few minutes." The general acknowledges and closes the channel. She'll go soon but she needs to do something to help here first. She holsters her guns and builds up a huge charge of power. Jane can feel a massive migraine building but she doesn't have the option of resting right now. The enemy is almost forty yards away as she moves to the next step. Jane uses the gathered power to lift the wreckage of a tank above her before blasting it forward as hard as she can. The wreck sails through the air in a graceful arc before coming down on top of the incoming formation. Dozens of mercs are flattened and several more are maimed by the rolling wreckage. She tosses a few remote charge into the next wreck and repeats her throw. Jane pulses the detonation signal right before impact. The explosives turn the tank in a rain of red hot shrapnel, mowing down mercs despite their attempts to spread out._

 _She staggers slightly and can feel a trickle of blood coming from her nose. Her power was boiling over earlier but she's been using huge amounts of energy for hours now. Hopefully this'll be enough for now. Jane makes her way back to the line and tracks down Holdin. "I've gotta go help further in town. You got things under control here?"_

 _He puffs out his chest and holds his mace high, "Hell yeah! These fuckers picked the wrong colony!" The whole line erupts with cheering. "Don't worry Jane. Go help everybody else. We'll handle these shitheads." Cira has started firing again and it drags the militia's attention back to the enemy. Jane wishes them all luck and makes her way to the center of town._

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2170_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Fel**

He's having the time of his life. His modified claymore is blasting out street clearing cones of death. His bondmate might be able to shriek like a klixen in heat whenever he did something stupid, but she always got him the best presents. The huge shotgun reduces his targets to scraps of flesh, before splattering that flesh far away. His chosen squad is right beside him, pouring fire into every merc stupid enough to come their way. He'd picked them because they had shown the right attitude the whole time they'd been training. It wasn't just about wanting to protect people. That was all well and good, but what was the point of going into a serious fight and not **enjoying** it. These boys get it. They are shouting insults and spitting on every piece of pirate scum they slay.

When he and his little band had arrived in the main residential area, the mercs were already pressing hard. The militia was doing a top notch job, but there was just so much pressure that they had been forced back. Luckily, all the non-combatants had followed instructions, so Fel and his team didn't have to worry about collateral damage. In the two hours since then, he had shot, stabbed, decapitated, crushed, stomped, bitten, and crippled merc scum with the kind of brutal joy even his own people struggled to appreciate in this day and age. His boys were doing the same, even if they weren't as flamboyant as he was.

He hasn't heard a whole lot from the outside, other than the fact that Jane was ripping them a new one to the west and Hannah was holding strong at the house. Fel hasn't heard anything from Thyta and that has him a little worried. The guns still aren't firing, so Thyta must be havin a real hard time. There's nothing he can really do about that right now, so he just keeps on killing. The enemy dead are piled up at least four deep in most of the nearby streets, Fel and the militia having turned the entire area into a merc meat factory.

Another squad goes down with a concentrated salvo from his unit. Two of his boys have been hit, one of which won't be getting up. A single merc manages to get back to his feet, but it won't last. The idiot has a dozen holes in his chest, each one oozing thick orange blood. Fel stomps up to the batarian and slams a fist into his throat. Getting hit like that by a human would crush someone's windpipe. Getting hit by Fel is another story. The batarian's neck snaps like a twig. The still standing corpse theaters for a moment, the head hanging at a grotesquely unnatural angle. Fel chuckles to himself before jabbing a finger at the body's torso. It crumples to the ground and his boys are cheering like crazy. He raises his hands, graciously accepting their praise, "Thank you, thank you. As much as I'd like to stay here to basking in the praise I so richly deserve, we gotta check the other streets. I'll keep watch here. Beck, get a peek at the northern way. Tope, east. Frank, you got the south." As the chosen men break off, Fel's gaze lingers on Frank for a moment. The burly human would have made a good krogan. No only could he make the best slab of tongue meltingly spicey meat Fel had ever tasted, he could swing that sledgehammer of his with enough skill and power to entice even the pickiest krogan female.

While he waits for his boys to fill him in on the situation, Fel decides to check his most recent kill for anything interesting. At first, the little prick is nothing special. All he has is a few crap gun mods, some cheap booze, and a few pics of some morbidly obese creature that he can only assume is what this poor bastard thought was beautiful. As he goes through the final pocket, he finally finds something important. It's a tiny, cheap data pad with an image locked to the screen. It's a grainy, low quality image of a small human girl with dark red hair… and violet eyes. He feels his guts shift as he realizes what it means.

This isn't just a raid. It's a hunt and Jane's the target.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32 - The Battle of Mindoir**

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2170_

 _Location : Mindoir - High Orbit_

 **Jortan**

"Report."

"The first wave has been wiped out. The second is heavily engaged on the western front. Third wave is assembling to the south. They've been under constant and accurate sniper fire the entire time. Outriders are trying to breach the mined alleys. A few have gotten through and are hitting the central shield pylon." It's not how he'd pictured his glorious victory but it'll have to do.

"Have they found her yet?"

"We don't have a confirmed location yet. Some reports say she's leading the western defense, but the groups assaulting the primary residential area are being beaten back with extreme casualties. The sniper fire from the southern edge of town might also be from her. We have no reliable information."

He sits there stewing in his rage for several minutes. "We know she's here. No backwater like this could hold against us so well otherwise. She'll either be where the fighting is thickest or where we can do the most damage."

"That means she's probably at the western front or the shield pylon."

"We'll need to draw her out soon. Tell all outriders to abandon their assigned targets and make for the nearest cleared path to the shield generator. There's no way she'll ignore a threat like that." Taracus transmits the new orders to the surface and Jortan is glad to see his forces moving to obey.

 **Jane**

 _She has to kill several groups of invaders on her way to the generator. Jane also finds several mercs already dead. Most have been blown apart by the mines scattered around town but some are riddled by gunfire. The reaction teams are doing a good job but there aren't enough of them to stop all the merc teams. Jane reaches the town square and looks out in hatred._

 _The few militiamen that had tried to stop these bastards have been lynched. The bodies have been riddled with bullets and several have knives embedded in them. Her rage is burning just below the surface as she makes her way into the square. About eighty mercs are laughing raucously as they try to break into the shield pylon. She can hear grenades and RPGs detonating at the front of the crowd. The main doors will hold for a long time, or at least until someone brings up a cluster of shaped charges. They won't get the chance._

 _Jane draws Abyss in her right hand and one of her twin guns in her left. She floods her blade with power and launches a biotic wave at the enemy's rear. The first six men hit are ripped in two as the wave blows by. A dozen others have their spines crushed and are thrown into the ranks ahead in paralyzed heaps. By the time the enemy turns to this new threat, Jane is already among them. Abyss flashes left and right in a never ending pattern of attack. Every strike flows into the next. A lateral slash into a salarian's chest leads to an uppercut through a turian's face. With her blade still high, Jane turns around and crashes Abyss down to bisect a batarian. While pulling the blade back up, Jane drags the serrations across another batarian's face._

 _Spits finishes every enemy that survives her attacks and savages anyone that gets behind her. She rarely sees his strikes but the aftermath is gruesome enough for her to feel safe with him there. As she continues whirling about, slashing and stabbing everything in range, Jane constantly hears the screaming of dying mercs. She spots gory heaps left in his wake._

 _She's firing her gun the whole time. She doesn't bother aiming since the enemies are so tightly packed. Her shots punch through armor and merc flesh with equal ease. She hasn't decided on a name for it yet. Fel had tried to get her to call her guns a number of goofy or vulgar names, the best of which was Thresher Humpers. Aethyta's suggestions had sounded better, at least until Jane found out what azure meant to an asari._

 _Despite being utterly unhelpful in naming the weapons, Jane still gets some happiness from the abject absurdity of the ideas. That, coupled with the sheer joy of finally getting to let loose without putting anyone else in danger, has got her laughing like a loon as she tears through the mercenaries. She's laughing as she runs another salarian through. She's laughing as she shoots a turian in the eyes. She's laughing as she lands a biotic kick to a human's gut hard enough to burst his intestines. Jane's laughing so hard that her sides are sore by the time the fight is over. She has to spend several minutes just laughing to herself to try and calm down as she walks the field, shooting every fallen merc in the head twice. There's just something funny about how their heads splatter with each shot._

 _When she can finally breath without giggling, Jane turns to the main doors to the shield pylon. The emergency blast doors haven't been lowered yet. Ben won't do that unless he's told to, since they'd have to be cut open to let him out. There are three mercs frantically banging on the door, desperate to escape her. She can't help herself as she stalks closer. As they start pleading for mercy, Jane starts laughing again._

 **Ben**

The banging on the door just keeps getting louder. The security cameras show a whole horde of invaders outside. He can see scum from almost every race outside. Vorcha cannon fodder, herded by krogan warriors. Turians marching in disciplined blocks. The worst part is that there are more than few human faces out there. They are launching all manner of small explosives against the doors and it's starting to get to him. Jane had warned him not to let down the emergency doors without her say so, but he has his hand hovering over the button as the banging gets worse. He was about to hit it anyway when a red angel appeared. The cameras show Jane and her varren ripping apart invaders with wild abandon. He's never seen so much gore outside those sick horror movies people make. Jane is swinging her sword so fast he can barely follow, and she's leaving a trail of slaughter as she goes. Her varren is ripping men apart with sheer brute force. Suddenly the feed cuts out, most likely from a stray shot clipping the camera.

The banging on the door is getting louder and more frantic. He can hear someone screaming right before a black sword stabs through the door. A stream of orange blood trickles down the length of the blade. The banging has completely stopped, along with the shouting. It's replaced by… laughter? He can swear he hears someone giggling. Why would someone be laughing right now?

The near insane laughter keeps going for several minutes. Eventually it fades away and everything goes silent. He almost has a heart attack when he hears her calling, "Hey Ben! You OK?!"

His voice is embarrassingly high as he answers, "Yes! Yes I'm ok!"

"They're all dead out here! Open the door!" He punches his security code in and the door raises. He can see nine parts of three mercenaries splattered around just beyond the door, each getting gnawed in turn by a massive varren. Jane is standing in the doorway, completely covered in blood of almost a dozen hues. Her face plate is retracted and he can see her smiling ear to ear. Was she the one that was laughing? "Is everything still working?"

"Yeah. They just scratched the door a little."

 **Jane**

 _It's a struggle to keep the laughter at bay as she talks to Ben. She can tell he's a little disturbed by her mirth and Jane doesn't want to upset him. She takes a few scans of the pylon. There's some minor surface damage but it's otherwise good to go. Hopefully she'll be able to get back to the battle at large now. She tries to contact Capp, but the general calls first, "Shepard, is the pylon secure?"_

" _We're good general. The paint's scuffed, but no real damage. The enemy here is dead. Where's the fight?"_

" _It's on the way. The enemy has figured it out. They know that the shield is the key to victory. It stays up and we can hold. It falls and…" He doesn't need to say it. Alacus and Benedict had told them what would happen. "The invaders are pouring through every cleared pathway to the shield pylon. Hundreds of them are on the way. Our reaction teams are doing everything they can, but it won't be enough."_

 _She thinks for a bit. This is bad. If she didn't need to keep the pylon safe it wouldn't be a problem, but the shield has to hold. Jane calls up the tac-net and scans for any units she can call in. Most are engaged but the mine is completely clear. Jane brings up the mine's militia commander on her comm, "Mike. I need all the men you can spare. The shield pylon is about to get hit and there aren't many groups in town that can help."_

" _Copy that. We'll load up an ore shuttle and get there as quick as we can."_

" _Come in from the east. The south has too many mercs crawling through it." Mike acknowledges and Jane goes back to scanning the net. The fight in Fel's area is dying down, maybe he can put a few units together. She tries to raise him several times but can't get through. She settles for sending a text to his omnitool. She can see a couple reaction teams a few minutes off making their way to the pylon. She cycles the channel back to the General, "Capp, I've arranged for some help but I need more."_

" _There's no more to send right now. We're almost completely engaged. I've already shifted the bulk of the eastern garrison to the south and west. We can't move the southern units because the enemy still has started to engage there. I'm sorry…" Jane takes a few deep breaths to still her anger. She can do this. She can hold till help arrives._

" _Send help as soon as you can. I'll… I'll make this work." She doesn't wait for his reply. She can already hear the first enemies approaching. She turns to Ben, "Close the blast doors as soon as I'm gone."_

" _But I won't be able to open them when it's over."_

" _Look Ben, either we win and cut you free once the fight is over. Or, we lose and if that happens… It won't matter." The young man nods grimly and goes back to his console. "We'll get through this." Jane steps beyond the doorway and tries to smile at Ben as the blast door lowers. Once she hears the mag-locks engage, Jane moves in the direction of the coming enemy._

 _It's a single squad of batarians and turians with light weapons. Most likely a scouting force. Before they can make any worthwhile observations, Jane pulls her guns and opens fire. Her shots scythe them down in short order. As she gets closer she can see one of them is still alive, a batarian. He's struggling to raise a pistol, so she rips his arm free with a quick biotic pulse. As he screams in pain she steps up next to him. The massive blood loss has him fading fast but he still manages to focus on her for a moment. "It's… it's you… Boss said… but you can't... be real." She levels a gun at his face and pulls the full auto trigger. The batarian's head is pulped and his brains are splattered in all directions. She barely notices. He recognized her! But how? She's never seen him before and he doesn't have any mercenary company or clan marking on him. Jane wants to figure it out, but she doesn't have time to dwell on it anymore. Another group is emerging a few dozen meters away. It's another scouting group._

 _Jane leaps into cover before they can see her. She needs to kill them quickly, before more arrive. Jane quickly makes her way around some of the deployed cover emplacements. They were meant to be manned but with no one available to man them, that meant they currently served as a convenient way for her to stay hidden. She gets behind the mercs and stalks towards them as quietly as she can. They aren't as stupid as the others. They try to cover all the angles and are moving with weapons at the ready, but their rearguard is lazy. The salarian only checks their backs one in a while. It lets her get close completely unnoticed._

 _The salarian turns to check again and sees Jane for a split second before she wraps her hands around his throat and squeezes for all she's worth. The distant sounds of gunshots and explosives covers the slight snap of his neck. She quietly drags to corpse away. Once in cover, she stabs Abyss through his chest, just to be sure. Jane wipes her blade on the corpse before moving on. The group hasn't noticed their diminished number yet. Now that there's no rearguard, she doesn't need to be as careful. She moves quickly and grabs the next in line. The human doesn't have time to shout as she wraps an arm around his throat and wrenches his head to the side. He goes limp and she lowers him to the ground silently. Next is a batarian that stops to loot a body. He loses his head as she walks by. A pair of salarians die as she grabs the sides of their heads and smashes them together. The group finally takes notice of what's happening but she's close enough that it doesn't matter. Before they can call out, Jane pours power into Abyss and launches a wave. It slices through all but the leader, a drell. Instead of shooting her, he tries to activate his comm. The channel opens but her blade is in his heart before he can relay his message. She kicks the corpse free but there's no time to rest._

 **Jortan**

He's leaning back in his chair and lets Taracus' steady stream of reports. The western front is a dead end. The colonists are holding but other than that there's nothing of note. Apparently she had been there but now she's gone. There are so many mined paths and streets that his men are being forced into predetermined avenues. It's getting them killed in droves. The northern group is nothing but meat. They haven't heard anything from Teg in hours but luckily the guns are still silent. The outriders are making their way to the shield generator in small groups. Someone killed the first groups but it's only a matter of time. He's stewing in his hatred for the little monster as Taracus carries on, " Another group has gone dark. Sniper fire in the south is getting worse. We've got… by the spirits!"

The report stops for several seconds and Jortan is close to losing his temper, "What? Dammit Taracus? What?!"

"We've got video feed from the shield square. Putting it on the main screen." A video feed takes over his tactical viewer. Things look pretty normal at first. There's some gunfire and a few locals hanging from lampposts. Then he sees her. The little demon that's caused him so much trouble. She's much taller than she used to be and she fights with more fury than ever. The bitch is tearing through his men with wild abandon. Blood and severed limbs fall in a heavy rain. Her ugly monster is right behind her, armored and shielded in gear even heavier than it had been on Omega. Both of them are obviously much stronger than the last time he'd seen them.

More and more of his men are pouring into the square. They have a few secure paths through the town so the flow of troops is fairly steady. He can see some of his men landing shots but those accursed golden barriers keep her virtually unscathed. He needs to hit her now, before she can disappear again. "Send word to all units. Abandon **all** alternative objectives and make for the town center. Forget everything else and kill her. Nothing else matters. And make sure the men know that the demon's bounty is still active. Eighty million to the man that finally brings her down. Twenty million for anyone that puts down that monster fighting beside her." Taracus relays the change in plans. The shift refreshingly immediate. He can see nearly every unit breaking off from their current engagements and make for their new target. A potential pay day of a hundred million credits would get almost anyone going. "Launch the final wave. Once she's dead, burn everything."

He's getting his confidence back. No one, not even that monster could take on so many. As long as the guns stay quiet everything will be fine.

 **Aethyta**

Her head is pounding. She feels like she did the night after her bonding ceremony with Nezie, but this time she didn't get to have the fun part beforehand. She slowly gets up and looks around. Three of the militiamen have their backs to her and are occasionally firing through the door. The fourth is on the ground in front of the door, missing most of his head. She can hear Blue making repeated passes overhead. As Aethyta's head finally clears enough to think she calls out to the nearest man. "Pat, the fuck's going on?"

The man in question turns from the door with a huge grin on his face. "Just keeping a few flies away while you get better." Pat turns back to the outside and laughs heartily as he fires his rifle on full auto. Aethyta struggles for a time and finally gets back to her feet.

"How long have I been out?"

One man calls out without turning, "Bout three hours! We got hit right after the last bomb went off! Jim went down with the first shot, but we're making these slagheads pay!" Three hours! Aethyta hobbles over to the console, to dazed to even think about checking for more traps. Luckily nothing else explodes as she limps over. The controls are completely shredded and she almost passes out again. The only thing that keeps her from kissing the floor is the knowledge that however bad things are right now, they'll get infinitely worse if the guns stay quiet any longer.

Though the console is smashed, there's still a way. Aethyta manages to hack into the main server and activates the emergency protocols for the defense grid. Jane hadn't told anyone but her and Fel about the back door into the system. She takes a few steadying breaths to clear her mind. They need to wrap things up here and get back to town.

Her head is still thumping like a krogan playing a drum, so she uses the pain and the anger from it to fuel her biotics. Her barrier blocks multiple shots as she steps into the courtyard. A dozen mercenary corpses are strewn about, each one riddled with bullets. She can see at least nine still alive, cowering behind the low walls of the compound. She's in no mode for subtlety. Aethyta gathers her power and launches a massive shockwave. The surge of energy slams into the wall, blasting it to rubble and tearing the crouching mercs into gory ribbons. Jane wasn't the only one who could kill with biotics so easily. The last local merc dies in haze of violet as a warp from Aethyta rips him apart. She limps to the ruined wall and looks out. Four armored trucks have been wrecked by aerial fire from Gavin. As she watches, the fifth and final truck is blown to pieces by a final pass from Blue. Gavin's managed to wrack up a hell of a kill count. The ground is cratered and burned bodies are scattered for a hundred feet in almost every direction. The few surviving mercs die horribly as Aethyta lifts each one in a biotic field before pulling them in two different directions.

As the last carcass slumps to the ground in two pieces, Aethyta calls to the pilot, "Have Gavin, get your ass down here. We need to head back in."

"The hell took so long?! You get the guns going?" The distant booming of ten orbital denial guns answers for her. They won't be as accurate without trained operators, but hopefully the auto-targeting software will be enough. "Nevermind. Be down in a bit." Blue settles into the field as Aethyta heads back to the sensor control room.

"Alright, I'm headed back to town. We need a couple people hear to make sure they don't wreck the servers. Any volunteers?" All three step up.

"We'll keep it clear ma'am." The three of them start dragging a set of cabinets over to barricade the door. Hopefully they won't need to hold from anymore attackers because those cabinets wouldn't stop an irritable hanar. Aethyta wishes them luck and gets to Blue as quickly as she can manage. One of the three surviving gunners helps her up and they leave the sensor station behind. The heavy guns are firing in a rippling pattern in order to keep the outgoing shots constant. A steady stream of heavy shells are screaming into the sky at hypersonic velocity.

Aethyta can see that it was just in time. A massive new flock of shuttles had been descending from orbit. Said flock is now being decimated by the big guns. Despite only about sixty percent of the shots hitting, each impact blows a shuttle to pieces. Even glancing hits leave little more than tattered wreckage. Close to two dozen shuttles are blasted out of the sky before the rest begin to bank away and make a hard burn back into orbit. Now that the shuttles aren't coming to the colony the guns will reprioritise to the bastards in orbit. Gavin starts waving at her to get her attention, "Hey Aethyta, where to?"

"Drop me off at the house and then go find Jane. Goddess knows she probably needs fire support in this mess."

 **Jane**

 _A high caliber shell hits her in the back. The shot fails to pierce her barrier but she's still staggered. Jane spins around, shoving Abyss back into the scabbard and drawing her twin guns again. A few mercs go down but there are plenty more pouring into the square. As Jane tries to drop the new group a shotgun blast tears a chunk from the ground next to her. Another group is emerging from the southwest and another from the northwest and another and another. They're coming in too fast for her to keep up. She's killed several squads but there are always more of them. A grenade goes off right next to her and a piece of shrapnel breaks through her barrier. Her standard shields stop it but they're being drained fast. Jane dives out of the line of fire and tries to give her shields time to recover. No such luck however._

 _Escaping from one squad's fire puts her in sight of another. Shot after shot sails towards her in a seemingly endless stream. Many pass by harmlessly, but there's so much incoming fire that some hit home. She puts away one gun to draw abyss before sprinting towards the nearest group, hoping that their fellows won't shoot into the crowd. At the very least she can use them as meat shields. Spits is right behind her as she slams into one of the merc squads. Jane slashes left and right at everything she can reach. She has no time to make sure that every target is dead before moving on. She opts for the quickest and easiest strikes. Quick stabs to center mass have several men screaming as they try to hold their guts in. Slashes across faces leave man after man blind and helpless. Spits doesn't waste anytime eating. Instead he just rips and tears every target he can sink his teeth or claws into._

 _Her hopes at reducing incoming fire are for naught. The mercs are shooting into the melee with complete disregard for their allies. She grabs hold of a turian's throat and uses him as a shield to buy a few seconds to look around. Jane's killed squad after squad but they just keep coming. Her turian friend is being rapidly shredded by the still growing deluge of gunfire but he'll last for a bit longer. Jane notices something strange. As the fight carries on she's being forced further away from the shield pylon, but the enemy isn't going after it much. In fact, it looks like they're ignoring it entirely. She has to drop the tattered ribbons of flesh that used to be a turian so she can dive away from an incoming missile._

 _As she rises and fires into the encroaching crowd she finally gets it. They_ _ **are**_ _ignoring the pylon. They_ _ **aren't**_ _here for it. They_ _ **are**_ _here for her. The enemy used the threat to the shield to lure her out and now that they know she's here, they're doing everything they can to kill her. Rockets, bullets, grenades, thrown weapons, stun batons, and a plethora of other weapons are brought to bear as she continues to stab and shoot everyone she can. The realization chills her to the core right before a rocket slams into the ground next to her._

 _The blast drains what's left of her shields. Before she can reconstitute her barrier, Jane takes several shots all over her body. Her plating blocks most of them but at least a few find a way. She feels a surge of fire in her chest as a shot embeds itself in her left lung. Another screams into the joint between her hip and stomach. She is almost blown off her feet when she takes a blast from an SMG to the face. Her helmet is shattered and several shots graze by, leaving shallow cuts on her neck and face. Desperate to get some semblance of control back, Jane pours everything she can into a hasty barrier. The golden shield springs up just in time. Another rocket screams towards her and this one is dead on. As if guided by the hand of Artemis herself, the rpg slams into the center of her barrier and breaks it. Though robbed of its killing force, the blast is still enough to throw her back through a nearby window._

 _For a short moment, Jane loses control. The beast charges out and lends her a surge of power. She lets loose a hideous snarl as she gathers her power. Once it's ready, Jane lets loose with a massive push. A golden cascade of power blast out from the wrecked storefront and slams into the approaching horde. Dozens of men are atomized. Many more are simply crushed as the surge of power tears past them. The energy screams all the way across the town square before finally dissipating against another building. The enemy backs off for a moment, trying to regain their courage. It gives her times to reign in what's inside and take stock. There's blood pouring from her nose now and it feels like her lung is almost full. She has to puke up a fair amount of blood before continuing. She can hear a lot of voices coming from behind the building. At first she thinks it's more mercs but as she listens to them more closely, Jane feels a flood of relief. She launches a flare at the enemy before diving through the back door. The ensuing blast of golden light keeps the enemy dazed long enough for her to make contact with those behind the store._

 _As she looks up, Jane sees over a hundred rifles leveled at her and that feeling of relief grows tenfold. It's the miners! There are also quite a few people from town. They must have been looking for direction and just been absorbed by the group. Mike calls for everybody to stand down and runs over to her. "Christ Jane! You almost got shot…" The dark skinned man gets a better look at her and manages to get a few shades paler. "Holy shit! You need a medic." He tries to call the mine's doc over but she waves him off._

" _No time! Listen up! I'm gonna blast a hole big enough for us all to get through. Once the way is clear, I want everyone with a flashbang to throw it through the gap! If you don't have one, use a frag grenade or phosphorus or concussion or whatever the fuck you've got. After the explosions are done, we go through and kill everything. Don't stop until you're sure militia are the only one's left standing! Got it!" A chorus of hell yeahs and assorted gung-ho cheers sound out as she starts gathering power. One last thought comes to mind before she's ready. "Hey Hank! This is your store right!" An older man steps up and nods. "Look I'm really sorry about this! I promise I'll pay for it!"_

" _Wait, sorry for what?" Instead of answering, Jane lets loose a howl and launches her gathered energy into the building between them and the square. A massive biotic blast rips through the building and catapults the debris into the square. Several mercs are splattered by falling rubble._

" _Throw now!" Close to eighty grenades go sailing through the gap. By the grace of some incredibly generous god, not one fails to fly true. A long series of detonations wrack the square and the already abundant screaming redoubles yet again. Once the explosions die down, Jane holsters her gun before holding Abyss up for all to see and giving the order, "CHARGE!" She leads the way, almost two hundred militiamen following right behind with a roar of fury the entire town could hear. If anyone thought it strange to be following a sixteen year old girl into battle, not one of them let it slow their attack._

 _They surge through the gap and immediately zero in on the enemy. A few mercs still have their wits about them and are trying to rally the others. Some are firing at Jane and the miners but it doesn't slow them at all. The men of the mine have the best gear of anyone in the militia and it shows. Not a single one of them falls as the distance closes. The few men with heavier ranged weapons take position on any elevated place they can find and lay down withering cover fire. Everyone is firing as they charge. It doesn't matter that most of the shots sail wide. They're putting out so much heat that mercs are being blown away left and right. They could probably hold position, whittle the enemy down over time. But this was never going to be settled at range. The people have let Jane's rage carry them into battle and only blood will settle them._

 _At the head of over a hundred enraged men and women, Jane is the first one to crash into the ragged mercenary line. She swings Abyss with both hands, letting her power flow down the blade as she goes. Jane leaves piles of mutilated dead in her wake. The miners hit the line only a few instants after her. The first few mercs are simply bulled over and trampled. The few unlucky bastards to stay standing in their midst are run through by bayonets or simply beaten to death. Jane and her men wade deeper and deeper into the enemy 'formation', killing with feral joy. Jane decapitates a vocha as Mike cracks a turian skull with the butt of his shotgun. A pair of miners, the Doyle twins, fight in tandem. One uses his SMG to strip shields and the other finishes the job with a single pistol shot to each target. Blood is rapidly pooling under their feet. The smell of burned flesh and burst intestine floods the square as the slaughter continues._

 _Despite their colossal casualties, the mercs are starting to recover a bit. A few of her men drop from well placed shots and she can tell that their charge is starting to lose its momentum. They might have been in trouble if Fel hadn't chosen that moment to arrive. Apparently, the bulky krogan felt the same way as she did. Fel doesn't waste any time shooting into the crowd, opting instead to charge headlong with his blade. His chosen men are right behind him. When Fel hits the line, it's like a bomb goes off. Mercs are tossed into the air as Fel swings his massive blade around him in murderous arcs. He slashes, punches, and stomps on anything in his way. His men are just as brutal, if a little less potent. The most impressive of the them is Frank. A nice enough guy when things were peaceful, Frank is an absolute beast in battle. He swings a massive sledge hammer around like it was made of plastic. The result is impressive to say the least. Every hit crushes whatever is struck. Armor, guns, skulls, it doesn't matter. As Fel and his men rip into the mercs, Jane hears another welcome sound from the west._

 _A couple militia units have set up a pair of auto-cannons on one of the roofs and are firing into the enemy force, careful to avoid areas where they might hit an ally. She notices a few mercs going down at her flanks and spots Cira up on a nearby roof, sniping anyone Jane happens to miss. More units are arriving as they fight. The mercs are still getting reinforcements, but the torrent has slowed to a trickle._

 _She refocuses on the task at hand. Jane keeps moving, slashing, stabbing, punching, kicking, killing. There's so much sound, so much blood. The pain she knows so well is there. Her head is pounding and her skin is on fire. The bullet holes in her chest and hip grind with every movement. She completely coated in blood as she continues to rip through the enemy. It all so horrible, so painful, and it feels so fucking wonderful. She hasn't felt so alive in years. Jane had always been a little nervous over how much she enjoyed bloodshed, but today she doesn't care anymore. Her heart is soaring. She feels so free._

 _The battle is an utter bloodbath and some mercs are trying to surrender. That just won't do. Jane breaths deep before calling out as loudly as she can, "THEY CAME HERE FOR BLOOD!" A roar of hate rolls out from the militia._

" _WE'LL GIVE THEM BLOOD!" The blood on the ground is up to her ankles._

" _THEY CAME HERE FOR DEATH!" Another roar._

" _THEN THEY'LL DIE!" The bodies on the ground are mangled._

" _NO PRISONERS!" Her soul is singing with the call._

" _NO PRISONERS!" Any who try to surrender are gunned down._

" _NO MERCY!" She caves a pleading batarians chest in with a kick._

" _NO MERCY!" They have none to show_

" _KILL THEM ALL!" The militia obliges. The mercenaries aren't trying to fight anymore. Every single one of them is trying to escape, but there is no escape. The people of Mindoir demand retribution. The fight has devolved into an utter massacre. Several militiamen are slain by desperate mercs but the militia has the momentum. Jane meets Fel in the swirling melee and runs a batarian through as Fel beheads a turian behind her. They don't stay close, each wanting as much space as possible to kill without endangering another. They kill and kill and kill. It's a total surprise when it finally ends._

 _Jane lands an overhand strike against a salarian, splitting him from hip to shoulder. She turns to face the next enemy only to find that there are no more. The only living things left in the square are allies. She jumps onto a nearby pile of rubble and raises Abyss over her head, "MINDOIR!"_

" _MINDOIR!" The people let out a cacophonous cheer that shakes the square. As the people celebrate, Jane brings up the tac-net and is elated at what she sees. What enemies were left on the western front are dead. The east is clear and the north is a graveyard. All that's left is the southern force… but what she sees there punctures her good mood. The house is completely surrounded and under siege. The only nearby units have gone dark. No one is close enough to help. Jane immediately takes off to the south. Some of the militia try to follow but she's moving too quickly. Only Spits can keep up._

 _Jane tears down the southbound road, desperately praying that she won't be too late._

 **Jortan**

It's over. The very idea that they have failed is soul crushing. The gods were supposed to be with them. They'd had surprise, heavy armor, orbital control, and an army of bloodthirsty bastards. None of it had mattered. That monster had slaughtered everything they threw at her. She's turned the entire colony into a war machine. The fourth wave might have been able to turn the tide, but the guns had put paid to that hope. As shuttle after shuttle was punched from the sky, the fourth wave had shown its true colors, turning and running from the fight. Now they were approaching the fleet, requesting clearance to re-board. "Sir, we've got an Alliance fleet coming out of FTL at the system edge." Even the distraction has failed. If they stay, they'll all die.

Though it nearly kills him to say it, Jortan manages to force out his next orders, "Tell the fleet to break anchor and head for the jump point. Tell them to ditch any pursuers before heading back to base. Anyone who disobeys gets skinned."

Taracus relays the orders with his characteristic discipline, but Jortan can tell even his faith has been shaken. "Sir, what about the fourth wave. None of them have docked yet." He looks over his tactical view, glaring at the cowards who have the nerve to request safety after betraying him so utterly.

"There's no place for the weak or cowardly among us. Kill them all." A few moments later the guardian systems for the entire fleet light up and pour murderous laser fire into the flotilla of shuttles. It only takes a few moments to destroy all of them. "Get us out of here. I'll have words with the other priests." He can see some of his ships coming under fire from the surface guns. He doesn't know how she got weapons so powerful to such a meaningless ball of dirt and to tell the truth, he doesn't care. He doesn't care when the Taken Pride is blown in two. He doesn't care when Whistler is gutted. He couldn't care less when four more ships are destroyed as the surface guns breach their reactors. He is having trouble caring about anything as the Spite burns hard for the system edge. The ragged remains of his fleet reach the jump point and disappear into FTL, leaving behind nothing but shame and failure.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33 - Always a Price**

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2170_

 _Location_ _: Mindoir_

 **Jane**

 _The guns are finally firing. If the current situation wasn't so desperate, she'd be elated. The grid is using the ripple fire pattern so Aethyta had probably been forced to activate the contingency program. Jane can hear a number of impacts but can't see them. Hopefully it'll be enough to drive the enemy out of orbit._

 _The streets are mostly clear as Jane makes her way south. A few burned vehicles are scattered here and there along with numerous bodies. She can already hear the fight. There are sounds from plenty of different weapons, but the only one she cares about is blasting out a regular rhythm. She can't see what's going on but at least she can tell that Hannah is still okay. Jane runs as fast as she can. She has to get there. She can't let Hannah get hurt because of her. Jane knows this entire thing is her fault. They came for her._

 _Jane finally makes the turn leading to their house and gets a good look at the last enemies left. The house is completely surrounded. All of the windows have been shattered but most of the steel shutters are still in place. At least a few militia members are still alive. Jane can see a couple heavy weapons firing into the crowd. Most importantly, she can see the three people on the roof. Two are pulling from an armored case and hurling grenade after grenade into the enemy horde. They don't even need to aim as the mercs are tightly packed. Every blast kills a dozen more but there are plenty where they came from._

 _Hannah's up there too, moving from side to side, firing her rifle with the same flawless aim Jane has come to expect. Every shot blows another enemy's head off. Her adopted mother is the best sniper on the planet. As she gets closer, Jane radios Gavin, "Gavin, where are you?"_

" _Just now getting back to town. Aethyta got the guns working after a bit of excitement. I'm gonna take her to the house. Where do you need me after that?"_

" _Don't try to land or drop her off. The house is swarming with mercs. Get there as fast as you can and strafe the bastards!" Gavin acknowledges before closing the channel. She's only another fifty yards away when disaster strikes. Despite its solid construction and heavy reinforcement, the house has reached the end of its strength. A heavy mortar crashes down onto the roof. It doesn't blow right away. Instead, the shell breaks through the roof and second floor, before detonating at ground level. Jane feels her heart rip in two as the majority of the house collapses. As it falls, she sees a flash of purple and Hannah disappears down into the rubble._

 **Aethyta**

"Faster!"

"I know!"

"We need to get there now!"

"I KNOW!

"They need us!"

" **I KNOW!** " Blue is screaming over the town as Gavin pushes it beyond its safety limits. A dozen warning lights are flashing as they race towards Hannah and Jane. The house is just coming into view when the collapse starts. The two of them feel like time is standing still and some cruel demon is forcing them to watch the tragedy unfold. Aethyta's not sure, but it looks like someone had still been uptop. There weren't many people that would have been up there and Aethyta feels her stomach clench at the idea of losing another close friend. It's a terrible pain that she knows never really goes away. Gavin throttles back, unsure what to do. Aethyta is pondering that very question, when they get their answer from the ground below.

A huge blast of biotic energy rips half a block apart and she feels an apocalyptic surge of power. Her nose starts bleeding as she struggles through the massive migraine brought on by the unfolding disaster. "Yo Aethyta! AETHYTA! What the hell's going on?!"

It's a battle to form the words. The pain in her head is immense beyond her most pessimistic dreams. Her fear over what is coming is worse. "Circle around and hit them... from the far side... of the house. If… if we get in the way… she might not recognize us."

"Who? What the hell are you talking about?!" She doesn't need to answer. A huge pulse of amber energy flashes down the street and lands amidst the enemy. The ensuing detonation rips damn near sixty of them apart, but that's just the beginning. A streak of gold surges from one point fifty meters away, straight into the surviving mercs. Even from here, Aethyta can hear the mind shredding cry of pain coming from her student. More and more are being slaughtered every second in blinding flashes of golden power. Aethyta still remembers her own brush with that power. She still remembers the last time Jane lost control.

 **Jane**

" _Kalta…" It was the only thing she said. It came out as the tiniest of whispers, but Spits still heard it. He whines quietly, quickly backing off and running to safety. Once she is sure he's clear, she gives in. Jane gives into the beast. All her pain, all her rage, all her terror over what she may have just lost drives her beyond the edge. She spots her shadow for an instant. Fiery tears trail down its face to match her own. The shadow wraps itself around her heart and she goes berserk. A monolithic blast levels her surroundings. Before the dust can settle, Jane launches a massive warp at the enemy. Many are ripped apart, but it's not enough. It can never be enough._

 _She lets that old and pure rage carry her. Jane feels herself catapulted the final stretch in a corridor of light. She exits the jump with a shriek of demons. A dozen are slain before anyone realizes she's there. Jane doesn't fight with skill anymore. Her attacks aren't carefully considered or measured. There's no finesse, no pride in good bladework or smooth biotic flow. No, there is only fury. The mindless, murderous fury that has killed so many. She doesn't try to stop it. She doesn't want to stop it. Jane want's them to die, all of them. The beast obliges with an outpouring of hatred so powerful that for a time it burns away everything else. She can't feel anything but hate and pain._

" _I'm alone…" It hurts so much more than anything else. "Alone." She swings at everything that moves. "Alone." Limbs are lopped off. "Alone." Heads are crushed. "Alone." Blood coats her from head to toe. "Alone."_

 _She's shrieking her pain so loudly that many are struck dumb by the ear splitting sound, only to be blasted into pieces by her biotics. She hasn't been so lost since the day she escaped. Since the day she finally killed_ _ **Him,**_ _and his smile began to haunt her nightmares. The bodies pile up in massive heaps as she tries to drown her pain in endless slaughter. The air is filling with vaporized blood. The scent of burning flesh and spilled guts simply pours fuel on the fires of rage. Everything has gone red. It doesn't matter that most of her prey aren't human. All is crimson red as she sends so many screaming into hell._

 _A group of turian's are flattened as she pulls them to the ground. A krogan tries to charge her and is split in two by a wave from her sword. Two batarians fire at point blank range, only to fall to dust as she passes. Jane swings Abyss around in wild fury, golden death surging out in unstoppable waves to slaughter more and more with each passing moment. If she could see or hear anything beyond her rage, she would see some men dying from Blue's strafing runs. But she doesn't care. Jane has to kill. She needs to kill. That's all she has left._

 **Priest**

His secondary objective is complete. The shadow council's caretaker for the Fulcrum is buried in rubble and it's drawn her out. She slaughters his force effortlessly, but the mercenaries are merely pawns. It doesn't matter how many of them die. It won't matter if all of them die, and given that Jortan has fled such a fate has become certain. They put up a valiant effort, at least for a while. More and more of the batarian mercenaries are falling to their knees in supplication. They have fallen for the same false belief as Jortan. They believe her some kind of goddess from a bygone age. It has proven a useful ruse. It gave his master an army of willing slaves, and now it's put him in range of his target.

The priest steps into her line of sight as she slaughters a dozen kneeling men. Some mercenaries are attempting to pay the toll of mercy she demanded on Omega. It does them no good. It is clear that the sub-cerebral aberration has taken full control. There is virtually nothing that will pull her from this state. He draws himself to his full height shrugs off his robes. She finally turns to him as both dark blades slide from their sheaths and into his hands.

The Fulcrum snarls at him like a rabid animal. His mission is about to be concluded. "You're death is my mandate." The statement has no impact on her. Why would it? She's fallen fully into the darkness. He flexes his cybernetic limbs as they begin to close with each other.

 **Jane**

 _The creature smells like the ones from Arcturus. Burnt plastic and skin. It's armor is jet black with a mirrored faceplate. She sees her reflection and it only drives her deeper into the darkness. Jet black swords are hanging from both of the creature's hands as it calls to her, "You're death is my mandate." It sounds so familiar. She's heard it before but can't remember where. The voices inside, quiet for most of the fight, are starting to roar in her mind. They hate this thing almost as much as she does. They have seen this thing before. Thousands of times it has appeared to spread pain and misery._

 _Many of the voices whisper to her. "It was that thing- he killed her- killed him- killed them- killed us-," The raw pain pouring from memories that aren't her is lighting her veins on fire. A final voice calls out, "He took away Hannah…" She throws herself at the creature with a shriek of depthless pain. Abyss flashes down faster than ever before. The creature deflects it with one of its own blades before slashing the other at her. She catches the blade on her shoulder plate and is nearly thrown to the ground by the power behind the strike. It swings both blades at her and she's forced onto the defensive. It's as strong as she is, as fast as she is, and it's blade can cut through her plates with ease. She knocks one blade away before feeling the second slash across her back. The blade comes within a hair's breadth of cutting through her spine. She staggers for a moment before re-engaging._

 _Jane launches a kick into its left leg and is rewarded with a grinding crunch. Instead of going down, the creature simply pivots on its good leg, before slamming the broken limb into her right knee. She feels the bones break like twigs but rage keeps her standing, despite the shriek of pain. She floods Abyss with power and goes back on the offensive. Her blows are actually doing a bit of damage now. She chips away a little bit more of it with every strike. A black shoulder plate is ripped off by a backhanded slash. One of its blades is sent flying after being caught by Abyss' serrations. Jane powers a fist into the creature's face and shatters the plate covering it._

 _Beneath it is a black and blue face lined with rotting skin and glowing blue cybernetics below the surface. Before she can take advantage of this new weak spot, the being backhands her, knocking out at least two teeth. It's blade flashes across her stomach and she can feel the blood as it seeps out of the cut. She hears a clicking noise just before the creature's regenerated left leg slams into her chest, breaking ribs. Jane loses her footing and tumbles halfway down the hill. She scrambles to her feet just in time to slash Abyss across the thing's chest. It doesn't slow it in the slightest. It's own blade flashes down, cutting across her torso. It leaves a shallow furrow down her center but luckily fails to pierce her skin._

 _Her injuries are starting to slow her down. The cuts on her stomach and back are bleeding heavily. Her broken knee is getting worse with every torturous step. Jane can feel blood pooling in her suit despite her medi-gel dispenser's best efforts. The injuries are starting to drag her away from her berserk state. The rage is still there but she's losing too much blood to maintain the frenzy. She feels like she's being drained by something. The creature, while damaged, suffers no such impediment. She ducks its next blade strike but she's to slow to avoid its free hand. It takes hold of a fist full of her hair and cannons a knee into her face before bodily throwing her the rest of the way down the hill. She lands hard, her broken knee shattering in a firestorm of agony as she rolls further away. Jane desperately struggles back to her feet and balances precariously on her good leg._

 _The creature slowly stalks down the hill towards her. "Your end has come."_

 _Her mind has almost completely cleared. She can finally think again and she wracks her brain for something, anything she can use. One of Fel's old lessons comes to mind, 'When survival is on the line, there are no rules!' Many species saw a fight between blades a something sacred. Once begun, neither combatant was supposed to use another weapon. But it's not sacred to her. Jane stabs Abyss into the ground in front of her while reaching for their hips. The creature doesn't understand at first. It stops advancing to speak. "Surrender will not save you."_

" _Who said anything about surrender you son of a bitch?!" Jane pulls her twin guns from her belt. The creature bellows in rage and tries to reach her. She squeezes both full auto triggers and lets loose a firestorm. While she fires, Jane focuses all her power into a tiny biotic field directly in front of each barrel. As her shots sail through, each is wrapped in its own miniature warp field. The shots barrel into her foe with devastating effect. Each impact blows a piece from the creature. It desperately tries to reach her, to finish what it started, but she doesn't relent. At twenty feet, her shots blow off its left arm. At fifteen, a chunk of its head is torn off. At ten, a massive hole is opened in its torso. At five, its left leg disintegrates. The creature falls at her feet, its final swing sailing wide. She doesn't stop shooting. Jane pours hundreds of shots into the spasming corpse, each one wrapped in tiny mote of darkened rage. The creature is reduced to a foul smelling black paste before it falls to dust in a haze of miniature red lightning._

 _As the wind carries the last specks of the thing away, Jane takes several ragged breaths. Everything feels like lead as she struggles to stay awake. Eventually she turns her gaze to the rubble her home and frantically hobbles back up the hill, her shattered knee screaming at her every step of the way. Blue settles a few dozen meters away and she can hear people coming down the main road cheering, but she only has eyes for the ruin before her. She can't help it as tears stream down her face. Jane reaches the pile of rubble and almost collapses from her despair. Then, she hears it. A heartbeat! Someone is alive down there! She gathers as much power as she can and heaves the piles of shattered steel and masonry away. There are plenty of bodies riddled with bullets and several more that were crushed in the collapse. Jane keeps throwing junks out of the way until she finds her. Hannah is near the center of the ruin._

 _Jane moves as quickly as she can, the pain in her knee comes closer to dropping her with every step. She finally can't stand anymore and crumples a few feet away. She drags herself the rest of the way to Hannah's side. Her mother's heart is still beating but it's very weak and her breathing is almost non-existent. "Please, please, please don't leave me…" Jane pulls her screaming knee beneath her and kneels next to Hannah. She gently cradles her, pleading for hope, "Don't go! Please wake up!" Jane can hear two familiar treads approaching, followed by a gasp from behind her._

" _Goddess!" Aethyta runs to her side and immediately starts scanning. "She's bleeding inside. Got some head trauma too." The matriarch quickly injects a heavy dose of medi-gel and goes back to scanning._

 _Fel is far behind, "Hey Jane you ok? Oh shit…" The burly krogan stomps over. He kneels down as he strips off his gloves. Fel puts a single huge finger on Hannah's throat, "Got a pulse. Weak and fading!"_

 **Fel**

He doesn't know what to do. He knows how to treat flesh wounds but this is way beyond him. As Hannah's pulse fades, Jane becomes more and more frantic, "No, no, no. Hannah please!" The medi-gel isn't working. The human woman's pulse is still fading. He looks to Aethyta and the matriarch looks back. They both know what's about to happen.

 **Aethyta**

She's lost friends before. Friends, lovers, allies, co-workers, drinking buddies. A thousand years is a long time. It never gets easier, but it's going to be much worse for Jane. Hannah and the girl were far closer that Aethyta had ever been with her own mother.

Aethyta keeps watch as Hannah's pulse slowly fades to nothing. Jane is hyperventilating as she begs for it to stop.

 **Jane**

 _She can't breathe. Her heart beats faster and faster as Hannah's slows. "Don't go, don't go, don't go, don't go," Then it finally happens. The sound of her mother's heart fades entirely and she stops breathing. "Hannah? MOM?!" She looks up to Fel and Aethyta. The two of them look back with nothing offer but their own grief. "No, no, no, no, this isn't real. This isn't happening. Please say it's not happening!"_

 _Fel holds a hand out, "Jane… I'm sorry." She angrily knocks his hand away._

" _NO! This isn't happening! I won't let it!"_

 _This time Aethyta tries to get through to her, "Jane, there's nothing we can do… She's gone…"_

 _She glares at Aethyta with a visceral rage, "DON'T SAY THAT! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT! NO SHE ISN'T!" She props Hannah up with one hand and hovers the other over her mother's chest. "The brain stays alive for several minutes after the heart stops! If I can get it going again she'll be fine!" She gathers energy and carefully moves it into Hannah's chest. Jane maneuvers the energy field with every scrap of precision she can muster. Eventually she manages to get the field around Hannah's heart and lungs. Careful not to crush the delicate organs, Jane gently squeezes them in a slow and steady rhythm._

 _Fel's eyes are nearly bugging out of his skull, "By my ancestors. I… I got a pulse!"_

 _Aethyta watches in astonishment as her omni-tool shows the organs expanding and contracting. They can hear air moving in and out of Hannah. Jane keeps it up for several minutes, her tears pouring down her face as she tries to save her mother. It's amazing, but she can't do it forever, "Jane, you gotta stop now. This won't mean anything if she can't breath on her own." Jane slowly lets the field fade away._

 _Hannah's heart is beating on without her help but it quickly starts to fade again. They wait for several minutes, each of them pleading with powers beyond them for help. As they hope against hope, someone climbs up over the side of the house's ruined facade. She can distantly hear Gavin's voice as she rocks back and forth. "Hey guys! What's… what's… oh god…" Aethyta walks to him._

" _Get back out there. Don't let anyone else up here."_

" _What the hell am I supposed to say? Half the fucking militia is on it's way here to celebrate." she can hear the joyful chanting approaching the house. Aethyta answers by throwing a rifle into his hands and shoving him away._

" _Just climb up a big rock and start bragging about how we've won. Be as loud and as insulting to the mercs as you can. If anyone asks just tell them Jane is helping Hannah and they need space. Now go!" Aethyta gives Gavin another shove before returning to Hannah's side. Her heartbeat is still slowing. Jane has got one hand tangled in her hair as she frantically begs for Hannah to stay with them. Fel keeps calling out her pulse._

" _She's still fading… fading...wait," Jane snaps her gaze to him. A look of pure dread fixed on her face. "She's stable. Weak, but stable." Jane lets out the breath she'd been holding and hugs Hannah tight._

 _They wait for quite a while, long enough for the crowd to start gathering. Gavin is enthusiastically ranting about their victory, whilst skillfully deflecting questions about the Shepards. Any other time and Jane would have been happy to join in. Hannah's vital signs have reached a stable level but they're still not sure she'll make it. Spits has been circling the house for a while now, taking bites from any mercs that are still twitching._

 _A few hours pass and Gavin manages to round up a few people to stand guard just outside. He doesn't tell them much other than the fact that they need to keep people away. The celebration is building in a huge crescendo as the people finish their sweep, gunning down any surviving mercs before opening up the shelter. As the people raise their voices in joy, Jane tries to reach Hannah. "Wake up. Mom, please wake up." She looks up to Aethyta, "Why won't she wake up?"_

" _I don't know kiddo. Might be a somethin in her head's not workin right. I'm not a doctor so I don't know." But Jane knows one. The only one in the galaxy she trusts. She gently lays Hannah down before hacking into the FTL comm array. Now that the jamming signal is gone she can send for help._

 **Mirdan**

"Well done Dr. Solus. The outbreak has been contained and the people are starting to recover." The last six weeks have been the greatest academic thrill of his career. A disease had ripped through the small human colony on Bendas faster than anyone thought possible and a colleague of his had sent a desperate call for aid. Mirdan had brought a dedicated STG containment and treatment team to deal with the threat. After pinning down the creatures responsible, a previously unknown parasitic creature, he and his team had swiftly dealt with offending microbes, saving the colony from certain doom. Now the people of Bendas are well on their way back to a normal life.

"I was happy to help Ken. Anytime." The human smiles warmly as they shake hands. He's goes to ask about the people's plans moving forward when he spots his assistant sprinting towards them. The salarian nearly knocks over several people as he rushes through the crowd.

"Dr. Solus!" The young salarian skids to a halt right in front of him, struggling to catch his breath. "You've got an emergency transmission on a priority nine channel!" He immediately breaks off his conversation and runs to the comm room. Priority nine was the highest level alert his branch could be issued. That meant either a catastrophe on a sector wide scale or a possible pandemic on the citadel. There's another possibility but he brushes that aside. He doubts Jane would need him that badly. It's a sentiment he would sorely regret. As he enters the room, those with lower clearance vacate, leaving him alone. He quickly opens the channel and realizes the rashness of brushing off his earlier thoughts.

The transmission is indeed from Jane and it has to be critical. The girl is covered in blood. Judging by the cuts on her face, much of it could be her own. Twin trails through the blood and grime under her eyes show she's been crying heavily. Her breathing is fantic as she cries out to him, "Mirdan! Please help me!"

"What is it Jane?!" The feed shifts to show him the prone form of the woman who adopted Jane. Though they've never met in person, he and Hannah had shared many pleasant conversations over the last two years.

Jane comes back into view and lets loose a panicked explanation, "We got her heart beating again but she won't wake up. It's been hours since she almost died but nothing brings her out of it and I don't know what to do! Please tell me what to do!" He takes a deep breath and lets the calm reassert itself.

"Send me a detailed scan of her entire body. Brain, heart, everything. Make sure to maintain a steady feed of medi-gel and seal every wound you can find. Next set up a nutrient feed via surgical tubing. I'll send exact measurements on how much to use after I analyse the data." Jane nods quickly and several minutes later Mirdan starts receiving the information. The womans injuries are severe. She'll need more help than he can teach Jane to provide over an omni-tool channel. "Jane, treat any injuries you know how to treat and keep her safe for the time being. I'll come as quickly as I can with a dedicated medical ship. Where are you?"

"Mindoir. We're on Mindoir… thank you."

"I'm only a short jump from you. Stay calm. I will be there as soon as I can." The girl nods again as the channel closes. Mirdan quickly makes his way out of the comm room and into the command center. As he approaches, his team turns to face him, "An emergency situation has come up in a neighboring system. Since things are not completely finished here, the balance of you will remain, whilst I take a skeleton team to the colony of Mindoir. As always, I expect you all to act with the utmost professionalism and integrity regardless of your assignment." No one argues, then again, why would they? He has risen considerably in the esteem of his peers these last two years. "Alright, let's get moving."

Bendas had a small tertiary relay in system. Hopefully it can get them to Mindoir quickly enough to help. Mirdan selects a few men he knows have experience with brain injuries and they take a shuttle to orbit. Their vessel, the celebrated STG medical ship _Jia' Atra_ , is waiting for them. It only takes a short time to reach the relay. The ship shakes heavily as they pull energy from the ancient machine, and soon they're catapulted across the stars.

 **Unknown**

 **Tertiary Agent Mission…**

 **Assault Colony Mindoir and Execute the Fulcrum**

 **Mission Status…**

 **Failure**

 **Primary Agent…**

 **Designation - Priest One**

 **Status...**

 **Destroyed**

 **Tertiary Agent…**

 **Designation - Jortan**

 **Status…**

 **Survived**

 **Elevation to Primary Agent Status Required For Continued Use**

 **The Fulcrum Has Reconstructed Another Piece of its Armory**

 **Weapons…**

 **Tandem Guns**

 **Designation - Judgement**

 **Fulcrum Threat Level Has Increased**

 **Previous Threat Level - Moderus**

 **New Threat Level - Extremus**

 **Warning…**

 **The Fulcrum is Developing Far Faster Than Previous Iterations**

 **Likelihood of Achieving Threat Level Dominus Before Culmination of the Cycle - 73.21%**

 **Fulcrum Will Likely Disappear Once More**

 **Likelihood of Discovery With Direct Intervention - 77.98%**

 **Required Course of Action…**

 **Maintain Observation**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34 - Farewell To Home**

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2170_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

The meeting has been little more than an endless babble session for hours. His fellow council members had wanted to go over the minutiae of the attack in mind numbing detail. Hackett had never been adverse towards a detailed assessment but things are rapidly approaching a level of redundancy even the most asinine bureaucrats would find intolerable. Thankfully he's not the only one to think. "By the spirits, how much longer must we go over the same details! The Fulcrum has defeated a large force of invaders and now she and her entourage are preparing to depart. What more could you possibly need to know?"

"We are simply trying to appreciate the scale of her accomplishment. It rare in the day and age that we see an isolated colony pull through such an attack with such a victory." He can tell what Drell is driving at. "By examining Mindoir's victory in detail, perhaps we can help other colonies achieve the same."

"With cautious optimism, perhaps there is indeed hope to stem the tide of terror that has risen in these last few years. Genuine curiosity, what are the key details?"

Hackett takes a deep breath to still his growing irritation and relates the details once more. "Beginning at approximately 2300 hours on the 11th of April, Mindoir was struck by what we assume was a slaver assault force. By 0530 the following morning, the enemy had been defeated. Forces on the ground were engaged by the colonial militia across the western and southern edges of the settlement. A force attempted to land to the north but they were intercepted by the Fulcrum and one of her local associates. Using a heavily modified civilian vessel, she was able to decimate this first wave before a landing could take place. The second wave was engaged by the militia led by the Fulcrum on the western front. Before it could be fully destroyed, the invading forces attempted to disable the colony's shield generator and the Fulcrum was forced to pull back to engage them until reinforcements could arrive. Once the shield was secured, she then proceeded south… alone. She engaged a large mercenary assault group and decimated them almost singlehandedly, suffering heavy injuries in the process. The invader fleet was driven from orbit with a series of orbital denial guns. These guns also destroyed the bulk of the enemy's fourth wave which retreated as soon as they came under fire."

"The casualty figures _ksssht_ are quite interesting. As I _ksssht_ understand it, the colonists managed to kill almost four thousand invaders at a cost _ksssht_ of only seven hundred. A remarkable achievement."

"This one would like to clarify these numbers. Only three thousand of the perfidious invaders actually made it to the surface. Many were slain in the air thanks to the stupendous efforts of the Fulcrum and her honorable allies. Also counted among the invader's destroyed assets are six starships of variable power and application. A significant loss of investment for such disreputable rapscallions." Most of the council is suitably impressed at the achievement. Not many civilians could put up such a good fight. Then again, most civilians didn't have Jane fighting for them.

"Something we must remember is that this victory only came about because of the Fulcrum. Without her access to restricted materials, the colony would have fallen."

"While that is true Drell, we cannot ignore the value of what happened. We need to use this to encourage public sentiment towards heavier defense in the colonial regions. By the spirits we may be able to leverage this as a sign that an increase in defense spending will help save lives."

"Perhaps you're being a bit too hasty Turian. We still have a great many hurdles to cross before the citadel can be made to see reason. In the here and now, there is only one life that we should be concerned with. An STG medical team is on the way to assist the Fulcrum, however I am concerned that this may cause problems with the relief fleet. They will undoubtedly be suspicious of a foreign power arriving so soon after such a vicious attack." Salarian had already assured him that the STG command structure would remain ignorant as to how the Fulcrum penetrated their network and the fact that one of their operatives had re-tasked his team without permission.

"There's no need to worry. I've assigned my best man to command the relief force. He'll make sure the good doctor has a clear path."

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2170_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Aethyta**

It's been a rough day. The sounds of celebration in spite of losing so many good people should have been uplifting. Instead, she and Fel have been working hard to keep Jane from losing it. She hasn't left Hannah's side since finding her. She just alternates between gently singing to her and whispering, "Don't worry, help is coming." The girl is getting more and more hostile with each passing hour. When the Alliance relief force had landed, multiple medical teams had been sent to help wherever possible and several colonists had pointed to the house, mentioning that Hannah had been injured. When they'd come to help, Jane had started growling at them. A particularly brave medic attempted to brush past her and tend to Hannah. That young man was now in a full body cast aboard one of the ships in orbit. She would probably have killed the others if Anderson hadn't shown up.

The dark skinned man ordered them to stand down and focus on the rest of the colonists. Then he'd tried to approach, "Jane… Jane… are you alright?" The girl lifted her gaze from Hannah to look him in the eye. There was no recognition. Jane looks like a cornered animal and rumbling growl emanates from her throat.

Before things can get violent, a heavy three fingered hand takes a firm hold on Anderson's shoulder. He turns to find Fel looking past him, "Back away very slowly."

"What? Who the hell are-"

"Listen to him David." Anderson is shocked to see her but he still follows her advice. The three of them slowly back away as Jane continues growling at him. Once they reach the edge of the house's ruin, Jane turns away and goes back to singing to Hannah. Aethyta leads him away from the house as Fel goes back to patrolling the area. "It would be best if you stayed away from her. Jane's not exactly… all there right now."

"What the hell is going on Aethyta? When we pulled her off Omega, she was occasionally a little hostile but that was nothing next to this." She and Anderson had met years ago during a joint operation between the Asari Republics and the Alliance. She knows he does good work, but he doesn't understand the situation.

"It's… complicated. Hannah got hurt and Jane isn't handling it well. There are a few other issues but those aren't really anyone's business. What are _you_ doing here David? You're special forces, why are you with a relief force for a colonial backwater." She can see the hesitation before he answers.

"If you know Jane then it should be pretty obvious. I need to make sure she's alright."

"She's not and doing anything other than staying away will just make things worse. We've got the only doctor she really trusts on the way, so until he arrives, the best thing you can do for her is make sure nobody bothers her." Anderson doesn't look happy but nods anyway.

"I was told that Dr. Solus would arriving soon. I've already made sure the fleet will clear him as soon as he arrives."

 **Mirdan**

After exiting the relay corridor they'd been less than a lightyear away. The pilot has been burning the engines hard and it's paid off. The _Jia' Atra_ exits FTL at the edge of the system only a few hours later. The Alliance relief force is already in orbit and Mirdan has been rehearsing what he'll say to the local commander. He'll need to be careful. Humans were inherently xenophobic to a mild extent and such a trait would be magnified tenfold in the aftermath of an attack spearheaded by aliens. The captain speaks with his comm officer before turning to Mirdan, "The Alliance fleet has opened a comm channel. Would you prefer to speak?" Mirdan nods and the comm officer activates their transmitter.

"To the Alliance commander, this is Doctor Mirdan Solus onboard the STG medical ship _Jia' Atra._ We are responding to a distress call from the colony of Mindoir."

The pause is bizarrely short. " _Jia' Atra,_ this is Commander David Anderson of the Mindoir Relief Force. We were told to expect your arrival. You should be receiving an approved flight path to orbit. Do not under any circumstances deviate from this path. On a personal note Dr. Solus, I'd advise you to move as quickly as possible. She's not doing too well right now." The captain eyes him with suspicion, "I'll be waiting near the site. Anderson out."

The _Jia' Atra_ 's captain speaks with a careful tone, "Is there something I need to know doctor? Something other than the official reason we're here?"

"There are some questions best left unanswered captain. Move us through the assigned corridor and deploy all available medical teams as soon as we're in place." The captain takes the hint. The _Jia' Atra_ is in orbit soon after and Mirdan is on the first shuttle down.

 **Jane**

 _They won't stay away. The others keep trying to intrude, to take Hannah away. She won't let them. She stays with Hannah no matter what. It doesn't matter how thirsty she gets, how hungry she is, or how much blood she loses. All that matters is keeping Hannah safe until help gets there. That's the only thing that matters._

 _The man from the Hastings shows up and tries to approach. She can't trust him. Jane warns him away, but he doesn't heed her. It takes Fel and Aethyta to get him to back off. They stay away. They're the only ones here she can trust. Everyone else might be a threat._

 _She gently rocks back and forth, carefully cradling Hannah. She whispers, quietly promising that help is coming. Hannah doesn't respond but that doesn't matter. Help is coming. He'll be here soon._

 _Eventually she hears the sound of familiar footsteps. It's been a few years since she's heard them, but they're still just like she remembers. Jane lifts her gaze from Hannah and sees him. The old salarian slowly approaches. She almost can't believe that he's here, "Mirdan?"_

 **Mirdan**

Aethyta had warned him about the situation and he can see she was right. Jane is huddled over Hannah, covered in crusted blood. The girl is a wreck and Hannah isn't much better. Most of the woman's surface injuries have been treated with skill a lifelong surgeon could admire, but his omnitool reveals that her internal injuries aren't healing at all. It's not surprising, given that his lessons to Jane hadn't gotten that far yet. As he carefully approaches, Jane snaps her gaze towards him, "Mirdan?" She sounds confused. She's likely in shock so he responds as gently as he can.

"Yes Jane. It's me. It's good to see you again." The girl's eyes are heavily dilated, her skin is drawn and paler than ever. He can tell she hasn't seen to her own injuries since the battle ended.

"You'll help?" His old heart breaks a little at her desperation.

"Of course Jane. I've brought an entire team to see to Hannah and the rest of my ship's med teams are moving through the colony to help anywhere they can. May I make a closer examination so I can begin treatment." The girl slowly nods at him and he approaches to kneel next to them. Jane gently lays Hannah down before standing off. He spends a few minutes getting the needed scans. Once he has a handle on how extensive her injuries are, Mirdan contacts his fellow doctors. The rest of his team arrives in short order and start unpacking a few basic treatment kits. Dr. Laito tries to approach, but Jane isn't as understanding with his colleague as she was with him.

She snarls at the good doctor but he fails to heed her warning. Jane moves faster than the eye can follow, grabbing the salarian by the throat and hoisting him into the air. Dr. Laito desperately struggles as her grip threatens to snap his neck. Mirdan moves in to help, "Jane stop! He is with me! Dr. Laito can be trusted and I will be here the entire time. I swear that Hannah will be completely safe." Jane keeps growling as she slowly lowers Laito back to the ground. He takes a moment to steady himself. Laito runs a careful hand across his rapidly bruising throat. "Dr. Laito, please see to Hannah." The younger doctor moves to help without any more trouble, carefully edging around Jane. In moments he is listing off various injuries to another team member in a hoarse voice.

As she watches, Jane is trembling like an addict in withdrawal. Mirdan needs to examine her as well. "Jane, I would like to help you too." She looks at him in confusion. Mirdan points to the blood crusted slash across her stomach. "I'm willing to wager that you have multiple grievous injuries such as that. I want to treat them for you." Jane takes a step back and stares at him for a while. She hasn't been this reluctant to accept his help since the days after he and Sara had found her. The possibility of losing Hannah has likely left her traumatized, something the girl is not well equipped to handle. "I need to treat you Jane, so that you can be at your best for her." Mirdan waves a hand back at Hannah.

It does the trick. Jane carefully steps closer to him whilst keeping an eye on Hannah. Mirdan takes it as permission to go to work. He runs through a thorough series of scans and is mortified at what he finds. Jane is close to total systemic shut down. She has only sixty percent the average amount of blood sluggishly flowing through her. In addition to the deep cut on her stomach, there is a severe laceration on her back. His scan tells him that whatever she was hit with came within three millimeters of passing through her spine. Then comes the news about her broken bones including a shattered cluster in her right knee.

He could tell beforehand that she was malnourished, but now he knows how she has stayed active. Her veins are flooded with a bizarre kind of adrenaline. It's obvious that this compound has kept her up since the attack, but right now it's slowly eating away at her innards. He doesn't have what he needs to see to her down here, but if he can get her to sleep or even just lie down for a while, her body should start the work of filtering it out on its own. "Jane," no reaction. Mirdan carefully takes hold of her shoulder and gently shakes her, "Jane." She looks at him with a dazed expression. "I need to to do something very important. Can you help me?" The girl nods numbly as he fishes out some supplies. "I need you to eat these ration bars, drink these water packs, take this shot of medi-gel, and then I need you to find somewhere comfortable to lie down."

She cringes slightly as she answers, "But… but I can't rest now… What if… what if something happens? What if Hannah needs me?" As he tries to answer, Aethyta and Fel make their way over.

"Don't you worry about that kiddo. Fel and I will keep her safe." She's got her rifle in hand as Fel steps up next to her.

"That's right Jane. You take care of you." Fel shoots a theatrical glare at Dr. Laito whilst drawing is sword and resting it on his shoulder, "I'll keep an eye on our _guests_." His overt suspicion is what does it. Jane looks nervously at Hannah before bowing her head and slowly limping further into the rubble of her home.

Mirdan breaths a sigh of relief. He gets the burly krogan's attention to thank him, "Well done. We need to let her rest until it's safe to move Hanna." Fel gives him as light sneer.

"I wasn't just trying make her feel better _salarian._ I'll be watching you all every second you're here. Try _anything_ and there won't enough of you left to fill a shot glass." Given the history between their peoples, Mirdan can't really fault his mistrust.

"I understand."

 **Jane**

 _She slowly makes her way through the debris. There isn't much left. There's wreckage from destroyed furniture scattered throughout the rubble. Hannah's old gun collection is little more than metal and plastic shards. The sole bit of good news as far as she can tell is that her footlocker survived the collapse despite being on the second floor when it happened. Jane finds some torn pictures after digging for a few minutes. She settles on one showing her and Hannah smiling at the viewer. Hannah had used her omnitool to take it during the first birthday celebration Jane had ever had. She sits on top of her foot locker, staring at the photo as she slowly eats what Mirdan gave her. She doesn't bother to peel the paper off, opting to simply eat the entire thing._

 _She had been so happy that day, despite the crushing disappointment under the mountain. The day Hannah became her mother. The time since then had been, despite her problems, the best time of her life. And now it's over. Hannah's been badly hurt and it's all her fault. The mercs had been after her, but Hannah was the one lying on the floor, struggling to stay alive. This shouldn't have happened. If she hadn't left Omega, it wouldn't have happened. If those commandos had done their job, then Hannah would be okay._

 _Jane spends an hour slowly eating, her self loathing building with every minute. Eventually she notices that someone is trying to get her attention. "Jane… Jane." Where is that coming from? "Jane, come on, please answer me." She looks around trying to find whoever is calling to her, but she can't see anyone. Jane lifts her arm to take a drink from one of Mirdan's water packs and finally sees that her omni-tool is lit up. The voice is coming from her tool. There was only one person that knew that how to get past her security settings so easily. What joy she would usually feel at getting a call from her simply never surfaces. Jane opens up the call system and locks violet eyes with her angel's bright blue ones. "Finally! I've been trying to call you for days! Are you alright?"_

 _Jane has trouble finding the words. She speaks slowly, trying not to let her dizziness show, "I… maybe… not sure." She's so tired. "I think I'm okay." Miranda looks deeply troubled by what she sees._

" _Jane, have you had anything to eat or drink in the last two days? Have gotten any rest?"_

" _Mirdan gave me a couple ration bars and some water packs." She holds up what's left of the supplies before taking a bite. Jane absentmindedly chews as Miranda talks._

" _Have you let him treat your injuries? I thought I told you about putting things like this off. You're not helping anyone by sitting there suffering."_

" _Hannah needs him more than me. She got hurt… it's my fault." Miranda's eyes widen as Jane falls deeper into shame, "My fault, my fault, my fault. If she hadn't come here with me. If I'd just keeled over on Omega, then she would be okay."_

" _Jane don't talk like that. Do you honestly believe that Hannah would have any regrets over her choices from the last two years?" Jane thinks for awhile. Hannah had seemed even happier than her since coming to Mindoir. She'd always tried to be as positive as possible and had helped Jane through several bouts of depression. She shakes her head slowly. "That's what I thought. I'd be willing to bet she would say it was worth the trouble. How soon will you be leaving?"_

 _She's confused. Leaving? "What? I… I don't know. Everything feels weird and my head is spinning a little." She keeps mumbling even as a familiar tingling sensation spreads through her body. Tiny bits of light start drifting away from her. Miranda looks more and more worried with each passing moment. "I don't know what to do now…"_

" _Bullshit." Jane finally manages to focus on Miranda. "You know exactly what to do. You're just too stubborn and too exhausted to admit it." The older girl isn't being hostile or cruel, just forceful. Jane listens closely, her mind clearing a little bit more as her friend speaks. "One, you're going to make sure that Hannah gets to a proper medical facility so her wounds can be treated. Two,_ _ **you**_ _are going to go with Matriarch Aethyta to her family's colony and get yourself sorted out. You'll be no good to Hannah if your body rips itself apart. And three, after you have yourself squared away, you are going to go after the mercs that got away. From what I can tell, while the army was destroyed, their fleet escaped. I'm going to see what I can do to track them down. For now, you are going to get some medi-gel injected and then you are going to find somewhere at least marginally comfortable to get some sleep."_

" _But-"_

" _No buts. Go get some sleep Jane. Your friends there will keep watch over things groundside, and I'll keep watch on everything else." She's too tired to argue, not that she would even if she was feeling well._

" _Ok… thank you Miri." The channel closes and Jane gathers the few remaining scraps of her bed into a pile before slumping down on top of it. A few minutes later Spits trots up and lays down behind her, the sound of his steady breathing helping to soothe her pain and confusion. She scoots closer to him so she can rest her back against his side. It doesn't take long for her to drift off to sleep. Though the nightmares still assail her, Spits' steady breathing helps drive them back. Jane sleeps all day, letting her soul deep exhaustion simply melt away._

 _Date_ _: 4.14.2170_

 _Location : Mindoir_

 **Mirdan**

"We've done all we can do here Dr. Solus. We need to evac her to a fully equipped hospital if we're to make anymore progress." He sighs heavily as Dr. Laito delivers his report. His team has been working all day and night to make sure Hannah was stable for transport, and now it's finally safe to move her.

"Very well. I've arranged for her care elsewhere. Thank you Dr. Laito. If you would, please begin packing your gear. I'll gather the rest of her entourage and we will leave immediately." Laito gets to work with the others, quickly stowing their equipment with the calm professionalism he's come to expect over the years.

"Is she gonna make it?" The burly krogan called Fel hasn't let them out of his sight for a moment, forgoing sleep or food to keep an eye on them. Mirdan knows that Fel has been living here for a while now, teaching Jane advanced skills with a blade. It makes sense that, after spending so long with them, he would feel a certain sense of attachment.

"So long as someone is there to care for her, yes. However, there is nothing more we can do here. We need a true medical facility to help any further." He nods to Aethyta as she makes her way over.

"You thinking Sur'Kesh?" Fel's glaring at Mirdan with undisguised hostility.

"No way! I'm not letting you drag her into some lab in the jungle to get poked and prodded at by a bunch of salarians. We should take her to the Citadel. Plenty of useful tech and non-salarian Doctor's you can actually trust." He can't help but grimace as he tries to come up with an argument that will convince Fel to trust him.

"I have no intention of spiriting Hannah away for some… twisted experiment! Jane has been a close friend for years. I could never harm her or someone she loved. You need to look past the arguments our people have and think of what is best for Hannah. Sur'Kesh has the finest hospitals in the galaxy. If Hannah can be helped anywhere, it's there."

Fel jabs a finger at him but Aethyta cuts him off before the argument gets any more heated. "Listen here big guy. Mirdan is the most trustworthy salarian in the galaxy butI know the word of a salarian doesn't mean much to you, so I'm gonna ask you to take _my_ word for it." The hulking krogan tries to argue but she bulls through, "Oh no Fel. No more arguing. Every second we spend here is another second closer to losing her. So let's make it easy. Do you trust _me_?" He glares at her and nods. "Does our friendship actually mean anything to you?" A look of perplexity crosses his face. He nods immediately, offended that she would even ask. "Then I want you to trust me now. We need to take Hannah to Sur'Kesh. I swear by Athame's great blue ass that Mirdan will take care of her."

Fel's eyes flash from her to Mirdan and back several times before he responds, "Alright. I won't stop this, but only because _you're_ the one givin the promise. But," Fel stomps right up to Mirdan and pokes him in the chest, " _my_ promise still stands. Anything goes wrong, no matter how small, I'm holdin _you_ responsible. Got it?" Mirdan shoots his own glare back at him and nods.

"Let me make a promise to you Fel. If you interfere with Hannah's treatment in any way, even if you think you're helping, I won't hesitate to remove you." The two of them extend a hand and shake before breaking from each other to start packing.

 **Aethyta**

She'd been ready to get between them, but luckily they're leaving each other alone now. Fel stomps down to his little alcove in the hill to gather a few things that survived the battle. Aethyta has already got her stuff packed and ready. They just need to get Jane up and they can get going. Aethyta goes looking for the girl. It takes several minutes to track her down. She'd found where Jane had been sleeping, a small spot dotted with a few spent water packs and an emptied medi-gel injector. From there she had follow a set of tracks leading out to what was left of the house's garage. Though not completely leveled by the collapse, the damage was still extreme. The only part still partially standing was Jane's workshop. The girl was inside, quietly packing intact tools and designs into a footlocker. Aethyta stays back to watch for a few minutes.

Jane is quickly examining everything she can get her hands on with a clinical attention to detail. What can be salvaged is packed away, and whatever is a lost cause vanishes in a haze of golden light. Once everything has been checked, Jane moves to the skull on the wall. It's still in one piece but a massive crack stretches down the middle. Jane pulls her pistol out from between its teeth and tucks it into her footlocker. She spends a minute looking at the skull before her omni-tool starts flashing. Jane answers the call from Gavin. "How'd it go?" Her voice is completely monotone.

"Hanger's completely trashed. Those bastards wrecked everything, stole everything. I… all I've got left is Blue…" The young man is utterly distraught. Despite not being much to look at, his hangar was still his home. Aethyta knew how much he had loved his place.

"We're going to be leaving soon. You could come with us."

"Really?" The chopper pilot has a pleading look in his eye.

"If you've got no reason to stay, why not?"

Gavin manages to force a smile, "I think I'd like that. I'll get what little fuel is left in the tanks and be there in twenty." The channel goes and Jane sighs heavily as Aethyta steps in.

"Is it time to go?"

"Yeah. Hannah's stable and Mirdan says we can go as soon as you're ready." Jane nods and hefts her footlocker onto her shoulder. She grabs the skull in her free hand, before proceeding to a flattened spot out front. Once her things are piled up, Jane disappears back into the ruin and reemerges with a large duffel slung over her shoulder. Aethyta sees one of Hannah's shirt sleeves poking out from the zipper. She heads back a few more times, emerging with a few more of Hannah's personal items. By the time they hear Blue approaching, Jane has finished gathering everything there is to gather.

The chopper lands and Gavin climbs out to help Jane get her stuff on board. Once Blue is loaded, Jane goes to Hannah.

 **Jane**

 _She kneels next to her mother. Mirdan said Hannah would be ok as long as they got her to a decent medical facility. Jane gently brushes a few loose strands away from Hannah's face, "We're gonna get you the help you need. It's gonna be okay. I promise it'll be okay." Jane gathers her energy and carefully wraps Hannah in a biotic field before slowly lifting her into the air. Jane moves as gently as possible, supporting Hannah as evenly as she can. She reaches Blue and Mirdan helps her secure Hannah. Fel, Aethyta, Gavin, and Dr. Laito are already in place as Jane climbs in. The rest of Mirdan's med teams have volunteered to stay behind until everyone has been properly treated. Anderson had offered them transportation once the job is done._

 _As Gavin runs through his preflight, Jane starts hearing something in the distance. She looks to the road and sees hundreds of colonists walking towards the house. She can see Frank, Cira, General Capp, along with the surviving miners led by Joshua, and hundreds of others. A lot of the people in the crowd are injured, sporting bandages or braces for broken bones. Though they look battered, the crowd is in high spirits as they come to a stop ten yards out. Frank step forwards, raising the hammer he'd used in the battle. "Shepard! Shepard! Shepard! Shepard!" It doesn't take long for the whole crowd to join in. They chant the name louder and louder as Blue's engines cycle up. Jane doesn't know what to say, so instead of speaking she draws Abyss and holds it over her head. The chanting gets louder than ever, "SHEPARD! SHEPARD! SHEPARD! SHEPARD!" She stays standing at the bay door as Blue lifts off from the ground. The sounds of the crowd stay with them for the first few hundred feet._

 _As the people slowly fade into the receding landscape, Jane quietly whispers to herself, a single tear trails down her cheek, "Goodbye…"_


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35 - Foundation**

 _Date_ _: 4.22.2170_

 _Location : Sur'Kesh_

 **Mirdan**

He stands at the edge of Hannah's bed, silently contemplating the current situation. They'd gotten to Sur'Kesh with no trouble, and then they'd brought Hannah to one of the finest hospitals on the planet. He'd traded numerous favors with old friends to ensure that she would be admitted immediately. Mirdan and Dr. Laito had gathered a number of neurologists to see to Hannah but they can't figure out what is wrong. Her scans all indicate that her injuries are healing and the damage to her brain was minimal. There is no obvious reason for her to still be unconscious, yet there hasn't been any sign of her returning to them. As he's standing there, trying to unravel this most vexing of mysteries, Aethyta steps up next to him. "Anything?"

He shakes his head with a bitter look on his face. "Nothing. Not a single change since we brought her in. I've tried a dozen different treatments in an attempt to wake her and none have had any effect. It's driving me mad!"

"Any idea why she's still out?"

"None. Her injuries are healing, brain activity is steady, the nutrient feed is properly set, and her body is responding properly to the stimulants. She should at least be responding to outside stimuli." He sighs heavily, rubbing a hand across his wrinkled brow. "For all the progress the peoples of the galaxy have made over the millennia, it seems something of a tragic joke that we still understand so little of the organic mind. It's an infinitely complex machine and any problem could have a thousand possible causes, each with a thousand different ways to affect treatment." They stand in awkward silence for several minutes.

"What should we tell Jane?" The girl was not handling the situation well. When they'd arrived, Aethyta had to spend hours convincing Jane to wait somewhere other than the room Hannah was being kept in. Her flaring was coming back with a vengeance and it's dangerous to be anywhere near her when a flare strikes. For the sake of Hannah's safety, Jane has taken over one of the hospital's ancillary waiting rooms. Aethyta spends as much time as she can with the girl, guiding her through a few advanced meditation techniques but it's not enough anymore. "She won't be able to keep herself together much longer. We need to get moving as soon as possible."

He's been struggling with the question since he realized Hannah wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon. He sighs forlornly as he tries to formulate an appropriate response, "Tell her… tell her that Hannah is recovering… slowly. As long as someone is taking care of her she'll be alright."

"You know she'll want to be the one taking care of her. The only way she'll leave now is if someone she trusts volunteers to watch over Hannah."

 **Aethyta**

She waits for Mirdan to respond. Given how meticulous Mirdan is by nature, he's likely already got someone in mind. "Go ahead and bring Jane here. I will explain the situation, then convince her to see to her own difficulties." As she leaves the room, Aethyta grimaces at the thought of trying to convince Jane to leave Hannah.

She barely talks anymore, usually opting to answer with a single word. The hospital staff had tried to treat her wounds on arrival but she wouldn't let any of them get close. Fel and Aethyta had been forced to provide what assistance they could. Fel had stitched the slashes on her stomach and back, while Aethyta had bandaged her knee and helped set her ribs. Jane only eats the bare minimum to keep on her feet. She's lost a fair amount of weight, enough to be visually obvious.

Aethyta gets to Jane's chosen den in short order and carefully pushes some of the debris out of the way. Jane had accidentally destroyed the room on the second day, leading the staff to evacuate the rooms nearby. Mirdan's STG connections were the only reason no one has tried to eject her from the hospital yet, but it's only a matter of time before they use up all the leeway he has.

She finds Jane kneeling as far back into the corner as she can fit. She's staring at the floor, mumbling nonsensically to herself, as she sways side to side. Aethyta can see more than one small patch of debris smoldering nearby. She must have had another minor flare. As Aethyta approaches, she spots Fel extricating himself from a nearby wall, a massive new dent in his chestplate. He catches her looking at the damage and forces a smile, "Jane had a little bit of extra energy to blow off." She can't bring herself to smile back as she steps up to Jane and kneels in front of her.

Jane doesn't look up, "Is she alive?" Her voice is devoid of any emotion. The degree to which Jane has withdrawn into herself is disturbing.

"Yeah. She's… getting better."

"Then why are you so nervous?" There's no accusation or malice in her voice, simply a search for clarification, "I heard your heart rate double when you started talking. I can smell your worry." Jane takes a deep breath before finally looking at her, her glowing eyes pinning Aethyta in place, "No more bullshit. Tell me the truth… She's not waking up anytime soon… is she?"

Aethyta sighs heavily and sits down next to Jane, "No. Mirdan's trying everything he can think of but truth be told, they just don't know what the problem is."

"So they don't know how long it will take for her to wake up. It could be ten days, ten months, ten years… or never." Jane seems to shrink deeper into herself as a violent tremor wracks her body. A few flecks of amber energy fall from her, scorching whatever surface they happen to land on. Aethyta looks to Fel and he nods at her.

"Been happening a lot lately."

Aethyta puts a hand on the girl's shoulder as Spits trots over from the wreckage of a snack vendor to rest his head in Jane's lap. He whines softly while Aethyta speaks, "Look kiddo, I know you want to be here for her and I know that what's happening sucks, a lot. But-"

"We can't wait anymore." Jane's word come out in a strangled gasp. She slowly straightens up, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. "If we stay, I'll just end up getting her hurt again." Aethyta tries to argue that it wasn't her fault but Jane stands up before she can speak. With Aethyta and Fel following close behind, the girl silently limps down the hall towards Hannah's room. The few staff members that notice her quickly move out of the way. They learned to steer clear on day one. As they reach their destination, they can hear someone speaking to Mirdan in an urgent voice.

"-recognize that she is a close friend of yours Dr. Solus and I realize that the current situation is a terrible burden, but we simply cannot afford to jeopardize our other patients. You must convince her to leave as soon as possible." Aethyta loudly clears her throat and the newcomer goes pale as he spots Jane. She glares at him, pinning the unlucky salarian in place. Eventually the man finds his courage and blocks Jane's path, "I… regret to inform you that the treatment board has decided t-that your presence constitutes an un-unacceptable hazard to our patients and they have demanded that you b-be removed from the premises." Jane steps closer. She's slightly taller than the salarian and glares down at him with undisguised fury. He's trembling heavily as Jane takes hold of his collar and hoists him into the air. "Put me down this instant! I'll call security!" Jane pivots on her heel and throws the man out the door. The poor fool lands in a heap outside, drawing a number of confused shouts.

Jane calmly walks over to stand by Hannah. She takes her mother's hand in her own, a look of intense sorrow darkening her features. Without looking up, Jane addresses everyone in the room, "Get out." No one moves so she speaks again, this time with a small biotic pulse to reinforce her demand. "Everyone but Mirdan, leave the room. **Now.** " The room shakes violently as Fel guides the few nurses out, along with Aethyta, Dr. Laito, and the two security officers that had been unfortunate enough to be stationed on this floor. There's no argument from them, fear keeping them compliant. In the hall, Fel takes position in front of the door.

"No one's getting in until Jane says so." There's no one brave enough to argue with him.

 **Mirdan**

They spend a long time in near total silence, the quiet beeping from Hannah's monitors barely intruding. Jane is staring at her with absolute focus. He's not sure but if feels like she's using her biotics. The air feels electrified, the shadows seem longer than before, and the scent of ozone is heavy. Mirdan takes a closer look at Jane's face, seeing for the first time that her eyes are completely dilated, their characteristic glow completely hidden. The girl's breathing is rough and her trembling has gotten worse.

The unsettling display carries on for nearly an hour before Jane's eyes go back to normal. "I can't reach her. No matter how hard I try, she stays quiet." A strangled sob escapes from Jane as she speaks. He'd known she could reach into people's minds like an asari, but he'd never witnessed it. "I can't help her… and you don't know how long she'll be asleep, do you?" He shakes his head, too depressed. to say it.

Jane's breathing grows ever more ragged before she drops to her knees, tightly hugging her stomach. Mirdan tries to help her, but he's rebuffed by a biotic pulse. She whines in pain, shaking in obvious agony. As she struggles to control herself, tiny bits of amber light fall from body, each one leaving behind a scorch mark wherever it lands.

It takes several minutes for the flare to end. When it's finally over, Jane slowly gets to her feet with a deep groan of effort. There are beads of sweat mingled with blood spread all over her body and trails of blood seeping from the corners of her mouth. The girl bows her head and whispers, "I can't risk staying anymore. Every second I'm here, she's in danger… but I can't just abandon her. I can't leave her all alone."

"You wouldn't be leaving her alone." She looks at him in confusion, bloody tears marking trails down her cheeks. "I will remain with her." Her mouth opens and closes multiple times as she struggles to process his offer.

"I… I can't ask you to do that. She might be under for years. I can't steal so much time from you."

He can't help but offer a chuckle at her concern, "Ha, I would hardly call it stealing. My offer, though a genuine attempt to help someone I deeply care about, isn't entirely altruistic." She looks utterly perplexed. "Jane, Hannah's condition, while not unique, is still uncommon. By staying here and attempting to treat her, I have a golden opportunity to make great strides in the treatment of coma patients. Who knows? Maybe my work with her could rescue others from such a fate. If nothing else, I can spend my twilight years helping a good friend through a terrible ordeal." She watches him for a moment before stepping up and wrapping him in a bear hug. Though the pressure is immense, Jane is careful not to squeeze too hard.

"Thank you… I don't know how to repay you." He can feel her tears landing on his shoulder.

As she lets him down, Mirdan takes a few deep breaths to still his hammering old heart. "Just go and fix your own problems. That will be enough for me." A ghost of a smile appears on her face. "Of course I wouldn't say no to a bottle or two from Aethyta's private wine cellar." Now she really is smiling, for the first time since the attack.

"I'll snag a whole cabinet for you." He believes her. They stand in companionable silence for several minutes, simply enjoying the peace. Eventually she steps back to Hannah's side, "Can you leave me alone with her for a few minutes?" He smiles at her and steps out the door. Fel is pointedly ignoring the security officer demanding that he vacate the area.

Aethyta catches his eye, "Well?" Everyone nearby looks at him expectantly.

"She is busy saying goodbye for now. I will remain with Hannah and provide the care she will need." He can tell by the look on her face that Aethyta isn't surprised at all. Fel eyes him with a good deal more respect as he continues, "It shouldn't be too much longer before she's ready to go. That reminds me, Aethyta, how long until your ship arrives?" At that moment, Mirdan's omni-tool starts flashing urgently. He brings up his alert screen and sees an emergency signal on the STG channel, warning about a threat entering the system, one that hasn't darkened salarian space for over a thousand years. For a moment his heart is sent racing at the implications, that is until he sees the I.F.F. code the ship was broadcasting. He can't help but roll his eyes and glare at Aethyta, "Was it really necessary to call for _that_ ship."

The matriarch cracks a mischievous smile at him, "Well, I just wanted to keep everybody safe during the trip home. Plus it never hurts to give people a little kick in the quad once in awhile to help convince them stay sharp."

It takes twenty minutes of sheer panic from the Sur'Kesh security community for the all clear to be sent out. Then he finally receives the call he's been expecting. Mirdan makes his excuses to the others and moves to a secluded area of the hospital. He takes a deep breath to gather the courage he'll need to face the caller. Once he accepts the call a very irritated face pops up on his screen and he beams his best smile at her to try and ease her obvious ire, "Hello sister, it's a lovely day isn't it?" He keeps his smile as her glaring eyes bore into him. His sister was a prominent figure in STG and was not someone a wise person willingly pissed off.

"I. Am not. Amused." Her voice is loaded with the kind of menace that has wilted the courage of krogan before.

"Whatever do you mean sister?" She taps two fingers on her desk, her eyes narrowing at his attempted levity.

"Have you any idea the kind of political capital I had to trade in order to convince the dalatrass to not through your asari friend in a cell?" He stays silent, desperate to avoid inflating his sister's already prodigious anger. "If you were not my brother, if I had not given my oath to our mother on her deathbed that I would look after you, I would have you dumped on Tuchanka and left to the tender mercies of the krogan."

"Then I am truly blessed to have such a kind, generous, and understanding sister." Her right eye is twitching madly. Perhaps patronizing her is not the right strategy right now.

"My generosity has limits, and a price." Thank the stars! A way out.

"I would gladly repay your kindness sister. What can I do for you?"

"First things first. From now on, if you wish to bring a patient to Sur'kesh under STG protection, no matter the situation, you will clear in with me **first**. Understood?"

"Of course dear sister. It must have slipped my mind. I apologize for not informing you sooner." She keeps glaring at him as she continues.

"Second, I will be arriving at the hospital by the end of the week. Once I get there you will give me a full debrief. Not only about your patient and the circumstances that lead to her arrival, but also about a certain crimson haired human that has local security so utterly terrified that they're refusing to obey protocol. And I swear brother… if this is some kind of boarish dalliance with an alien harlot you-"

"Now see here Seeran!" His sudden audacity has his normally commanding sister stunned for a moment. "Speak to me and about me in whatever manner you feel is justified, but I will not stand for such a vulgar insult to my patient! Hannah was heavily injured whilst fighting against the largest slaver attack in recent memory. Her daughter saved my life on Omega and gave me a reason to live on after Sara's death. I could not abandon either of them in their time of need. I will not apologize for helping them, nor for using all the resources at my disposal to do so and I most certainly will not stand idly by while you, who knows nothing about either of them, drag them through the mud to satisfy your anger at me!"

His sister takes a moment to calm herself before nodding, "Very well brother, I shall reserve judgement. Based solely on your reaction, I believe your motives were just. I would advise you not to lose your temper like that again. I can handle it, but we both know that if the dalatrass had been the one making this call, she would not be so understanding."

"I know… Is there anything else you require as recompense for Aethyta's little joke?" He's already back to being calm.

"Indeed there is, and I assure you this is the most important." He girds himself for the worst. "My granddaughter Sinnon has a recital in two weeks time. You **will** be in attendance." It's worse than could have imagined. He cares deeply for his grandniece, but the dancing recitals were so mind numbingly **boring**. His sister can obviously tell he is less than enthusiastic. "I have already told her that you will be there. She looks up to you and it will mean the world for her to see you there… in the front row, for the duration of the performance."

He winces at the idea of spending nearly four hours watching people prance around on stage, and curses the asari artist that had helped revitalize the popularity of salarian dance. Though his grandniece was an excellent dancer, he never really understood the appeal of watching others dance. If it wasn't for his little grandniece, and to keep his sister from killing him, he would never even consider it. As it is, he is left with only one option, "I accept your terms. You can tell Sinnon that I shall be there."

"I know she would love to hear that from you… by the end of the day." He grimaces before nodding at her. They say their goodbyes and Seeran closes the channel. Though the price was steep, Mirdan can only feel a rush of relief that his sister has been able to head off any complications or political backlash from Aethyta's ill advised fun.

He makes his way back to Hannah's room, stopping only to let Aethyta know that she owes him a great deal for the incident. Mirdan carefully opens the door and steps in. He sees Jane closing the back panel of her plating and then he catches the very end of what she says, "No matter what it takes, I promise that I'll find a way to be here when you wake up." Jane leans down and gently kisses Hannah on the forehead. The girl slowly straightens to her full height before turning to the door. Jane quickly makes her way out of the room, without speaking or looking back. Once she's gone, Mirdan looks to Hannah. What he sees is startling to say the least.

Hannah looks much the same as before, except now her left hand is set on her stomach and a fluffy pink hanar toy is resting in the crook of her arm.

 **Jane**

 _Jane doesn't turn around as she walks out. If she does, she'll never be able to leave. She doesn't stop to speak to anyone outside either. Instead, she just marches out of the building as quickly as she can, scattering many frightened staff members along the way. Aethyta and Fel are right behind her when she reaches Blue. Gavin had already gotten the call from Mirdan and he had the engines cycling up before they'd even gotten there. Jane and Aethyta board immediately. Fel had promised to stay behind, citing the need to make sure the other salarians besides Mirdan didn't try anything. He'd made it clear that after a few days he'll be going back to Mindoir to help with the cleanup, then he'll visit them in a few months._

 _As Blue takes off, Jane looks to the hospital, in the direction of Hannah's room. She still feels like she can hear her mother's heartbeat, as if she was still in the room. Her breathing hitches as she fights to keep the tears at bay. It's a fight she loses long before they get into orbit._

 **Aethyta**

Despite the difficult times they're in, Aethyta can't help but feel a little pride as her family's flagship comes into view. A relic that once belonged to her grandfather during the rachni wars, it was now the crown jewel of her family's fleet. At twelve hundred meters long, it was the last known krogan built dreadnaught in the galaxy, at least the last one still in one piece. After she'd taken the reigns of the family, Aethyta had led an expedition to the sight her grandfather had hidden it and used every scrap of political influence she had at the time to get it in into service without the citadel's approval. Renamed Gothrak after the old lizard himself, the dreadnaught has seen dozens of refits over the years and remains her favorite way of moving about the galaxy, mostly because of how much it freaked people out. The massive ship's design harkens back to a time when function and form walked hand in hand. It has enough firepower to take on the Destiny Ascension on near equal terms, and the good looks to woo the pickiest hanar artist.

The giant, diamond shaped vessel had a near blunt nose carved in the likeness of an old krogan god. It's flanks are decorated with hundreds of ancient figures from krogan myth. Several members of the family had compared the ship to a flying cathedral. If the circumstances were a little less painful, Aethyta has no doubt that Jane would love to see it. As things are now, she doesn't even look out the window as they make their way to the hanger. Once Blue lands, the two of them climb out and leave Gavin to do his post flight checks. Aethyta takes Jane to one of the private cabins so she can rest.

Though built for war, Aethyta had the interior gutted a long time ago to make for a more comfortable ride. There are more than a dozen luxurious state rooms, normally reserved for any number of prestigious or pompous guests. The average passenger would spend a long time gawking at the obvious grandeur on display, but Jane doesn't have eyes for any of it. She goes straight to the bed and doesn't bother with anything else. Spits curls up next to her. Aethyta tries to think of something to say but she's got nothing. She decides to leave Jane in peace after explaining the call system so she could order anything she wanted to eat or drink. She carefully closes the door and heads her own room.

Two days and one destroyed stateroom later, they finally get into orbit of her home, the colony of Liseera. Normally Aethyta would be on the observation deck for the approach. The sight of her ancestral home, that beautiful blue and red orb, just stirred something in her aged heart. Too bad she wouldn't get to do that today. Jane has gotten much worse since they'd left Sur'Kesh. She just couldn't spend enough energy, despite meditating continuously since leaving the hospital. Early today, Jane had lost control for only a moment, but that was all it had taken to obliterate her room. Luckily, Spits had been busy gnawing on the carpet at the end of the hall and hadn't been caught in the blast.

As the Gothrak makes its way into orbit, Aethyta is helping Jane to the hanger. The girl can't stand on her own anymore. Aethyta had taken a quick scan once they'd dropped out of FTL and found out that Jane has several open internal injuries, each one being pulled open further with every flare. The pain had her stumbling with nearly every step, even with Aethyta holding on to her. They manage to reach Blue and get strapped in as Gavin cycles the engines. A flight of interceptors meets them outside the hanger, each one painted with her family's emblem. The fighters escort them all the way down to the spaceport, where they land in a predetermined courtyard. A full honor guard, led by Aethyta's younger sister, stands at the ready as Blue powers down. Forty members of the household guard stand at attention to either side of the pathway leading into the estate, each of them loaded down with full combat gear. Behind them, half of her immediate family are waving excitedly and a further two hundred representatives from the sub-clans are waiting as well. It's been awhile since she's been home, meaning that her sister hasn't had a good opportunity to embarrass her.

She holds Jane tight as they make their way to Aethyta's sister. The younger asari looks between Aethyta and Blue several times before speaking, "I take it he's not with you." Aethyta nods with a grin, "That ass had better have a good reason for staying away so long. His granddaughter is about to have her first baby and I expect him to be back in time."

"Well Allytha, last I heard he was planning on helping with the cleanup back on Mindoir. Said he'd be along in a couple months." Allytha gives a faux smile at that.

"Uh huh. He also said it was just gonna be a short hunting trip." Her sister looks at the human girl clinging to her side for the first time. What little amusement she'd had drains away as soon as she takes in Jane's appearance. The young woman is shaking as if gripped by a seizure. Her skin is pale and covered in a sheen of sweat, mixed with more than a little blood. Jane is panting like an animal as she struggles to stay up. "Goddess… she's just like Madra." Both of them had tried to comfort the young asari after her accident. What had happened in the days after has haunted the two of them for centuries.

Aethyta squeezes Jane a little tighter, "Difference is she's never been taught how to bleed energy, so I can help her. She's gonna be okay." Her declaration is a bit more forced than she'd intended. Allytha catches her tone and nods grimly.

"Let's get her to a meditation cell."

"We need a shielded one. She's more powerful than you can imagine." Her sister nods again before patching into the local comm net and making the necessary arrangements. Aethyta, meanwhile, is practically carrying Jane at this point. She's bleeding freely, a crimson trail falling from her face. Halfway to the needed cell, Jane collapses as a new flare begins. A surge of energy knocks Aethyta away and destroys multiple pieces of art on the walls. It takes several pulses for the flare to run its course, each one reducing another painting or tapestry to ash.

Jane staggers back to her feet, taking in the damage with a forlorn expression. "I'm sorry…" Her tears are now almost entirely blood. Aethyta gets a hold of her again and brushes aside her apology.

"Don't worry about it kiddo, they were ugly anyway." She practically drags Jane the rest of the way. They reach the cell and move inside without hesitation. Allytha stands at the doorway as Aethyta helps Jane into a kneeling position in the center of the room. Once the girl is in place, Aethyta quickly steps back to the door before leaning close to her sister. "Look, this isn't gonna be pretty. Polarize the observation deck, power up the barriers to the maximum setting, and get a medical team ready. Best case scenario, I get in her head, get things in order without any real trouble. Worst case… just be ready with the med team." Her sister nods, sealing the door before heading to the control room. These cells were built for practicing extremely advanced biotic techniques, so hopefully they'd be enough to contain Jane's power, at least for awhile.

 **Jane**

 _She's losing herself. Everything's a blur as Jane struggles to focus. She can hear Aethyta talking to another asari that looks similar to her, but she can't make out what they're saying. All she can hear is the thunder in her veins. She's kneeling near the center of a room she doesn't remember coming to, gasping for a breath that just won't come. She tries to ask what's happening but everything comes out as a confused slur of sound that's completely unintelligible. Aethyta makes her way back over as a creeping feeling of static electricity crawls up Jane's skin. It feels like her suit's shields upon activation. Was the room shielded? Aethyta speaks in urgent tones as she kneels down in front of Jane, "All right Jane, listen close. I'm gonna start a meld and get things going in there. In order for this to work, you've gotta let me in. No resisting, no fighting back, and no trying slow me down. We just don't have the time to piss around anymore."_

 _Her tongue feels twice as big as usual but somehow she still manages to speak, "I… I don't know how. How do I do that?"_

" _Just open your mind and don't push back when you feel a second mind. I'll take it from there." Jane takes a deep breath and tries to clear her thoughts, not an easy thing to do when everything hurts so much. Eventually she manages to push down most of her suffering to a point where it can't interfere. Aethyta must be satisfied because she chooses that moment to take Jane's hands. "Alright, this is gonna feel really weird the first time, but trust me. Just let it happen, flow with it." Jane nods numbly as she feels the air shift. Everything is coming into greater focus as the seconds tick by. She sees Aethyta lean her head back before snapping back up and exclaiming, "Embrace eternity!" She feels a new mind join with her own. The world shifts in a kaleidoscope of colors she can't name as everything changes form._

 **Aethyta**

What you see in someone's mind usually is not a literal interpretation. There was just so much information that the brain discarded while processing perceptions. That 'junk' information never registered consciously, but the mind still experienced and stored it. To look upon it in a meld was to try and smell a sound or speak a sight. The senses just can't process the raw amount information available, so to compensate, the mind tends to interpret things with metaphor. She sees snippets of Jane's life as she did when the girl had shared her own peculiar form of melding, but this time it's all mingled with a thousand other sensations that she can perceive but not fully understand.

An asari could spend every second of her thousand year life trying to fully understand a single moment seen within another's mind, and they wouldn't have enough time to work through a tenth of what was there. Instead, the melding parties had to focus on a single aspect of their actions. Aethyta gently nudges Jane's mind, asking about how she keeps control. Everything shifts from broiling fields of knowledge without end, to a strange place of scattered, insane masonry. Aethyta takes a few minutes to look around, trying to understand.

She sees bridges stretching between buildings with no way off, stairways leading up to nowhere, tunnels plunging through floating mountains but never emerging, bottomless pits hovering above her, and thousands of other architecturally impossible things. 'Think dammit! What you see here isn't going to totally make sense. You gotta interpret it, figure out what it means.' She tries to find the link between all these crazy things, then it hits her. Architecture! The way Aethyta had described the problem to Jane had made it sound like control was something that need to be built! So Jane had come to think of it in terms of something that literally had to be constructed, shaped from stone. Then it clicks. She finally understands why Jane has been having so much trouble. It wasn't that the girl didn't have the infrastructure. The problem is that she's been trying to use so many unfinished foundations. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of completely different setups that she just can't unify into a cohesive pattern. 'You've been trying to work with way more than you need. None of it's built up right, so you keep hitting dead end after dead end. You fall into a pit or try to walk through a tunnel with no exit or you get stuck on a bridge with no way off.'

Now that she understands the problem, Aethyta has an idea of how to solve it. She carefully starts mentally carving out pieces from the nonsensical structures around her, and bringing them together into something logical. She can feel the pain as she pulls each stone free, but when she slots them into her new construct the pain eases down. Aethyta has no idea how long she truly spends working, but it doesn't matter. Time moves strangely in someone else's head and this is worth it. Just working on something like this is an experience that's never been documented before.

With careful pulses of thought, she pulls paving stones from a tower with no steps and arranges them in a series of massive concentric circles. Then comes a series of statues taken from hundreds of other constructs. Each one is shaped differently, with some of them bearing a striking similarity to ancient figures found in dig sites all over the galaxy. She feels that there's a specific order they're supposed to go in, so she lets that feeling guide their placement. Once her new 'courtyard' is populated by an inward curving spiral of statues, Aethyta starts pulling columns from a temple that has no floor. Their place is around one of the inner circles, where they'll be able to hold up the domed roof she pulls from a perpetually collapsing tower. She carves eight shallow channels from the center of the courtyard to the edge and fills them with amber water from the burning castle beneath her construct. The streams flow out from the center and pour over the edge, falling away into nothing.

Now comes the most important part. In order to make this personal enough for Jane to use, there needs to be something her mind can recognize, something to tie her to it. Aethyta pauses for a moment to catch her breath, trying to ignore the skull splitting migraine currently grinding away at her sanity. She's gonna feel like a hungover hanar for days after this. As she tucks away the pain for later, Aethyta starts grinding other constructs down to dust and pulling their debris to her own. She gathers the remains at the center, slowly guiding them into the needed form. She can see her efforts are paying off, despite the ever worsening pain, as the figure in her head takes shape.

Jane's anchor is a massive stone effigy of herself, kneeling down, eyes raised to the heavens, spreading its arms out with palms up. Hovering a meter above is a massive crystal orb. Its surface is dotted with thousands of glyphs, each one representing someone or something important in her life. Though she doesn't mean too allow it, a dark black hand shows up on the orb's surface. It's ugly, but she can't get rid of it without starting all over, and she's not sure she could manage this again.

She's starting to see double and knows that she can't keep it up much longer. Aethyta takes a mental step back to observe her handiwork. If it was the product of a real life mason, Aethyta would fire him in a heartbeat. The stones are dirty and cracked. The columns are crooked, each one caked with strangely colored moss. The statue barely has any visible details and it's not at all anatomical enough to embarrass Jane, though to be fair that kind of teasing will need to wait til she's better. Truth be told, it's actually kind of ugly right now, but beauty has to take a back seat to practicality at the moment. It'll do the job until Aethyta can find someone to get deeper into Jane's head. She'll need to find a young asari with more guts than brains to deal with the mess in the girl's mind, without bringing her own darkness in.

Aethyta finally reaches the end of her strength and starts pulling away, breathing a sigh of relief as she breaks the meld. The real world starts to come back into focus, but something is off. Everything is sideways, as if the whole room has been titled ninety degrees. Then she realizes that it's her that is sideways. She must have fallen over whilst exiting Jane's mind. The room is very dark, the only light is coming from the sparking overhead lights and flashlights carried by the medical team coming through the door. The walls are heavily damaged and the glass shielding for the observation room has been shattered. She's trying to get up when a member of the med team makes her way over, "Please lie still mistress. You were struck several times by powerful biotic pulses. We'll need to get both of you to the infirmary." She feels a few sets of hands lifting her onto a stretcher as an unseen medic injects a dose of medi-gel. Jane is a few meters away, being carried by twice as many asari. She can't make out any details through the miasmic haze blocking her thoughts.

There's nothing more she can do like this, so Aethyta lets the medicine go to work. She passes out at some point and wakes up in an infirmary bed. Her vision takes several minutes to clear as she tries and fails to sit up. She discovers that the reason she can't get up is a thick leather strap across her chest. "What the hell?" Her slightly slurred whisper gets a chuckle from behind her bed.

"Apologies cousin. You were thrashing around for a while and I didn't want to risk you hurting yourself." Her cousin, Galia, unbuckles the restraint before providing an arm for Aethyta to balance on as she sits up. She's nearly knocked out by the searing pain in her head. It's not like a hangover at all, more like someone has opened up her skull and spent an hour just poking the same spot over and over and over.

"What's the damage?"

"For you? A mild cerebral hemorrhage and some warp burns." Aethyta feels a lot worse that such minor injuries would indicate. She's about to crack a joke about it when she finally sees Jane. The young woman is sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling in a relievingly steady pattern. Spits is laying on a rolling table next to the bed, resting his head in Jane's lap. Galia notices her concern, "She was in far worse shape. Her internal injuries were extreme, a large tear in her diaphragm, a punctured lung, multiple splits in her intestines, severe liver damage, and several others. She was also suffering through a cerebral hemorrhage, one far worse than your own. However, once we provided her with a decent nutrient stimulant, the damage began to repair itself. I've never seen someone heal from an injury like that so quickly."

"Well, Jane's not exactly normal." Her cousin nods sagely.

"Yes, that became quite obvious as I made my examination. If she is going to be staying with us for an extended period of time, you and I are going to need to have a conversation about her… interesting situation." Unwilling to speak about the subject without sweeping for bugs, Aethyta simply nods.

"I trust you have spoken about her to anyone yet."

"Of course not. I'm no fool cousin." That was true. Galia was many things. A skilled surgeon, medical savant, stick in the mud when sober, bit of a promiscuous tart when drunk, but a fool she most certainly was not. "Besides, as your personal guest, it is your right to decide how much information about her is made available while she is unconscious." She nods, trying to ignore the new explosion of pain behind her eyes as she stands up. "You really should rest for a little longer Aethyta. Minor or not, any bleeding in the brain should be taken seriously."

She tries to wave off her cousin, succeeding only in making herself dizzy. She steadies herself with one hand on her bed, "Yeah, yeah... Shit my head hurts. I'll be fine, just need a good stiff drink. Any idea how long she'll be out?"

"No clue. Her body process tranquilizers so differently than anyone I've ever worked on. She might be out for two hours or two days." That's pretty much what she had expected to hear. She takes a few steps towards Jane's bed, staggering badly enough for Galia to stick out an arm to help steady her. Aethyta nods her thanks, taking a little bit of time to really get her balance back. It takes a few minutes, but eventually she stops seeing two of everything.

Jane is sleeping more peacefully than she's seen in almost a year. That being said, she still looks incredibly tense. Hopefully she'll start feeling better soon, then maybe Aethyta can get someone to get in her head and help. "Keep an eye on her until she wakes up Galia." Her cousin watches her slowly walk out the door.

"Where are you going? You need rest!"

"First things first. I'm gonna get some whiskey. Then I'm gonna find an acolyte strong enough to help Jane, yet young enough to not have any real bullshit bouncing around in her head." She can hear Galia sign in exasperation at her obstinence. Aethyta makes her way to her favorite liquor cabinet and grabs a bottle of whiskey that David had given her years ago. Instead of grabbing a glass, Aethyta drinks straight from the bottle as she walks the halls of her home in complete solitude, for the first time in nearly ten years.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36 - Rough Start**

 _Date_ _: 4.25.2170_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

She's a little hungover by the time all the candidates have been assembled. A vorcha is gnawing on her brain as she walks into the small auditorium. Close to forty young asari are chatting incessantly until she steps up to the small podium her sister had set up earlier in the day. Each one is between the ages of forty-five and eighty, barely on the cusp of maidenhood. Too young to be out on their own, yet old enough to have begun training for the lives they'll one day have. Most would already have some basic plans for when they're allowed to leave home, however childish those plans might be at the moment. These 'acolytes' as her grandmother had dubbed them in her day, would one day be sent out into the galaxy to find themselves. For now, she needs one with a lot of guts and not a lot of caution.

She leans heavily on the podium whilst chugging a vile brew Anderson had introduced her to. Human coffee tasted repulsive but it's helped her recover from many a hangover. One particularly chipper young woman decides to break to silence, "Hello lady Aethyta." It sounds as though a krogan is shouting through a megaphone.

"Goddess Lista! Don't shout…" A stranger might have been offended over her tone, but most people on Liseera knew how Aethyta was after drinking heavily. It was actually a bit fun to some of them.

Instead of getting hurt, Lista smiles gently and speaks a little more quietly this time, "I'm not shouting ma'am, I think you drank a little too much last night." The whole auditorium breaks out in a fit of giggles as Aethyta grumbles over the observation. She raises a single hand to call for quiet, glad that the quick movement doesn't exacerbate her migraine. The acolytes' laughter dies down quickly enough.

"Alright, now I don't know how much Allytha has told you so I'm gonna give a quick recap. For the last two years I've been tutoring a young human female in the use of her biotics. This girl has not only managed to master dozens of different skills in less than a tenth the time a normal student would require, but she also has more raw power than anyone I've ever met before, including several asari matriarchs." Most of the acolytes scoff at the idea of a human with so much power. They laugh quietly to themselves, thinking that maybe Aethyta was still a little too deep in the bottle to be talking. That is until Aethyta activates the vid-screen behind her. On screen is a video of Jane's last full scale battle on Mindoir. The girls go completely silent as they watch Jane obliterating mercs with a degree of effortlessness that shouldn't be possible. More than a few of them are shifting nervously at the bloodshed on display.

"I trust you'll take this a little more seriously now?" Most of them sheepishly nod their heads. A few of the youngest look positively nauseous. "While she is immensely powerful, it's come at the cost of severe control issues. She has a number of abnormal psychological structures in her mind that make it impossible for her to bleed excess energy. Most races never need to learn how to do that since they never build up energy reserves large enough to matter, but she's not exactly… normal. So I'm looking for a volunteer to spend quite a while with her. During that time, this volunteer will be melding with her on a regular basis in order to help restructure the necessary places in her mind. Since this will be an extremely hazardous task, whoever takes the job will be allowed to begin their time of wandering as soon as the problem is squared away." It was Allytha's suggestion. Most of them would already be champing at the bit to get out into the wider galaxy. "I'm not gonna demand that anyone take part in this, so let's be clear. You are not in anyway obligated to help. I'm not gonna be mad, and you're not gonna get in trouble for not volunteering. So, anybody willing to help?"

The only one's with their hands down are the youngest among them, most likely because they were afraid after seeing Jane on video or didn't think they were ready to leave home just yet. "Just so you know, this isn't going to be safe. This girl's mind is not going to be a full little playground. She's seen and done thing that make most mercenaries look as dangerous as a varren turd, and she's killed enough people to crew multiple dreadnaughts." Almost every hand goes back down. Those that had been willing before her warning look frightened at the idea of someone like that simply being on their homeworld. Thankfully there is still one girl with the guts she's looking for. "For the sake of official records and all that crap, please stand up. State your name, parentage, and confirm that you are indeed volunteering without coercion."

The young asari stands tall, declaring, "My name is Niria Aethys. My parents are High Priestess Anatria Aethys and General Niratan Vultas. I am volunteering my assistance in teaching the human known as Jane Shepard to control her biotic abilities. When do we start Saffa?" She gives the girl a tight smile. It was an affectionate name the girl's mother used for her, hinting at an _old_ and mildly perverted joke about her love life. Niria had learned it as a toddler and never grown out of using it. Her cousin Anatria had sent the girl home about fifteen years after she was born, as tradition dictated. The general hadn't liked it, but had bowed to family conventions.

"Let's find out." She dismisses the rest of the Acolytes and leads Niria to the med-bay.

 **Jane**

 _She wakes up feeling like a krogan is sitting on her chest, digging knives into her lungs. In fact, everything feels like that. Everything's a little foggy as she tries to sit up, only to find a massive blob sitting on top of her. As she tries to clear her head, Jane runs her hands across the blob, finding scales, cartilaginous spines, a torrential spill of drool, and a pair of artificial limbs. She smiles lazily, "Hey buddy." Spits chuffs happily as she scratches his chin, before gently nudging him off of her chest. Her head clears a little bit more and the local smells finally penetrate the haze around her mind. It smells like antiseptic, painkillers, and old blood. In an instant she's catapulted back into memory. Dozens of a people in lab coats, knives cutting deep, unnatural things added to her,_ _ **Him**_ _smiling at her, pain and rage, Rage, RAGE. Before anything serious can happen, Jane takes a deep breath and throttles the memories. 'The labs are_ _ **gone**_ _. All of them are_ _ **dead**_ _. I'm_ _ **not**_ _back in the maze… so where the hell am I?' It feels like she should know, but the last few days are just a blur of pain in her head._

 _The room is completely unfamiliar and it causes a small surge of adrenaline. Spits reacts to her sudden spike in emotion with a rolling snarl as he pans his head around, trying to find the threat that has her so upset. As Spits hops down, Jane reaches up for her sword, but it's not at her shoulder where it belongs. Then she notices how cold she is, how everything feels lighter, and she looks down. Her plating is gone… and so is her suit. The only thing covering her is the silken blanket from the bed. Jane is casting her gaze around, feverishly looking for her gear when she hears a startled gasp from the other end of the room._

 _It's a middle aged asari bearing a slight resemblance to Aethyta. On the table behind her, Jane spots Abyss. A quick biotic pulse has it sail into one hand, the other holding the silken sheet in at her waist. Spits takes his customary place at her left, adding his snarl to her own. The asari raises her hands in placating gesture, "Peace child. There is no threat here."_

" _Where is my suit and my plates?! Where the hell am I?!"_

 **Aethyta**

Her hangover is just about clear as she leads Niria to the med-bay. The girl has been asking questions the whole way. How old is Jane? How tall is she? Where was she born? Who are her parents? Is it true human hair hangs loosely instead of holding still? The acolytes had limited access to the extranet, but most of them are overly focused on ideas for what they'll do once they leave, rather than learning details about the people they might meet. Just before she can start getting annoyed at the incessant questions, they make the final turn outside the medbay, and they can hear shouting. Then there's a flash of gold followed by the feeling of biotics being used. "Shit." Aethyta sprints the final stretch, leaving a very confused Niria behind.

She bolts through the door to find a very angry and very naked Jane holding Galia against the wall with a wall of amber energy. "Where am I?!"

"Take it easy kiddo!" Jane swings her sword at Aethyta without thinking and very nearly takes her head off, stopping only a few inches from her throat. Jane's eyes are wild, her chest heaving as her body struggles to cope with an obvious surge of adrenaline.

"What the hell is going on Aethyta?" Given how delirious she was when they'd arrived, Aethyta can't really fault Jane for her confusion. She stays as calm as she can, speaking slowly and gently to try and get Jane to relax. Aethyta can hear a tiny gasp from Niria as she finally steps into the room behind her.

"We're on Liseera, my family's colony. You were hurt on the way here. What's the last thing you remember clearly?" The blade wavers as Jane struggles to think about what happened.

"I… we left Sur'Kesh. We left Hannah…" She finally lowers the sword, looking utterly heartbroken. "I left Hannah… then we got to your ship and I went into one of the rooms. A little while later I lost control for a bit, then… all I can remember is pain." Her eyes glaze over for bit as she thinks.

 **Niria**

She finally reaches the medbay after spending a few minutes in the hall debating whether or not she should go in. Whatever the problem is, Aethyta can probably handle it without her help. Then again, she was still a little hungover from her usual homecoming ritual. But then again, Niria wasn't properly trained for combat or verbal counseling yet, especially with someone as powerful as this girl was supposed to be… then again, she does need to start getting to know this girl, given how much time they'll be spending together. Eventually she decides to go in, just to get an idea of what the situation is.

Niria carefully walks in to find Aethyta and cousin Galia standing on either side of a sword wielding human with beautiful crimson hair. She's tall, even taller than Aethyta. Her eyes are an amazing shade of glowing violet and she has a few freckles dotted across her pale face. Niria's eyes travel further down, leading her to blush heavily. The human is naked except for a silken sheet pulled from one of the nearby beds. Niria spots dozens of scars scattered across her body. Some of them are the angry red of recently healed battle wounds, like the large one running across her belly. Several however are machine straight and clearly older, like the one running down the center of her chest or the one over her diaphragm. There are so many scars dotting the young woman's body that Niria has no doubt that entire books could be filled with the stories behind them.

To tell the truth, she's quite startled at how attractive the girl is. Her father had always told her that the most alluring beauty marks someone could carry were the honorably earned scars of battle, and right now she can't find an argument against the idea. The feeling of raw power gently flowing from her is intoxicating. Aethyta had warned her that it would feel very, very strange at first and that she would need to work hard to control herself as best she could. She finally manages to focus on the situation rather than her feelings long enough to catch what's being said. "A little while later I lost control for a bit, then… all I can remember is pain."

"We got into orbit a little bit after that. Then Gavin flew us down in Blue, I took you to a meditation cell, then we melded for a bit. I did as much as I could without causing any permanent damage. Afterward we both needed medical attention." Aethyta gestures to the doctor, "This is my cousin Galia. She's the one that patched us both up. Had to take the plates and suit off to make sure everything was ok. Your suit's in the cabinet over there and the plates are in the room I had set up for you. I know you probably hurt like hell right now, but other than that, how do you feel?" Jane releases Galia and takes a few deep breaths before speaking, this time much more calmly.

"It's weird. I don't really know how to articulate it. I feel… more solid. Like I was falling before, but now I have something under my feet to stand on. There's still a lot of pressure inside but now it's like my insides are just sitting there and not trying to rip me open." Niria had heard stories about what happened to asari that couldn't bleed energy. The first time she'd heard of it, she'd had nightmares for weeks. She had been terrified of getting hurt and being forced to lay around, waiting to explode. A few long talks with her mother over how such things simply didn't happen anymore had helped end her fears, but now that she knows that someone came close to it in her lifetime, the dreams might be about to start up again.

"I'm glad to hear it Jane. Would you mind putting the sword down? Aren't many threats here." Jane reverses her grip on the sword and stabs it into one of the beds, causing Niria to wince at the sound. Once the blade is safely embedded, the girl turns back to Galia.

"I'd really like my suit back now." The good doctor opens a nearby cabinet and pulls out a magnificent red suit. It only takes a minute for Jane to get inside it. She punches in a short code at the controls along her belt line, causing the seals all over the suit to close and the air between the suit and her skin is expelled. The human girl lets out a heavy sigh of relief once the garment is snug against her. Meanwhile, Niria is trying not to think about how closely it follows Jane's features. To distract herself from that she focuses on the spiralling patterns on her arms and torso. They look like highly stylised floral patterns. "Who are you?" She looks at the human's face and freezes. Jane is staring straight at her.

 **Aethyta**

If she didn't know Jane as well as she did, Aethyta would be pretty angry that she was making Niria squirm so much. The young asari is struck silent by that piercing glare that Jane tended to aim at anyone new, so Aethyta has to come to the rescue, "Jane, this is Niria. She's the daughter of one of my cousins and she's going to be the one helping you from here on in." Niria manages a weak wave as Jane examines her for the next several minutes.

"This isn't a good idea Aethyta. It's not safe." She knows Jane is just trying to protect the young asari, but Niria doesn't like being dismissed so readily.

"I can assure you that I am more than capable of helping you. My training has included extensive work in mental organization and repair. The danger to you is minimal."

Jane's whole body seems to sag slightly, "It's not me I'm worried about."

Thinking she's just been insulted, Niria snaps back, "I can handle myself just fine. There's no reason to doubt that. I've been training for similar work for years as part of my preparations for leaving Liseera."

"Aethyta can you wait outside for a minute?" Normally she wouldn't want to leave an asari as young as Niria alone with someone as… potent as Jane, but the human girl is unlikely to be interested in anything untoward.

"Yeah. Just call when you two are done. Oh and Jane, nothing permanent please. I actually like my adorable little cousin here." Niria's expression is a mix of confusion and morbid embarrassment as Aethyta steps out of the medbay, dragging Galia behind her.

 **Jane**

' _I can't believe Aethyta thinks this is the person to help me.' She doesn't voice her doubts right away. The asari in front of her is young, very young. She barely looks old enough to be in the maiden stage of her life cycle, if that. Niria looks like a lot of asari, in that her skin is a shade of light blue, with a few violet freckles here and there. He skin is almost completely unblemished, no scars at all. She can only imagine what Niria thinks of her own scars. She's gotten to know what most asari moods smell like after living with Aethyta for two years, but she just can't identify what this one is feeling. She's clearly nervous, even a little afraid, but there's something else, something she can't quite pin down. It's a scent that Aethyta never had around her. "How old are you?"_

" _I will be sixty two next month." Jane frowns at that._

" _You're too young to do this. You aren't ready."_

" _I'm older than you and I'm more than capable of performing a meld thank you very much." She's actually pouting now. Aethyta's right. She is kind of adorable._

" _Have you ever watched someone die?" Niria looks completely floored by the question. What confidence she had been showing melts away._

" _Well… no. I mean, I've seen vids of it." No real use in that._

" _That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about real life. I'm talking about watching someone lying in front of you, dying." The young asari is holding one arm nervously as she struggles to maintain eye contact._

" _No…"_

" _Have you ever killed someone?"_

" _No…" She seems to shrink a little with every question._

" _Ever stabbed or shot anyone, or even seen it happen?"_

" _No…" Niria's voice is little more than a whisper at this point._

" _Have you ever been stabbed or shot or heavily injured?" She just shakes her head. "I have. I've killed people, some of them in ways that would haunt you forever. I've watched innocent people die, and a lot of them were my fault…" The faces of an entire neighborhood on Omega flash through her mind along with four sets of numbers that still scream at her in her dreams and a loving blonde doctor bleeding out on the floor. "I've been stabbed, shot, poisoned, and irradiated. I've been impaled by shrapnel. I've had my internal organs exposed to the open air in the middle of a firefight. I've been on the brink of death at least seven times that I can remember." Niria won't even look at her anymore._

 _She keeps her tone level as she goes on, "I'm not saying all this to make you feel bad or inadequate. I'm trying to make you understand. My mind is not like the people you've trained with. What's going on in here," she taps on her temple, "is not something I can inflict on someone who hasn't suffered through at least some of the evil out there. The risk of you drowning in darkness is too great." Jane moves past Niria towards the door, intent on trying to convince Aethyta to look for someone more world-wise._

 _Before she can hit the door controls a quiet whisper stops her, "I'm willing to try." Jane turns back to see that Niria's found her courage again. "I might not have seen much in my life, but that was the whole reason Saffa Aethyta brought you here… isn't it? You need someone who can enter your mind without bringing any real darkness with them. It's like you said, I haven't suffered, but that just means that I can't add to the pain you already carry." Niria nervously shuffles closer, "Not to mention that I was the only one still willing to help after Saffa told us how dangerous it is."_

 _She bows her head, trying to think of an argument to counter what Niria had said. To tell the truth, she was absolutely right. Aethyta had made it clear that only someone as young as Niria could help without making things work. She'd also made it clear that anyone seriously powerful had a very good chance of burning out parts of her brain. There being no damage from Aethyta was a damn miracle. The fact that Niria was volunteering made it easier to reach her decision, not to mention the oh so tiny tingling sensation in her hands. Jane's still not comfortable with someone so relatively young getting involved, but after a few minutes consideration she gives in. "Alright. We'll give it a shot… after lunch." She gives Spits the call, and in no time the two of them are ripping through a feast, courtesy of a grouchy asari even older than Aethyta. The matriarch herself joins them after a few minutes, along with Niria._

 **Aethyta**

While Jane eats with her customary table manners, Aethyta gets a good laugh at her cousin's reaction. While Niria has always taken her advice on how much they needed to eat, the girl's mother had been a stickler for proper table etiquette. As such, she was totally unprepared for the spectacle of Jane and Spits tearing into enough food to feed half a dozen people. The two of them clear plate after plate, while Mags, their skilled and exceptionally irritable chef, keeps the food coming. "How can she eat so much? It'd take a week for me to go through all that."

"It's a side effect of certain... unique details about her. You get used to it." After eating enough to burst a normal person's stomach, Jane follows Aethyta to one of the meditation cells. This one is a lot like the one she'd used to meld with Jane, except it isn't wrecked. "Alright Jane, I want you to relax for a bit. I got a few things to tell Niria about the meld." Jane nods and starts a few breathing exercises as Aethyta pulls her cousin back outside, far enough for the door to close. The room is soundproofed, so hopefully Jane won't hear. "Couple things you need to know Niria. I've got the basic structuring done, so all you need to do is clean it up, fix up the imperfections. Just ask to see how Jane keeps control. You should be able to find it pretty quick after that."

"Okay. How long should keep up the meld?"

"Don't take any serious risks the first few times. There's no deadline, so do what you can at as safe a pace as you can manage. As soon as you start having trouble focusing, pull out of the meld." Her cousin nods in understanding. She looks confident. Hopefully what comes next won't ruin that, "Alright, now this is the most important part. Don't, under any circumstances, go digging beyond what you're going in for. Her mind is a fucking minefield of problems and if you're not careful you'll get roasted. Understand?" Niria pales a little but nods anyway.

"I understand. I won't let you down Saffa." She pats Niria on the shoulder and opens the door to usher her in. Jane sends Spits out, leaving Aethyta alone with him in the hall.

 **Niria**

She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves before stepping in front of Jane. "Okay, just relax and step over here please." She tries to take hold of Jane's hand to guide her to the center of the room. As soon as her hand makes contact the human girl literally hisses at her.

"Don't touch me." Jane jerks her hand away, carefully cradling it close to her chest. Niria has a moment of panic born from a complete lack of experience in human social conventions.

"I'm so sorry! I forgot that humans are supposed to be a more conservative than asari. I didn't mean to offend you." Jane frowns at her.

"It's not that. It just hurts… everything hurts." She doesn't know how to handle that. Aethyta had been really evasive over details on the girl's past.

"Um, okay. It's just that… physical contact makes it easier to maintain the meld." Jane hesitantly extends her hands, and Niria takes hold as gently as she can before guiding her to kneel at the center of the room. "Relax... Deep breaths… Let all thought slip away into nothing… Good. Now, embrace eternity." She's melded before, but this time is different. There is so much noise, so much emotion. A tidal wave of sensations more powerful than she has ever felt crashes down on top of her in a flood of thought. This vast ocean of idea nearly crushes her under the sheer immensity of it. All the pain, the hatred, the rage, the fear, it's all so utterly overwhelming that she can barely keep herself above the waves. 'Focus! Narrow the connection, and focus!' The memory of her instructor's stern voice kicks her training into gear, leading to a much more concentrated view of Jane's mind. It's still more powerful than should possible, but at least she's not drowning anymore.

She carefully calls to Jane through the connection. With a slight sting in her mind, she's catapulted into a strange place full off demolished, illogical, or straight up impossible architecture. And there, in the midst of it all, is the construct Aethyta had told her about. It looks a lot like one the the old shrines to the goddess Athame. The only differences are the statues. Thousands of strange figures are arranged in a spiral curving towards the center. Niria's mind drifts over to the structure and takes a moment to admire it. The central statue looks vaguely like Jane, but there are so many things that don't look right. Everything looks a little dirty, damaged, or crooked. 'Well Saffa did say she only had time to get the foundations laid. I guess I should just pick something small to start with.'

She's already starting to get tired as her mind drifts over to one of the cracked stones near the base of a column. With extreme caution, Niria directs a tiny pulse of thought at the stone. Dust drifts over from one of the wrecked constructs nearby and flows into the cracks. They fill rapidly, a small flash of golden light fusing the stone into a single, immaculate piece. Smiling at this tiny accomplishment, Niria tries to move on, but a mountain of exhaustion starts weighing her down. 'I guess that's all for today.'

Niria starts to pull herself from the meld, carefully avoiding the nebulous clumps of emotion between her and the outside. The clouds are dotted with every color imaginable, along with several she has never seen before. For a brief moment, she's distracted by the amazing display, failing to take note of the direction she is going and finds herself _inside_ one of the clouds. She's instantly struck with a horrible vision of blood. Blood and fire and a rage burning so darkly that nothing can emerge unscathed. Niria desperately tries to pull away, but the darkness grabs hold of her mind, pulling her towards an abyss of pain. She starts to panic as she's swept faster and faster towards the horrifying apparition.

Just before she can be dragged into oblivion, a rock solid grip takes hold of her wrist. She looks up and sees Jane, surrounded by a dark red miasma. "I've got you!" Her voice is distorted by the roaring of the abyss beneath her. Jane starts pulling her away, giving her own roar in response. In the 'sky' behind her, a great silver light shines down on them. The source of the light seems to be another human female, this one barely covered in diaphanous white armor. It's held aloft by a pair of pristine white wings. She has raven hair and shining blue eyes. Niria can tell Jane is taking strength from the cascade of pure silver light. She feels her feet pulled clear of the raging whirlpool of emotion and now that she's clear, she moves quickly to end the connection. Niria can feel a portion of Jane's consciousness wrapped around her the whole way, protecting her from the deeper darkness.

Eventually they reach the surface and she is able to break the connection. As her mind settles back into being solitary again, the two of them look into each other's eyes. She smiles at Jane, trying to thank her for the rescue, but before she can form the words exhaustion crashes down on her shoulders. As she fades into unconsciousness, she feels Jane hoist her up and carry her through the door.

 **Aethyta**

Her and Spits had been standing in the hall for about an hour before a distraught Jane had kicked the door open. She was cradling Niria in her arms, the little asari unconscious and barely breathing. The girl took off towards the medbay with Spits right on her heels, leaving Aethyta in the dust. When she'd finally caught up with them in the medbay, Galia was ready with an extremely relieving explanation. "She's just exhausted cousin. The process you had her attempt is hugely draining and she just used a bit too much energy. She'll be fine with a little bed rest, coupled with a large meal later in the day." Aethyta lets out a sigh of relief before resting a hand on Niria's cheek.

"Did pretty good kiddo. Didn't even pop a blood vessel like I did."

Niria smiles as her eyes flutter open slightly, "I didn't really do much. Just a single stone."

"One is better than none. It'll take a while but even at one stone a meld, you'll still get the job done. Now, get some sleep. Once your up again we'll eat." She's asleep before Aethyta's done talking. Galia runs one more scan just to be safe and gives her a reassuring nod. "Goddess... Scarred the piss outta me we Jane busted that door down and came through with Niria out cold. Speakin of Jane, where is she?" Gallia points to one of the other beds. Jane is asleep too, with Spits carefully patrolling the area, occasionally growling at anything vaguely threatening.

"Came in all teary eyed, claiming she didn't mean to hurt her. Took a couple minutes to get her to calm down and stop worrying. As soon as I had her convinced that there was nothing to fret about, she just laid down and went to sleep. I'm willing to bet she used up almost as much energy as Niria, even before the run from the cells." Aethyta takes a good long look at Jane, hoping that it'll be easier from here on, but she's not gonna hold her breath.

 _Date_ _: 4.25.2170_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Jortan**

Two weeks of dodging the Alliance fleet, coupled with the sacrifice of the rest of his own, and he's finally back to base. They'd lost. Not just men and ships. No, those were easy to replace. It was the damage to the Wake's reputation that really hurt. Hundreds of contracts had been canceled. Millions of credits pissed away both in the fight itself and in business lost. It'll take a long time to fix this mess, and it's got him in a rage as he storms through home base. The few survivors of the disaster steer clear as he stomps his way to the tower. Once at the top he demands a meeting with the remaining priests. The five hooded men arrive quickly, each moving to stand in a line before him, completely at ease. He paces back and forth in front of them, struggling to suppress his rage long enough to speak. Through what he believes is a heroic effort, Jortan manages to growl his words at them. "Four thousand men killed on the planet! Another two thousand in orbit! Three thousand while trying to ditch the Alliance! Twenty-two ships lost! Almost a billion credits in weapons, armor, vehicles, and that's just from the landing force! We've lost almost twice as much in cancelled contracts and business lost because of the increased security. It'll take _years_ to recover from this defeat!"

The five priests answers as one, pulses of blue light punctuating their speech, "Defeat? What defeat do you speak of, brother Jortan?" If his hateful disbelief was fire, the entire moon would be burned to ash.

"What defeat? What defeat?! THE WAKE HAS BEEN CRIPPLED! AGAIN!" He goes back to pacing, forcing himself to keep his rifle _out_ of his hands.

Again, the priests speak in a single unified voice, "Crippled? No brother Jortan… it has been purified." His ears are ringing and a haze of white noise is filling his senses. "The Wake has been diluted in the last two years." A wave of dizziness has him standing still, bracing against the wall. What is that sound? "The impure… the non-believer… the weak of body and will… they have all been cast down for their failings." His head is spinning, the memories of their defeat… Wait, defeat? The memories are getting harder and harder to see. "Only you and your chosen endure. You are blessed, for now the Wake can be remade, pure and unsullied by those who are unworthy."

His mind is clearing. Defeat? No, no they hadn't lost. It was all part of his plan… wasn't it? Yes! That's it! The attack wasn't about killing her. It was about burning away the slime dragging them down. The heretics that only cared about credits! And now that they're gone, "That means that the real work can begin." Words of encouragement and praise fill his mind once again, filling him with the certainty of his cause. He contacts Taracus and begins the work of rebuilding as the five priests silently commune with their faraway master.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37 - Closer**

 _Date_ _: 4.26.2170_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Niria**

"You gonna get up some time today or should I tell Mags not to bother tonight?" Niria slowly opens her eyes, wincing at the bright overhead light. Her sight is blurred but she can make out what looks like the silhouette of an asari nearby, or maybe it's a filing cabinet. She's so tired that everything is a little confusing. Even sitting up is a serious trial, "That's better. Take it slow kiddo. Damn near put yourself in a coma. I warned you to get out as soon as you started havin trouble." Her sight clears up a little and she can finally see Aethyta standing next to her, along with cousin Galia to the left.

"I tried but something… odd happened." She looks around, taking note of who isn't there. "Where's Jane? She carried me here didn't she?"

"Jane took off a while ago. Got some food from Mags and now she's putting the new holo room through it's paces." The new chamber was a fascinating place. It was perfect for training but several people had underestimated just how dangerous it could be. No deaths but plenty of injuries. "So, how'd it go?"

"It went well enough for the first try. There is something I need to talk to you about… alone please." She looks to Galia and the doctor takes the hint. Once they're alone Aethyta gets things going.

"Alright Niria, what's wrong?"

She spends a few minutes trying to decide the best way to describe what happened. It's not something she's ever had to deal with before. "I saw… something inside her mind, something I can't really explain."

"Give it a shot anyway."

"Well, when I got tired, I tried to break the meld. While I was pulling out I saw these huge clouds of emotion or memory scattered all over and I got distracted. Then I accidentally drifted into one. What I felt there was terrifying." The sheer power behind those feeling had been disorienting.

"What did you feel?"

"Pain… hatred… rage. It was all so strong, so monstrous. I don't understand how someone so young can feel like that. As soon as I crossed into that cloud of emotion, it latched onto me, tried to pull me in. It… it almost consumed me." Aethyta is watching her carefully as she tries make sense of the experience. "The only reason I was able to make it out is that Jane pulled me away. She showed up, standing on open air. She was covered in billowing red haze of emotion, like rage and fear mixed together. And there was someone behind her. Another human, but this one had wings and very… flattering armor. There was silver light coming from her and Jane was pulling strength from it. After that she pretty much carried me out. I've never felt so safe before."

All in all it was a truly remarkable experience. Aethyta is looking at her with a mischievous gaze, "So… did you like the way that felt? When she carried you to safety?"

What is that supposed to mean? "Well yeah, it felt great." Aethyta's smile is getting wider with every moment.

"All safe and warm and _close_." The emphasis on _close_ has Niria on edge. Saffa Aethyta usually doesn't talk like this unless she's teasing someone, and she loved to tease Niria.

"Uhhh, I guess… What are you getting at Saffa?"

"Ohhh nothing. So, do you think you can handle this?"

"Yes, I think so. It's going to be a lot more intense than I expected but I believe we can make it work. It's going to take a while though. I've never been so tired before." She'd once tried to stay awake for three days straight and given up after two. The exhaustion from that was nothing compared to what came from an hour long meld with Jane.

"Yeah, rearranging things in someone's head is a lot more taxing than just sharing with them. Don't worry though, it'll get easier over time. Especially if the two of you can get nice and _close_." Now she's a little worried. "Anyway, hop on up and we'll get something to eat."

"Shouldn't we go talk to Jane first?" Aethyta smiles at her and shakes her head.

"Oh we'll do that eventually. I wanna let her get a little worked up first. It'll make the show that much better."

 **Aethyta**

Her little cousin is recovering much faster than expected. Rooting around in Jane's head was clearly taxing for her, but she's glad to see that Niria is rallying quickly. The two of them grab a quick bite from a bizarrely chipper Mags. "That red girl gets it dammit." It was the only explanation they got before the normally crotchety matriarch shooed them away. The two of them finish their food right as they're walking into the training room. Modeled after the facility on Mindoir, when it's finished this room will be every bit as impressive. For now however, it was still a little too low power to give a real challenge to an experienced warrior, or to a certain, mildly sadistic young woman.

The first hint of a problem is the sound of shouting, "Dammit! I said turn it up!" Aethyta sighs and picks up the pace. Once inside the seating area Aethyta spots Jane down on the arena floor. The girl has her sword out and is pointing it at something in the control both, specifically the nervous young asari manning the controls.

"It's already tuned to the maximum safe settings! A lot of people have been hurt on the higher settings." The asari in the control booth is from one of the subfamilies further out in the city, Mavi if Aethyta is remembering right.

"I don't care about safe! TURN IT UP!" Jane tended to intimidate people that didn't know her, especially when she was pointing her sword at them. Aethyta needs to step in before the girl loses her temper.

She calls the asari girl through her omni-tool, "Mavi, turn all the settings to maximum."

The girl pales a little, "But Lady Aethyta the higher settings are very dangerous."

"That wasn't a request Mavi." The young woman wilts a little under Aethyta's attention, but still follows her orders. A few moments later, the three targets in the field are joined by a dozen others, each one moving far faster than before. An acolyte like Niria would be killed quite easily. Even Aethyta would really have to work at it to escape uninjured. For Jane, it's just a bit of good cardio. For the next hour Aethyta sits in the stands next to Niria, quietly chuckling at the acolyte's expression. The girl is completely entranced as Jane rips into the swarm of opponents. "Whadda ya think?"

"I… wow…" She's not the only one to be a bit speechless. A small crowd has been gathering, mostly because Aethyta has been sending invitations to people. Around forty people are in the stands watching in near silence as Jane carves through targets. The girl is slowly returning to the carefully controlled patterns Fel taught her. At first her strikes were wild, feral even. She'd been snarling like a rabid animal in the beginning, but now the calm they'd been working into her was coming back. Her attacks are still overwhelmingly powerful, however she's no longer leaving gaps in her defenses or expending energy needlessly.

Let's see if she can keep it up with her biotics. "Switch!" Jane doesn't hesitate to scabbard Abyss and let her peculiar golden biotics light up her body. Half the asari in the stands are swaying gently, enchanted by the overwhelming feeling of power cascading from her. She's ripping targets apart with her bare hands now, or blasting them to pieces with tightly controlled bursts of energy.

Despite how visually impressive the entire display is, Aethyta knows that it's not really doing much for Jane. The only thing she'll get out of this is the chance to burn off a little excess energy, and a chance to make sure that people are aware that she is not to be trifled with. At least that's what Aethyta had hoped. Unfortunately, some people are just too thickheaded to take a hint. After an hour, Aethyta calls to Mavi and the young woman powers down the sim room. Jane whips her gaze to the booth with a thunderous expression, but before she can start yelling the applause gets her attention and she finally takes note of the crowd. She gives a sheepish wave as Aethyta smiles at her. Then a voice calls out from the crowd, "It's a trick!" The applause dies down and everyone turns to the source, a loud mouthed young woman stomping down to the arena floor. "There's no way any human could keep all that up if the settings were maxed out!" The crowd jeers at the boarish asari, a newly minted huntress named Nomila.

The arrogant woman turns to Aethyta, "Mistress I couldn't keep such a pace up on the maximum setting, so there's no way a human could. She has to have done something to the sim controls!" A few members of the crowd are cautiously nodding, but most of them are just glaring at Nomila. They'd felt the power coming off of Jane and had no doubts. From the opposite end of the arena, the girl herself is glaring at Nomila with barely caged fury.

An wonderfully evil idea crosses her mind, "Well _little huntress_ ," Nomila grinds her teeth at the derision in Aethyta's voice, "if you really believe that, why not challenge her? I'm sure that it'll be easy to beat her… _if_ you're right." The young huntress shoots a vicious smile at her before turning to Jane.

"Alright human. Let's see what you're made of!" The huntress flexes every joint to loosen up. Jane turns a curious look to Aethyta, not sure what the matriarch is thinking. She decides to give the girl a bit of direction.

"Alright Jane, nothing permanent." The girl nods and starts a leisurely walk towards Nomila. The huntress wastes no time, launching a shockwave at Jane. The girl braces a palm, disrupting the surge with a single effortless pulse of amber energy. Irritated, Nomila tries again, this time with a singularity. Jane simply surrounds the new gravity well with a biotic bubble and compresses it. The singularity collapses as Jane picks up her pace. Nomila is absolutely pissed now. She dispenses with any pretense of careful consideration, opting instead for attempting to overwhelm Jane. A push tears up floor plating before Jane swipes a hand through it, shunting the energy to the side without slowing. Another shockwave is simply ignored as she dodges to the left. At a dead sprint Jane roles under an attempted warp, springing to her feet right in front of Nomila. The asari has no time to react as Jane takes hold of her chest plate and hoists her into the air, before slamming the huntress down _into_ the floor.

The sound of the impact echoes around the chamber as the crowd goes silent again. For a moment it looks like Jane's killed the self-absorbed young woman. Then she manages to roll onto her side and start groaning. Several asari bust out laughing, both relieved that Nomila isn't dead and glad to see her put in her place for once. As the laughter goes on, Aethyta makes her way down to the scene. Nomila is gasping for breath and slowly trying to get up. Failing, but trying. Jane kneels down next to her, quietly but firmly speaking. "Was that a trick?"

Nomila manages to wheeze out an answer, "No…"

"Are you ever going to try and pull this crap again?"

"No…"

Jane waits a little bit longer, carefully watching Nomila struggle. Eventually she sighs, "Do you need help getting to the med-bay?"

The asari quietly whispers, "Yes please." Jane gently picks her up and turns away. Niria comes down to stand next to Aethyta and watches as the human girl carries her 'opponent' out of the room with Spits trailing behind.

"She wasn't even winded by that…"

"Nope. Takes a lot more than a little target practice and one stuck up little huntress to tire her out."

An hour later she got a call from Galia. Nomila was going to be fine... eventually. Jane's demonstration had left the young asari with five cracked ribs and widespread internal contusions. The physical injuries would heal in time but the psychological impact would hopefully teach her a little humility. Galia had also told her that Nomila quietly apologized to Jane before the girl had left. Eventually they found her in the room that had been made ready for her. Jane was sitting on the bed cross-legged, with her battered breastplate in her lab. She was carefully picking out pieces of shrapnel and recovering any valuable materials that needed to be recycled. Jane glances up at them with a grimace before going back to work. "She'll be fine."

"Yep, I know. Galia called and told me the damage." Jane doesn't look up as she responds.

"She earned it. I don't like being accused of things I didn't do."

Niria is watching Jane's hands as she rapidly disengages numerous locking fixtures on the plate, "Will you be able to fix it?" Jane winces at the question.

"Maybe. The shield emitters are shot and it's really warped. I can patch the holes, replace the emitters, but it probably won't fit right anymore." Jane tosses the plate towards the armor mannequin in the corner and runs a hand through her hair, only now noticing that her braid has come loose. She quickly ties it back in place before looking back up at Niria, "I'm sorry, about what happened. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Hurt me? I'm not injured. I'll admit, it was a little frightening but there's no damage. To tell the truth, it was actually an amazing experience, like nothing I've ever been through."

"Does that mean you're willing to keep working at it?"

"Absolutely. I'm actually kind of excited to get going again. Do you want to try again now or tomorrow?" As an answer Jane stands up from her bed and walks out the door, waving for Niria to follow. After very intently watching the girl walk away, her cousin turns to her with an excited look on her face. "Do you mind I go ahead go?"

"I suppose. Now you two behave yourselves. No funny business." Niria cocks an eyebrow at her in confusion before leaving herself. Aethyta chuckles to herself as she starts trying to guess how long it'll take Niria to get what she's been joking about.

 _Date_ _: 6.1.2170_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"Do we have any word?"

"My associates planetside have assured me that the matriarch arrived with the Fulcrum with only minor… complications. A young asari has been assisting her in her training and the flares are slowly beginning to fade away." A collective sigh of relief sweeps the entire council at Asari's news. The self imposed communications blackout on Liseera had only been lifted yesterday. As such, all manner of panicked theories on her condition had been bandied about, from another assassination attempt to an all out attack on the secluded colony. "From what I understand, the two of them are working together quite well. Details are still a little scarce but my associates have indicated that the process is very intense and it will be some time before her flaring is dealt with in totality.

"This one is deeply relieved to hear this news. Is there anything this council can do to render assistance?"

"Not that I know of. My associates have made it clear that this task can only be accomplished by an asari with appropriate training and limited exposure to the galaxy at large. I'm unsure why they must be inexperienced with the wider world, but I'm more than willing to trust the matriarch's judgement on this matter."

"With nervous curiosity: How long will this training take to complete? Our time is not limitless."

"Elcor has a good point. My contacts in STG have identified a number of anomalous activities throughout the galaxy, including a massive increase in credit transfers to a number of suspicious gene research firms and subversive political groups, numerous spacecraft disappearing near batarian space and the border regions. Perhaps the most disconcerting turn of events are the recently discovered ties between almost two dozen mercenary factions in the Terminus and an as yet unidentified financier. This rise in funding has led to a massive increase in the smuggling of illicit materials, including narcotics and illegal firearms."

"I think it's pretty safe to say that our enemy in the shadows is behind most of this. A few Hierarchy officials have made a number of policy reversals that are at odds with the basic principles of our people and indeed, their own psychological profiles. I can still have them dealt with before any serious damage is done, but it's only a matter of time before our enemy's influence outpaces our ability to stymie their attempts at subversion."

"Won't be too much longer till The War begins. Ten, twenty years at the most." Krogan doesn't sound too put out by the idea. "How much longer before she can enter your military Human?"

Hackett's stayed quiet for most of the meeting, quietly thinking to himself. "Technically, under normal conditions she could join right now with parental permission. However, given recent events, I believe it would be best to wait until her biotic training is complete and she's had time to adjust. It would probably be best to wait until she's eighteen before suggesting military service."

"Will she go for that? What we've seen from her so far tells us that she doesn't care for taking orders or waiting for approval on anything. She'd probably end up killing half a dozen centurions on the first day in the Hierarchy military."

"If we give her a clear target and get the hell out of her way things should go just fine. As far as the specifics go, we're working on it. By the time she's ready in a few years we should have a plan in place."

"Poorly concealed uncertainty: We can only pray that we do indeed have the time that she will need."

 _Date_ _: 10.20.2170_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Jane**

 _She's coasting on the tides of her mind, gently riding upon swells of thought as her now quite familiar asari friend keeps herself busy, poking at Jane's brain. Ever since she'd almost been killed by an errant memory, Jane's kept a close watch on her every time they've melded. It's an odd sensation, watching someone manipulate a mental construct. It's a mix of pain and relief with every little modification. The pain comes from her brain being altered in tiny increments, each change bringing a tiny throbbing sensation. However, once the throbbing fades, a surge of relief floods in to replace it. Each tiny change makes life a little bit easier, a little less painful._

 _As Jane calmly watches, Niria is slowly pacing around the edge of the construct Aethyta built for her. The 'temple' is starting to become quite the lovely place. The stones are becoming cleaner and more solid with every meld. At first Niria had only been able to shore up one or two, but now she's able to fix entire swathes of the courtyard. All the 'moss' has been cleaned out, leaving just the visible cracks to deal with. The problem is the statues. The first time she'd tried to fix one of them, both her and Jane had nearly had an aneurysm. The screams from that first attempt had bounced around in both their heads for weeks. They'd decided to leave well enough alone, at least until they had more time to think on it._

 _The asari is pointing to each statue she passes, quietly talking to herself the whole way. Jane drifts a little closer to hear what Niria is whispering, "623, 624, 625…" She'll only get a few more. The entire process was still exhausting for both of them, despite the work they've both put into it. She can see Niria slowing down and decides to intervene. Jane lets her form coalesce in the courtyard. It'd been hard to do in the beginning, but Niria was a very patient teacher._

" _I think that's good for today, don't you?" Niria turns to argue but has to catch her breath before talking._

" _I guess so. I'm sorry." Jane takes a hold of the asari and keeps her mind wrapped up carefully as they withdraw from the construct. Niria had never resisted the close mental contact, in fact whenever Jane took hold of her, she seemed to melt into her grip. She keeps the asari nearby until they get close enough to the surface to break the meld. Once again, the two of them are kneeling in front of each other. As they both carefully stand up, easing the blood back into their lower legs, Jane steps up to the observation tower's window. They didn't need the shielded cell anymore since Jane's flares had mostly faded into minor pulses. Annoying but no longer dangerous. Spits looks up from the corner he'd claimed upon first walking into the tower, but goes right back to napping when it becomes obvious that she's not leaving yet._

 _Niria steps up next to her, standing a bit unsteadily as they look out over the fields. From the tower an observer could see the entire colony, from the small hamlets next to the clear blue sea to the west, all the way to the magma fields to the east. Aethyta's ancestors had chosen the spot because of some long forgotten religious reason. Something to do with balance and what-not. Nowadays, it was just a really pretty view. Jane loved looking out over the burning west. The red and black landscape was so beautiful that it had almost got her crying the first time she'd seen it. The sight of magma geysers and rivers of molten metal always helped keep her calm._

" _You've got nothing to be sorry about." Niria bows her head slightly, almost looking like she's ashamed. "I understand that this is gonna take a while. I'd rather spend a lot of time to make sure everything's fine, than speeding through as fast as possible and having my brain explode a couple months later. Keep doing what you've been doing and I'll be happy." Her friend gives her a tight smile. They'd gotten a lot closer since her arrival, and not just because Niria spent so much time rooting around in her head. The asari was intelligent enough to hold conversations about many different topics, including engineering and she was always eager to help Jane work on all manner of projects, including the new set of plates she was wearing. The new plates were even heavier than her old ones, but with motorized joints they felt as light as a feather._

 _Niria smiles again, "Thank you. I'm glad you approve." They stand in companionable silence for almost an hour, just watching the sluggish flow of molten rock in the channel half a mile down. Eventually Niria gently takes hold of her hand, "Come on, let's go."_

" _Go where?"_

" _A lot of the girls are heading to the beach today. The sea just entered the still season, so the waters will be very warm and calm for a while, perfect for a relaxing swim." That was another reason why Jane liked her. Niria was constantly dragging her to things that she usually wasn't initially interested in, but typically wound up quite content with. It might be a bit different today though. She doesn't immediately follow, which leads Niria to ask, "What's wrong Jane?"_

" _I… can't swim." Niria's smile gets even bigger._

" _That's not a big deal. I can teach you how."_

 _Jane can feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "No, it's not that. I understand the mechanics perfectly well. I can't swim because I can't float. I don't have the normal fatty deposits that people rely on and my body is too dense. Instead of floating I just kind of… sink… like a rock, even without the plating." Memories of the trip she and Hannah had taken to the beach move to the fore. She'd never seen so much water in one place before. Jane had walked through the shallows only to fall into a small valley under the water. The pair of implants in her lungs were the only reasons she hadn't drowned. Still, Hannah had nearly had a heart attack._

" _Oh… Well there are other things you can do to enjoy the beach, come on." Niria gently drags her out of the tower and down into the colony proper._

 **Aethyta**

She'd planned on a nice quiet walk on the beach, right until she had seen the children. She saw about fifty asari, from ages ten to eighty six, go charging down the path towards the water before she had even started walking. By the time she'd gotten down there almost twenty minutes later, they were all splashing and shouting playfully. Though she could easily make her way to a more secluded part of the beach, it was always entertaining to watch the little ones in her family play. A couple of them were have a diving contest, while others were picking up shells. Some were digging on the beach, for no other reason than the childish joy of digging. A few were slowly walking on the water's edge, basking in the warmth of the sun as she had originally intended. Eventually she spots a red figure sitting near the water, with a large varren bouncing excitedly in front of her.

As Aethyta approaches, Jane fuses a tiny panel shut on Spits' left leg and pats him on the back, pointing to the water, "Go on big guy. Have fun." The bulky animal bolts into the water to splash about madly. Most of the girls have gotten used to him and toss things for him to retrieve from the water. Jane doesn't move closer though. Instead she hugs her knees to her chest and simply looks out over the sea.

"Why you here, instead of swimming with the other?" Jane spares her a quick glance.

"Can't. Sink." She really should have known that given how much Jane has told her about herself. "I was just waterproofing Spits' legs so he could play in the water." Aethyta sinks down next to the girl and looks at the water herself. They spend a few minutes in silence before she spots Niria floating on her back a short distance out. Then a wicked idea sprouts up in her mind.

"You know kiddo… there are other ways to have fun in the water besides swimming." Jane cocks an eyebrow at her, "How long can you hold your breath?"

"About twenty minutes. Maybe twenty five if I'm holding still." An evil smile spreads across Aethyta's face as she tells Jane the plan.

 **Niria**

Jane hadn't been interested in most of her suggestions, but at least she hadn't gone back to her room. When Niria had gotten in the water, Jane had started messing with Spits' legs, saying that she'd do something entertaining once he could get in the water. That had been almost an hour ago and it's looking like that wasn't going to happen. So Niria had laid back, relaxing on the surface as she tried to think of something she could do to get Jane involved. Coming up with nothing, she looks back at the beach and sees that Jane is gone. Saffa Aethyta is where the human girl had been sitting, but Jane is nowhere to be seen. "She must have gone back inside," Niria whispers to herself sadly, "I'll make it up to her, just as soon as I figure out how."

She's just starting to think of what she can do when she hears a splash nearby. Thinking that one of her little cousins is coming out to play, Niria looks around to figure out who it is, but there's no one nearby. The closest person is Tili almost twenty meters away. "Must have been a fish." Though uncommon, sometimes certain sea creatures would come close to shore during the still season. She settles back into relaxing for a minute before she feels the slight tug of a gentle current move her slightly and then comes another small splash behind her. She turns to look and still spots nothing, but she can feel a slight ghost of a sensation, as if someone is using biotics nearby. "Hello. Whoever is doing that, it's not funny." No response. Niria can feel the water around her moving again, this time with the sensation of something swimming right next to her. She starts treading water, trying to see what's disturbing the area around her. Her heart is beating a lot faster all of a sudden as she tries to head back to the beach. The water keeps pulling her while she tries to move. Suddenly she feels something cold brush firm a line along her lower back. The scream she lets out gets everyone's attention, whilst she frantically looks down, desperate to find out what's happening. That's when she sees them, a dark red figure and a pair of glowing violet eyes. "Jane!"

Her angry shout is drowned out as the water around her is pushed away by an amber sphere of biotic energy. In no time, she's standing ten feet down on the sea floor listening to Jane's near hysterical laughter. "Oh ho ho, Aethyta was right. That was hilarious!" SAFFA!

"Aethyta?! What?! YOU! SHE- urrgh!" She starts trying to march towards the beach but has to wait as Jane pushes more and more water away to clear a path. Once on land she stomps over to Aethyta, jabbing a finger at her chest. "YOU! I, ugh!" She can't even form the words before turning around and storming up the path to home.

 **Aethyta**

She does her best not to laugh at Niria until the girl is too far away to hear. As soon as the coast is clear she gives into her mirth and lays back, laughing like a loon. A few moments later she's joined by Jane whose face has almost gone purple from laughing so hard. It's surprising how quickly she'd agreed to the little game. "Goddess than was great! Did you see her face?!" Aethyta stands up and does her best impression of Niria, "YOU! I, ugh!" Which just leads to the two of them breaking back down into hysteria for several minutes more. Eventually, when her sides are aching and her face is sore from smiling, the laughter dies down, apart from a few fleeting chuckles.

Jane has a huge smile plastered across her face, the first one Aethyta's seen since they'd arrived. But, now that they've had their fun, it's time for damage control, "As fun as that was, we should probably apologize. It was kind of mean, despite how funny it was."

Jane's smile dims a little but doesn't disappear, "I'll go. After all, it might have been your idea, but I was the one that actually did it." Jane hops up and starts walking back to town, but not before doing one final impression of Niria's furious march. The sound of Aethyta's laughter follows her up the trail.

 **Niria**

"Of all the… cruel… mean… heartless… urrgh!" She's been fuming ever since she left the beach. A few people had asked her what was wrong and she'd damn near bitten their heads off. Now she's just pacing back and forth in her room, grinding her teeth, trying to calm down, but it's just so infuriating. Jane had scared her half to death. Before she'd seen the human, Niria had been convinced that some kind of predator had made it's way to the beach and tried to come after her. Then she'd had the nerve to laugh at her for being scared.

She's still stomping around, trying to avoid hitting anything when she hears a knock on the door. Against her better judgement she shouts, "Come in!" She ties a robe on as the door opens, revealing a still giggling Jane. "You! Don't think I've forgiven you!" Jane just keeps laughing as she steps in. Niria stomps over to stand right in front of her. "Do you have any idea how much you scared me?! How could you just-" She's cut off mid rage as Jane takes her in a tight hug.

"Thank you. Thank you…"

"Huh? For what?"

Jane pulls back and gently takes hold of Niria's hands, "For dragging me down to the beach. It was nice to be happy again." Niria is flabbergasted as Jane hugs her again before walking back to the door. The young woman turns back before she leaves, "Oh, and I'm sorry for making you scream like a little baby in front of everyone." She grabs a book and hurls it at the door just as Jane ducks back. The books thuds into the door and Niria can hear Jane laughing out loud as she walks away. She tries to stay mad but what Jane said makes it almost impossible. Niria thinks back, realizing that before today, she hasn't once seen Jane laugh or even smile. Seeing her so happy, even if it's temporary, makes the last dregs of anger dissipate. She whispers quietly to herself, "Okay… maybe it was a little funny."


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38 - New Development**

 _Date_ _: 11.18.2170_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Niria**

"998, 999, 1000." With that, she's finished counting the outermost ring of statues. "A thousand down and…" She scans the swarm of statues ranging around the construct, "Several thousand more to go." She takes a deep breath and resumes her walk. A few brief mental pulses see more stones repaired or polished to a pearlescent sheen. It's been like this for several months now. She uses the counting as a way to steady her mind while she works. "1001, 1002, 1003-"

"268, 111, 987, 2." And there is the reason she's lost count so often. Jane deeply enjoys bugging her while she counts, either by listing random numbers or bringing up some kind of embarrassing subject like whether or not she could move the crests on her head.

"You know that just slows me down right?" Jane's mental image coalesces right in front of her, wearing her typical attire and smiling ear to ear. "That means it'll take longer to finish." Her smile only grows. It's not true but she still says it in the hopes that Jane will stop playing around.

"Oh well, that just means I get to have you in my head that much longer and that doesn't really sound like a problem to me." Jane wraps an arm around Niria's shoulder, squeezing just a little bit too hard and actually lifting her off the 'ground' slightly. "I like having you in here with me. Makes me feel all warm n' fuzzy." She honestly can't tell if Jane is joking. The girl is usually a lot happier whenever she's around, and that effect seems to be even greater during a meld. Jane sets her back down before taking her in a tight embrace.

"I like being in here too. Though, I wish you would let me look deeper into your memories. The more I know about you, the easier it'll be to maintain a meld." Jane's smile falters for a moment.

"You don't want to see what's there. You think you do but..." Niria decides not to push anymore. While Jane would let her dig around pretty much to her heart's content in modern memories, she was adamant in her refusal to show the ones from before Mindoir, especially of where she grew up.

She tries to promise not to judge but a wave of exhaustion sweeps over her. If Jane wasn't holding her, she would would've fallen to her knees. As it is, she spends several minutes working on just staying awake. Jane keeps a tight grip on her, "That's probably all we're getting done today. Come on, let's go." Niria just nods before feeling a weightless sensation as Jane leads her to the edge of her mind. She feels colder as the meld breaks and carefully lays back on the floor. Jane brings her some food, a selection of high calorie fruits Mags had suggested. She gratefully accepts and devours the offering, while Jane sits next to her. The human girl watches her closely with the usual absence of blinking. At first, Niria had been a little unnerved by it, but now it's just another source of interest for her. Even when Jane's eyes were locked on someone, there were always tiny flecks of material shifting in her irises.

Once Niria finishes eating, Jane grabs her hand, "Come on. I wanna be there when he lands."

 **Aethyta**

She's waiting at the pad as a simple utility shuttle sets down. Next to her is her sister Allytha, arms crossed, a slight frown fixed on her face. "You know, if I didn't know better, I would think you were a bit upset with him." Allytha glares at her for a moment.

"Whatever gave you that idea? It's not like he's been gone about _two years_ longer than he said he would be. I mean, he _definitely_ didn't miss the birth of his first great-grandchild by almost _three months_." The whole clan is standing right behind them as the gangplank extends from the shuttle's airlock. The flimsy plank sags dangerously under Fel's bulk as the krogan stomps down. He confidently walks towards them with a huge smile splitting his face.

"Hello beloved!" Fel keeps walking towards them, arms held at the ready to wrap her sister in a hug. Allytha herself smiles back, before slugging Fel with an energy shrouded fist. The small burst of biotic energy causes him to rock back on his heels. It takes a moment for his eyes to stop spinning in their sockets, giving Allytha plenty of time to yell at him.

"A quick hunting trip, huh!"

"Well I might of gotten a little distracted…" The distraction in question is currently standing next to Aethyta, hand-in-hand with Niria. The statement gets him another quick jab across the chin, this one hard enough to force him back a step.

"Just a couple months for the clean up?!" He gives a faux chuckle and holds up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Well, I kinda got distracted helping to set up a new government and-" yet _another_ jab to the chin stops his explanation. Then Allytha grabs the front of his armor and pulls him in for a deep kiss. The big lizard doesn't resist, in fact, the violence just seems to have gotten him excited. As the two of them get reacquainted, a large gaggle of asari come trotting over, ranging from girls barely old enough to be maidens all the way to a full bodied matron. One of the young maidens nervously steps up next to the enthusiastic reunion carrying a tiny bundle. As Allytha finally releases Fel's lips, the burly krogan turns and his eyes go wide. "By my ancestors… who do you got there Heli?"

"Well Gavapadu, this," the young woman holds out her little violet bundle, "is Felica, my first daughter." Fel takes hold of the swaddled infant with a surprisingly gentle grip. A tiny blue face pokes out from the inside, along with the gurgling sounds infants tend to make. Fel gently rocks the little asari back and forth, quietly whispering to her.

"You're a lovely little one aren't you. So what are you gonna be when you grow up. Priestess? Pilot? Doctor?" The infant manages to wiggle one tiny arm out of her bundle and uses it to to slap Fel repeatedly in the face. She even manages to hook a couple fingers inside his left nostril. Fel gives a deep chuckle, "Oh ho, I see. Nothing so peaceful for you little one. No, you're going to be a warrior!" Little Felica laughs at him as he passes her back to her mother after prying her fingers out of his nose. "Congratulations Heli. She's a little fighter that one." The young asari beams a wide smile at him as the rest of the crowd moves in to say hello. After about ten minutes of trading greetings with his horde, Fel gets through the crowd to Aethyta. "Good to see you again Thyta. How is she?"

"Doing better. Still got some work to do, but better. " Jane steps up to him and shakes his hand.

"Nice to see you again Fel. How are things on Mindoir?"

"Pretty good. Most of the damage is repaired and they've got a surge of new colonists coming in. Population's already completely recovered, well numerically at least." Jane breaths a sigh of relief.

"What was that you said about a new government? Has the developement board finally been replaced?"

"Yep. Deposed by an almost unanimous vote, supported I might add by that old goat Titus West. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the board when they heard the results of the vote. West led the charge to end the board. He even put forward the idea for the new system. The colonists held an election and picked a planetary governor."

"Who the hell would want that job?"

"You know that big human, the one with the hammer?"

"Frank?! He's going into politics?!"

"Yeah. I didn't see it coming either. Enough talking on the pad, let's go eat." Fel stomps off the pad, one grandchild on each shoulder, leading the whole gaggle to the mess hall. Mags' typical sore mood is mitigated when she sees Fel. The grouchy matriarch always liked people who'd eat whatever she put in front of them, and that meant she was borderline in love with Fel. He and Jane immediately launch into their customary eating contest, this time accompanied by a dozen of his asari children or grandchildren. Once half the family staggers out completely stuffed, Fel starting telling Jane about the rebuilding process. New streets, new houses, a new more heavily defended sensor station, even a massive new training camp which was providing instruction and basic armaments for newly minted militia commanders all across the Traverse.

Aethyta is glad to hear that last part, "Sounds like people are tired of pissin around. It's good they're getting ready on their own." The few people still sitting with them all nod along, even though only a couple of them actually know what they're talking about.

"Yep. They might not be marching off to war anytime soon, but at least they'll be able to give a good kick in the quad to anyone that tries to screw with them." Most of the rest of his family says their goodbyes and head back to their homes. Once it's just Fel, Allytha, Aethyta, Jane, and Niria, he jabs a finger at the young asari. "Does she know what's what?"

Jane answers him, "She knows. In fact she might know more about me as I am right now than anyone else. After all she has been digging around in my head for half a year." Fel gives her a confused look. "She's been helping me get the flares under control. They've been getting easier to deal with since we started."

"Damn glad to hear it. Have you been to visit Hannah yet? I stayed a week and-" Aethyta levels a glare at him that actually causes him to snap his trap shut, but the damage is already done. Her and Niria have been working hard to keep Jane occupied so she doesn't have time to think about being forced to leave Hannah on Sur'Kesh.

Jane's shoulders slump down, "No… I can't risk it. The flares aren't nearly as bad they were but I still get them every now and then. When it happens, even Aethyta has to leave the room. I just can't go until they're completely done with. I won't put Hannah in danger… not again." Aethyta watches as Niria puts an arm around Jane's shoulder. "Is she… has there been any change?"

"Sorry Jane. The regular injuries are all healed up, but she's still out." The girl nods silently while Niria pulls her closer.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll get better. Have faith." The two of them get up together and walk out. Allythta kicks him in the shin, hard. It probably hurt her foot more than his shin but she still looks less angry for having done it. Fel looks at Aethyta and gestures between Jane and Niria.

"So are they…"

"Not quite. Niria's really trying but I don't think Jane gets it yet."

Fel chuckles, "Ha, tell her to ask how to use a sword. That'll get the girl's attention. Not to mention it'll make it easier if they ever do become something."

 _Date_ _: 1.5.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Jane**

 _After a few days of minor upheaval following Fel's arrival, things pretty much returned to normal. Jane and Niria kept up their sessions, making a little more progress everyday. She doesn't feel so much pressure anymore. In fact, she can actually sleep most nights uninterrupted, despite the resurgence of old nightmares. Niria had even come to her and asked if she would teach her how to use a sword, much to Jane's delight. Though she'd never been in a real fight, Niria was adamant about learning. "After all, I want to become a huntress someday, just like my great grandmother in the rachni wars. I can't really do that if I don't know how to fight."_

' _Niria's hiding something but damned if I know what.' Despite her confusion, Jane was more than happy to help. Niria wasn't nearly as strong or fast as she was, but the young asari was persistent and stubborn, two traits Fel had once said were the cornerstone of success for a warrior in the making. So the two of them had spent a few hours everyday inside the now finished training room, practicing the basic forms and skills Fel had taught her._

 _When Fel had found out, he'd spent almost an hour cackling like a madman, much to Jane's confusion. Once the man was able to get himself under control, he'd given them a pair of his special sparring tools to practice with. Then a week ago, he and Allytha had decided to leave for a vacation. "Gonna hit up a few places. Illium so we explore some of the available…_ _ **entertainment**_ _. Then Tuchanka to watch my blood-son complete his Right." Fel had told her that his clan didn't believe in mothers and fathers raising children together. Even if they did, most of the children were born from non-romantically inspired unions in the first place so there was no real connection between him and his blood-son, merely a sense of honorable respect. Since he'd actually wanted a life_ _ **with**_ _someone, he'd gone searching the galaxy, eventually winding up in a loving, if mildly aggressive, marriage with Allytha. "After that, who knows. Been awhile since just the two of us got away." He gave Allytha a quick kiss, "Beloved, can you go make sure Mags packed that_ _ **special**_ _package?" Once Allytha was gone he'd turned to Jane, "Was good seeing you again. Keep up that meld stuff and kick those flares right in the hump. Oh, and uh," Fel leaned down very close and whispered, "Remember, asari get real_ _ **excited**_ _watching or feeling big displays of power. They're almost as attracted to displays of dominance as krogan are."_

 _She'd been at a loss on how she was supposed to respond, "Uhhh, okay…"_

 _Fel gently patted her shoulder, "Just something to keep in mind. See you whenever the hell we feel like it." Jane had kept trying to figure out what he meant the whole time she'd watched the shuttle ascend into the sky._

 _Now, Jane and Niria are in the training room, leading several asari through basic bladework. Most of them are only there because Aethyta had ordered it, part of giving everyone some basic self-defense training. Most of them would go through the motions with only the absolute minimum effort needed, but there are a few that were enthusiastic about learning. They follow each movement as closely as they can, miming each swing and thrust as Jane demonstrates. Even Nomila shows up every now and then. The first time she'd been extremely nervous, afraid even. Eventually she'd worked up the courage to ask Jane to teach her. Though she isn't always there, every time she does show up, she's right in front of Jane and insists on maintaining eye contact almost the whole time. Once they've finished running through the basic forms, everyone breaks off into pairs to practice with an opponent, including Jane and Niria._

 _The two of them have been sparring together since Fel left, providing a good example for the others to follow. Since Niria can't match her strength, the bulk of her strategies revolve around the redirection of force. Jane launches an overhead slash and for a moment it looks like Niria is gonna try to stop it head on. She's relieved when the asari pivots to the side, quickly batting away her strike. Taking Jane's instructions to heart, Niria turns with the follow through and swings at her neck. Jane's blade stops her stike cold, before she shoves the blade to the side. Jane has to pull her punches quite a bit to avoid hurting Niria, but not nearly as much now as she had to in the beginning. Aethyta's young cousin had learned early on to augment her movements with her biotics, which made her just that much more fun to spar with. Gold and violet energy flow from them as they lash out at each other again and again. Eventually they hit the end of the hour long group time and most of the girls file out, each breathing heavily after their recent exertions, gabbing about this and that as they go. The only two that stay behind with her are Niria and Nomila._

 _The young huntress nervously steps up to her left. Ever since Jane had put her in the floor before carrying her to the med-bay, Nomila has been as polite and friendly as could be. She had even helped Jane shore up her singularities. Instead of spiraling out of control, now they just tend to linger too long. "Um, Jane, would you mind going through a few of the forms with me again?" Nomila's face has a slight purple flush to it. 'Why is she blushing?'_

" _Okay, I-" Jane stops as Niria steps up to her right with her own cheeks tinted purple._

" _Sorry, but we were going to go walk by the channel. You did say that you wanted to go see some of the flowers that grew nearby, right Jane?" Niria is looking at her but she gets the feeling that her friend is talking to Nomila._

" _Well yeah. But it'll only take a couple minutes to-" Nomila cuts Jane off and steps closer._

" _Exactly, just a few minutes, and I wouldn't mind walking her to the channel. In fact, I know about a small alcove not too far from the crossing that's absolutely filled with flowers." Now Niria is just glaring at Nomila. Spits trots over and moves his head back and forth between the arguing asari, just as confused as Jane._

" _We could all go to-" Niria steps even closer and grabs hold of Jane's arm._

" _No need Jane. It'll be more fun with fewer people." Nomila step closer too, eyes burning with anger towards Niria. 'What the hell is going on?'_

" _What are you trying to say Niria?" The young huntress' voice is almost a growl._

" _I'm saying that you should go away, Nomila."_

" _Um, guys, what the f-" The two asari are almost playing tug of war with her now._

" _Oh really. Why should I go away? What do you intend to do if I leave?" Niria is blushing more heavily than ever._

" _You really want to know?!"_

" _Yes I do!"_

" _This!" At that point Niria turns towards Jane, puts a hand behind her neck and kisses her._

 **Niria**

She hadn't meant to start a fight. Niria had been hoping that Nomila would buzz off, but the slightly older asari had been trying to woo Jane ever since she'd been floored. Niria wasn't going to let that happen and had done everything she could think of since that day, to spend time with Jane alone. When they'd started arguing, Niria had hoped that being confident would be enough to get her to back off, but it wasn't to be. Now here she is, kissing Jane right in front of Nomila, only now starting to realize that the girl's eyes are damn near bulging out of her head. She's not resisting but that might just be from shock. Niria breaks off the kiss and pulls back a little. Nomila is shooting a murderous glare at her but Niria barely looks at her fellow asari. "Jane, I…"

The girl's face is flushed bright red, and she looks completely bewildered as she finds her voice, "Uh, I uh… I gotta, um. I…" That's all she manages to say before she very nearly bolts from the room, turning back to look at them a couple times before disappearing around the corner. Spits trots through the door, light chuffing after.

Nomila chooses that moment to slug Niria in the shoulder, "Good going you little Shisa! You scared her away!" The vile insult doesn't even register in her mind as the huntress heads to the locker room to store her training gear. Niria absentmindedly rubs her bruising shoulder for several minutes, trying to collect herself.

Eventually she works up the courage to make a call. She braces herself for the merciless teasing that will likely result from this as the receiver opens the channel. "Hey kiddo. Why're you blushing so hard?"

"Uh, Saffa. I think I really screwed up."

 **Jane**

 _Jane doesn't head to the tower or her room, the two places she usually went to be alone or think. Instead she heads for the nearest landing pad and calls for Gavin to come pick her up. Once she hops up and straps into the copilot's seat, Jane asks him to fly her over the coast for a while, so she can think and 'cool off' as it were. The young man doesn't question it, long used to Jane's peculiar moods and requests. He tries to make small talk, but it's pretty awkward, "So why are you so red in the face?"_

" _Nothing! No reason!" She spots her reflection in Blue's windscreen, noticing the very, very obvious blush on her face._

" _Okay… Is there something you wanna see up here?"_

" _No, no, no… Just… I just wanna cool off for a bit." He turns a quizzical eye to her._

" _Why go flying with me then? You could go down to the beach and sit in the water for that. That asari friend of your's would probably go with you. What's her name? Niria, right?"_

" _That's okay! I just wanna go flying for a bit!" She starts nervously tapping on the panel next to her. "So what have you been doing?"_

 _Gavin looks a little suspicious at this point but luckily doesn't try to dig, "Well, Aethyta's been paying me to fly cargo runs from here to the little hamlets all over…" He launches into a lengthy, and very one-sided conversation about the work he's been doing. Jane barely hears any of it, being entirely too distracted by what just happened. She'd been completely clueless about why Nomila and Niria had been arguing for months on end. Discovering that it had apparently been over_ _ **her**_ _had not really cleared her confusion at all. Then Niria had kissed her and her mind had gone completely blank on what to do after that. Running away had seemed like the only thing to do at the time so that's what she had done._

 _After almost twenty minutes of essential talking_ _ **at**_ _her instead of_ _ **to**_ _her, Gavin looks over, "Hey Jane," She snaps her gaze to him a little too fast, with a little too much panic on her face. He starts a little but still speaks evenly, "Could you stop tapping on that panel so hard? You're starting to make a dent." She looks down and sees that there is indeed a new dent under her middle finger. She moves her hand into thigh, leading her to tap on her leg instead. Gavin banks the gunship a little to the left, keeping it lined up with the coast. "So uh, what's going on? And don't give me that nothing business. You're never this worked up over nothing."_

 _She looks at him for a long while, not sure what to say. "Something… something weird happened… I don't really know how to handle it."_

" _What kind of weird? Biotic weird?" She shakes her head, "Aethyta weird?" She shakes her head a little slower this time. "What was it then?" He looks over a few gauges before turning back, "Something with Niria?" When her face flushes yet again, he starts smiling for some reason and whispers to himself, "Bout damn time."_

 _Before she can respond, the comm lights up. Gavin answers and before long he has Blue flying back the way they came. "Why'd you turn around?"_

" _Orders. Aethyta wants us back on the ground. Apparently she needs to talk to you about somethin."_


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39 - Holding On**

 _Date_ _: 1.5.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

It takes all the self-control she's got to keep a straight face as Blue lands and Jane hops down. The girl's face is bright red. She'd known that Niria was interested but what she hadn't known about was just how many others were in the running. Nomila wasn't really a shock but the nineteen others that her and Niria had apparently scared off were. "Hey kiddo. Heard you had a bit of a close encounter." Deciding to keep the rest to herself, Aethyta leads Jane to the observation tower. Inside, she'd had Niria waiting on one of the couches facing the eastern plains. Jane relaxed slightly at the red-orange light coming from the magma channel. Though she herself does occasionally like to watch the molten stone flow, Aethyta has trouble understanding why Jane finds it so comforting. She gestures for Jane to sit next to Niria while she pulls up a seat with her back turned to the window. "Alright Niria, spill." The young asari takes a moment to gather her thoughts before relating what had happened.

"We were just finishing up blade practice and most of the girls had already left. Jane and I had planned to go look at some of the flowers that grow on the shore of the channel, but Nomila came over asking for some additional instruction. I got a little… hostile towards her and in an attempt to get her to go away I kissed Jane." Her little cousin is blushing heavily, a violet flush in her cheeks, ears, even across her throat. Jane is almost as red as her plating and she's nervously tapping a rapid fire rhythm on her thigh.

She lets out a slight snort as she struggles to keep the laughter at bay. "Ok, Jane do y-"

"Why did you kiss me?" Jane's voice is a little higher than normal.

"I… I suppose the easiest way to say it is the way a turian would. I guess I was kind of… marking territory." She can't help now. Aethyta starts laughing wildly as Niria tries her best to avoid eye contact. Jane is looking at her through narrowed eyes.

"Huh?"

"I was trying to get Nomila to back off and to let you know that I'm… interested in you."

"I don't understand." So far Aethyta has kept her commentary down, but now she can't resist. The urge to tease her little cousin is more powerful than she has ever known and she just has to do it.

"She wants to get in your pants Jane." Her cousin is utterly mortified.

"Saffa!"

"You mean sex?" While Niria is getting more and more flustered with each passing moment, Jane is actually calming down. While she'd been almost completely red in the face before, now she's got her normal color back, and her voice has dropped back to the normal tone. "You wanted to have sex with me?"

"No! I mean, not right yet. Maybe someday, but not now. I was just trying to show that I wanted to… be with you." Aethyta decides to try Jane this time.

"So Jane, you want some _alone time_ with Niria? Hannah ever go over that _special_ talk that most parents give to their children?" Rather than the blush she'd been hoping for, Jane just cocks an eyebrow at her.

"I know how sex works if that's what you're talking about. I hit puberty on Mindoir and Hannah did sit down with me to talk about things. Then Mirdan figured it out when I sent him my usual medical scans. He sent me a couple of manuals detailing things that were going to change but I've never really noticed much of a change besides my height. I'm not even sure if I can feel the desire you're hinting at." She wasn't expecting that.

"What do you mean?"

"The Hannah and the manuals mentioned that a human girl would start finding certain things arousing during and after puberty. I've never really noticed any feelings like that before. One time I even told Hannah I was going hunting for a couple days but instead of that I went someone quiet so I go on an extranet binge to try and figure out what I was _interested_ in. In three days of searching, I didn't feel anything." Aethyta can't help but let out another snort of laughter at that, which just gets her a confused look from Jane. Even Niria is laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You… you spent three straight days on the extranet... looking at porn?!"

"Well, yes. I was trying to see if I felt anything…" There's the blush she's been hoping for. "I looked at human stuff and didn't really feel anything. Then asari, turian, drell, even krogan and quarian and… Hey stop laughing at me!" Her cousin is clutching her stomach, trying to get herself under control. Aethyta herself isn't much better right now. Her sides feel like they're ready to split open.

"I gotta tell you, I'm surprised the krogan stuff didn't do anything! All those big sexy lizards throwin their weight around, getting nice and aggressive. What about hanar? You get a good look at that?!"

"Yes, but that got really weird. The tentacles…" Jane gives a disturbed tremble, and sticks out her tongue. "Bleh…"

Niria's laughter eases for a bit, "What about asari? Feel anything with that?"

"No."

"So, you've never felt anything?"

"I didn't say that. I felt something when you kissed me. The only person that had ever kissed me before was Hannah and that was just on the forehead after I'd been hurt or had just come back from a serious hunt. " Aethyta gets herself under control long enough to trade looks with Niria. Her little cousin is doing her best to compose herself, but Aethyta can tell that she's positively bursting with joy at that little announcement. "But before that, no, never."

"If you felt that way… why did you run away?"

"Before today anytime someone touched me it hurt… a lot. It still hurts when we hold hands, but I like you enough to put up with that. This was different. It didn't hurt at all. In fact I still feel pretty good about it." Aethyta's pretty sure that if she weren't there, Niria would be trying to capitalize on that good feeling Jane was talking about. As it is, she's worked one hand into Jane's and the two are trading smiles. Niria looks like she just won a multi-million credit jackpot, tax free. Jane on the other hand looks like she's just woken up from a hell-of-a good dream to find an even better reality.

"Glad you two are both feeling pretty good about this. I just wanted to make sure there weren't going to be any issues. Why don't you go for that walk Jane? This time of year the channel lilies will be in full bloom." The young woman smiles wider and hops off the couch. Jane walks out of the room with Spits trotting behind. Niria looks at Aethyta, "What the hell you still doing on that couch? Get going!" Her cousin practically sprints after Jane, eager to build on the girl's feelings.

 _Date_ _: 3.30.2171_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"How can this one assist you Human? It is most unusual to speak with so few council members present." It's the closest thing to an open rebuke that Hanar has ever leveled. Such a question isn't a surprise, given that Hackett had asked Hanar and only Hanar to speak with him.

"I don't really have time to trade pleasantries today, so I hope you'll forgive me if I seem rude." His plate was quite full these days, not only with council work, but rising tensions with the batarians had kept him busy for months now, mostly dealing with pirates and sporadic slaver raids. Both of which the Hegemony vehemently denied involvement with, which was a lie that Batarian had dispelled for the council long ago.

"This one has long since learned to accept the ugly necessities of our work. For the sake of expediency this one shall not take offense at any breaches in etiquette." Hanar was something of a jewel among his people, able to ignore things even Hackett found rude beyond the pale.

"Alright, I need to know how you know so much more about the Fulcrum than the rest of us. While I would usually trust a fellow council member implicitly, I need to be personally sure that your sources are secure." An ethereal chuckle drifts over the comm line.

"Worry not honorable friend. This one's source is perfectly secure. At this time, this one cannot reveal this source's identity without risking this one's own identity. This one can only reveal that this source is a personal confidant of the Fulcrum herself, and he shares with this one any details that may be pertinent to her development. If the honorable Human will allow this one a few month's time, this one will be able to arrange for this confidant to make contact with an operative of your choosing. This one hopes that such contact will allay your concerns." It's not ideal, but it makes sense. They simply cannot risk exposing each other's identities, given that their enemies were seemingly capable of subverting the minds of pretty much anyone they deem worthy of subverting.

"I suppose that will have to do. In the meantime, are there any details that you haven't shared with the council that I should be aware of."

"This one has not received any reports of troubles. In fact, from what this one understands, the Fulcrum has managed to establish a strong bond with another young one. This one has information indicating that this bond may eventually become something more. Ah, young love. This one believes it is a beautiful thing."

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Niria**

The past few months have flown by in a blur. She and Jane had been continuing their work in the girl's mind. Her flares have almost completely subsided, which left Jane happier with each passing day, which meant that the two of them were able to enjoy each other's company more than ever. It had been awkward at first given the distinct lack of experience on both sides of their burgeoning relationship. Niria had a tendency to hold onto Jane's hand a little too tight when they walked together, eliciting more than one hiss of pain over the last few months. Jane had trouble sitting still most days, the only exceptions being the times they would work on one of her projects or when they were sitting on the beach. Though Jane preferred to walk along the magma channel, she never really argued with Niria over going down to the water, though she usually stayed out on the beach. Most of the time they would just sit on the coast watching the sunset, Jane behind Niria, holding her close.

However, today Jane's become withdrawn. In fact, Niria's spent the last several hours looking for her, to no effect. No one seemed to know where she was. She couldn't even reach her over her omnitool, which was truly bizarre. Jane never turned off her omnitool, not even when she slept. She'd checked the observation tower, the channel, Jane's room, her own room, even the landing pads where her cousin had been giving that other human, Gavin, a new assignment. "Might check with Mags. There's no way Jane hasn't been down for food today."

Aethyta had gotten that right at least. Mags had the information she needed, "Yeah she was down here a couple hours ago. Wantin to know where we kept the booze at. Told her about the bar in the north wing." After that she'd moved to the wine stores as fast as she could. Aethyta had shared a few glasses with the two of them every now and then, but Jane had never really shown any interest before. The fact that she'd actually gone looking for a drink was not a good sign.

Niria arrived at the bar in question just before sundown to find Spits curled up outside the door. He chuffs at her as she approaches before getting to his feet. The big varren lightly nips at her hand, and tries to nudge her into the room. Inside she hears Jane mumbling to herself well before seeing her. Niria turns the lights on and spots the girl herself lying down on top of the bar with a half empty bottle of wine in one hand, along with half a dozen other bottles scattered all over. "Goddess…"

Jane looks over at her, a slight frown blossoming into a huge, goofy grin, "Niria! How'r you today?!" Her voice is heavily slurred, "Come on over! I got half a bottle this stuff left, come get some." Niria walks over to try and help Jane, but the girl rolls off the bar and falls to the ground before she gets there. She can hear a heavy crash behind the bar follow by a flood of giggles. "Ooohhh I fell down, huh." She gets over and finds Jane holding her stomach, laughing and mumbling. "Come on! Have a drink with me." Jane then proceeds to chug the rest of the bottle before hurling it at the wall. The bottle shatters into tiny shards and Niria's eye go wide as she gets a good whiff of what Jane's been drinking. Just to be sure, she picks up a pair of the empty bottles so she can read the labels. Her stomach clenches in worry at what they say. Jane catches her eye and smiles again, "That stuff's great. Nice and sweet and tickly. Not like the first few bottles that tasted like spit and dirt."

Niria grimaces as she responds, "Jane… this is Liseeran Greela. It's a very, very strong wine. It's usually only served at weddings or peace talks or… fertility rituals. One glass is supposed to be enough to get a matriarch completely drunk."

"Oh... well that's ok. I didn't have one glass." Jane staggers back to her feet.

"How much did you have?"

"Four."

"By the Goddess! Four glasses?!"

Jane giggles at her reaction, "No, no… four _bottles_." She stumbles around a few steps as Niria struggles to process what she'd just heard.

"Four bottles? Four _full_ bottles?" Jane nods at her. "Jane… That's enough to kill someone… several times over."

"Uh ohhh. Does that mean I'm dead? If this is the afterlife then I got screwed. Everything still hurts so it's not heaven, but this place is nice and I really like being here so it can't be hell either." Jane staggers out from behind the bar, over to her and grabs hold of her shoulders. "Oh, oh. Hey, hey, hey! Hey Niria! Dance with me." The girl starts trying to sway back and forth, gently pulling on her shoulders to try and get her to move. Any other time, Niria would be ecstatic over the idea, but right now she's just trying to understand.

"Goddess Jane… why did you drink so much?" That goofy smile fades away, clearing the way for the tears to start forming in her eyes.

"I… I just wanted it to be quiet."

"What do you mean? You don't need to drink to find some peace and-" Jane swats the air in front of her.

"No, not quiet out here. Quiet in my head. It's my birthday and I just wanted the screaming to stop. It was bad enough before I came here but now it's just getting worse and worse." A single tear runs down her cheek as she explains. "It used to just be voices yelling about all kinds of terrible things and random faces. Just before Sara died I started seeing her in my dreams, lying on the ground with her stomach hollowed out, screaming about how it was my fault. Then when Hannah adopted me, she started showing up with blood pouring out of her mouth. Eventually a big black hand comes down from the sky and crushes her into dust. While it's happening, she just screams and screams." Jane has one hand tangled in her hair, pulling hard enough break a few strands. Her breath is hitching with every third word. "Then it sorta happened. The house collapsed and she was almost crushed so Aethyta brought me here and now…" Jane looks her in the eye with tears flowing freely now, "Now you're in my nightmares. I hear you screaming for help and then I see your chest explode. I see you die every night, **every night! Every night!** " She tries to get Jane to stop and breathe, but it's no good, "Seeing you dying hurts more than anything. When I see you there, covered in blood, a big hole in your chest, it feels like my heart's being ripped out and set on fire. It's the most horrible thing I've ever seen. I can't stand seeing you hurt, even if it's just in my head."

"Huh?" Niria's as confused by what Jane's saying, as she is mortified over the nightmares being described. "Why is seeing me hurt so much worse than the other things?"

Jane rocks back and forth a few times before her eyes come back into focus. She takes Niria's hands in a brief moment of clarity, before saying, "Because, I think, I love you." A soon as the words leave her mouth, Jane stops crying and starts laughing.

"You… you what?"

"I luuuv you." Jane trembles as she leans in to try and kiss her. It's the first time she's actually been the one start things, but it doesn't last long. Only a few seconds pass before Niria feels Jane's whole body go limp against her.

"Um, Jane? Jane? I can't hold you up!" She starts sagging to the ground, borne down by impossible task of trying to hold the bizarrely heavy girl up. "Jane please help… oof." Niria falls back with Jane landing on top of her. She tries to push her off to the side, with limited success. Though she does succeed in getting Jane off the top of her, before she can stand up she feels the girl's arms slip around her stomach from behind and pull her close. Now Jane is passed out, gently snoring, whilst spooning with her. "Jane... Jane!" Not a peep. Niria spends almost half an hour trying to wiggle out of Jane's grip, succeeding only in getting her to tighten that grip. "Ohhh, crap…" Despite how embarrassing it will be, she really only has one course of action. Niria punches in the needed comm code. It's surprising how long it takes for her cousin to answer, which just gives her even more time to think about all the ways that the current situation could have been worse. It could have happened in the dining hall, with a hundred people watching. Aethyta could have actually been in the room to witness it. It could have happened somewhere off-planet.

After almost twenty minutes spent thinking about increasingly mortifying scenarios, Niria's omnitool lights up and Aethyta's face pops up on the screen. "Hey kiddo. Did you find Jane?" Aethyta's brow furrows as she gets a good look at Niria, "Are you leaning against a wall or something?" She's very careful to keep Jane out of sight as she speaks.

"No Saffa. I'm… lying on the ground in that old bar we use to store the really strong stuff in. The one in the north wing." She gets a suspicious look from her cousin.

"What're you doing on the ground in my favorite store room Niria? Nothin in there for someone as young as you." Her cousin rarely gets angry at her, one of the perks of being a favorite of hers, but she'd warned Niria to stay out of her personal stocks before.

"Well… I uhh. Can, can you come help me with... something? I've got a bit of a uhh, situation and I really need help." The anger disappears in a flash, replaced by genuine concern.

"You alright? Do I need to bring Gallia with me?"

After a moment of slight panic over the idea of others seeing her in her current predicament, and another squeeze from Jane, Niria manages to reply, "No, no, no! Just you… please. I uhh, I'd rather keep this just between us."

"Uh huh… I told you the stuff in there was too strong for you." Despite her irritation at the apparent breach in her personal liquor cabinet, Niria can tell that Aethyta is already putting together a mile long list of jokes. "I'll be there in a couple minutes."

"One more thing please. Can you bring a grav cart with you?"

"I'm not letting you take anything out of there Niria."

"It's not that, it's… look I'll explain everything when you get here. Just please bring the cart. Everything will make sense when you get here and please, please don't tell anyone." Eventually Aethyta gives her word to keep quiet, before promising to be there with a cart in a few minutes.

 **Aethyta**

After a very interesting call from Niria, Aethyta had left the observation tower with more than a few questions bouncing around in her head. 'Okay. She needs my help with something. Whatever it is has got her lying down in my personal store room and she can't get up. But she said she didn't want anyone else involved, so that means that she probably isn't hurt, or it could be that whatever it is, happens to be very embarrassing. So what is it? Did she drink one of the unmarked bottles? No, can't be that. She didn't sound drunk and she wasn't singing so that's not it. Did she somehow lose her clothes? Is that why she only wanted me to come? But then why the cart, and not something to throw on?' She's still pouring over the possibilities as she pushes a cart to the bar. Once there she knocks on the door. "Anybody home?"

She hears someone sigh heavily before Niria's whispered voice reaches her, "We're in here Saffa." We? Aethyta pushes the door open and steps in, pulling the cart behind her. She only gets a few feet before she spots her cousin on the floor and Jane passed out behind her with both arms wrapped around her. Aethyta stands stock still for several moments, trying to control herself. In the end, Niria opens the floodgates, "Oh! Just do it and get it over with!" So she does. Aethyta falls to her knees laughing. She laughs and laughs and laughs, much to her cousin's violet faced embarrassment.

"Ha, ha, ha! Holy crap kiddo! I knew you were tryin to get things going with her, but wow!" She's laughing so hard that she can feel tears in her eyes. Her sides are ready to split open by the time she calms down enough to stand. She pulls the cart closer, thinking of how to help, all the while still locked in a fit of giggles at the site before her. "You got some real game cousin. Didn't know you liked to cuddle like that."

As if in response, Jane chose that moment to pull Niria even closer so she could rest her head on Niria's back. She mumbles something unintelligible before whispering, "Soft… I like soft…" Aethyta snorts with barely restrained mirth as her cousin blushes again.

"Would you please stop laughing for two minutes and help me?! She got really drunk, went to kiss me, and passed out. I wasn't strong enough to hold her up." Aethyta wags a finger at her.

"Now, now little cousin. I wouldn't want to disturb such an adorable couple. Maybe I should just go get a blanket and some pillows." Niria's whole face has gone violet with absolute embarrassment. Her mission accomplished, Aethyta kneels down and starts trying to pry Jane off, but to little avail. "Damn, she's got a grip like a turian in heat. I was joking before, but we may just have to let her sleep here. Unless this is what that cart was for."

"I was hoping you could get her off of me and then we could help her back to her room."

"Ahhh, I get it. You wanted my help gettin her in bed. You're a bad girl, my little cousin…" Niria aim a furious glare at her.

"Would you please stop joking about this? I really don't want to risk someone else seeing this and making a joke about it later. Help me please. Make jokes about it all you want but at least help me help Jane avoid the embarrassment. It's taken long enough to get her to calm down and open up." Aethyta hates it when someone has to ruin her fun by being all nice and considerate about someone else.

"Alright. We'll fix this together. I won't even tell anyone about this lovely little display." Aethyta uses her biotics to lift the girls off the floor and gently sets them down on the cart. "Two things before we go. First, you're damn lucky this happened so late at night. There probably won't be anyone out and about on our way. Second, while I'll keep the teasing with Jane to a minimum, **you** are absolutely fair game." Aethyta leans down very close, "And I intend to revel in that." Niria gives her a grim look as she pushes the cart out into the hall.

 **Niria**

Despite nearly dying of embarrassment from Aethyta's constant stream of jokes at her expense, Niria still manages to feel relief over the fact that the halls were indeed almost empty along the way. There were a few close calls, but Aethyta carefully maneuvered them around any possible contact. It only took about twenty minutes to get to Jane's room. She can't help but breathe a huge sigh of relief once the door closes and Aethyta slides the curtains shut. Then she uses another short biotic pulse to lift the two of them onto Jane's bed. "You know somethin kiddo, I don't think she's gonna let go anytime soon. You might just have to stay with her tonight." Niria once again tries to wiggle free and once again she fails miserably.

"Crap… How the hell I'm I going to explain this to her?" A whole slew of ideas on what might come of this mess spill through her head. Is she going to be upset? Will she still talk to me after this? Will Jane remember what had happened? What she'd said?

"I wouldn't worry about it that much, especially if she's still holding you like that when she wakes up. Looks more like she climbed into bed with you than the other way round." Aethyta gives another wide smile as she pulls one of the blankets over the two of them. "Sleep tight you two." Again, Jane responds by pulling tighter. Aethyta chuckles a few times as she turns to leave.

"Wait. Saffa?" She's not really sure if she should mention this but Niria really needs to know.

"Yeah?"

"Right before she passed out, Jane said something and I don't know if she meant it or not."

"What'd she say?"

"She said she couldn't stand the idea of me getting hurt. She said it's because she loves me…" No laughter this time. In fact, Aethyta looks down and speaks with total sincerity.

"Normally I find that people tend to be a lot more honest about most things when they're drunk. But a drunken confession of love is a little questionable. I'd make sure when she's sober before trying to act on that little admission." Then she leaves the room. Niria spends almost an hour just laying there, listening to Jane sleep, enjoying the feeling of warmth and safety wrapped around her. Eventually she feels her own fatigue bear down on her. She closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep in no time.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40 - Nightmare**

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2171_

 _Location_ _: Liseera_

 **Jane**

 _At first, the dream is quiet, serene almost. She walks along the beach next to a cool blue sea, listening to the waves gently lapping against the sand. A pale yellow sun sets to west, giving rise to a beautiful collage of colors, each flowing into the next without a clear border between. She feels a sense of warm contentment flowing from the sand beneath her feet. It feels so good that she doesn't even mind her lack of boots, plates, even her suit. The wind carries a hint of a whisper, barely audible over the sounds of the sea. Though nearly inaudible, the sound is familiar and she can't help but focus on it as is builds in volume. In moments the whisper builds to a roar of overlapping voices loud enough to shake the ground beneath her. Jane closes her eyes and covers her ears, desperate to block out the deafening sound. The air shifts around her, bringing the smell of antiseptic and old blood to bear. She opens her eyes slowly, seeing that she's now somewhere else. A clinic with metallic floors and walls. 'Omega… How'd I get back here?'_

 _The sound of gunfire snaps her attention to the door where she sees a woman staggering backwards. Jane runs to her side, gently helping her lay down. She looks into the woman's eyes, only now realising who it is. "Sara…" The loving doctor that had helped save her life on Omega is looking up at her with dead eyes. The body convulses repeatedly as a voice drifts into her mind._

" _Why did you let me die?"_

" _I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to let this happen." Jane feels the tears falling as they did that day. She looks to Sara's stomach and sees a torrent of blood pouring from the gaping wound. Then something moves inside, something dark, ancient, and cruel. "No… please no…" The inside of the wound has become a dark abyss. A black hand tears free from the body and proceeds to rip Sara apart. Jane screws her eyes shut as tightly as she can, screaming for it to stop. The sound of rending flesh is horrible beyond imagining. Suddenly, the sound fades away, replaced by the booming report of a high powered rifle. Jane opens her eyes and spots Hannah standing on the roof of their house, firing into the distance, her targets obscured by a billowing haze of grey dust. "Hannah, run away. Please run…" The ground at Hannah's feet opens with an almighty crack and a dark hand rips free. As the black hand wraps around Hannah, Jane can hear her mother screaming in pain. The hand closes into a fist but the screaming doesn't stop. When the hand opens, it leaves behind a pile of dust before fading away._

 _Jane stares at the pile with abject horror, quivering as a voice reaches her, "It was your fault…" Her heart is pounding so hard it hurts. "Why did you bring them here?" Jane looks up and sees hundreds of faces coalescing in the dust around her. "They all died… because you didn't…" The faces are screaming at her in pain and fear. "Your fault… your fault… your fault…" She recognizes the faces. Teddy Nile- killed by a sniper, Lisa Reed- burned alive in her home, Madison Leff- gutted by shrapnel, and hundreds of others. "_ _ **Your fault... your fault… YOUR FAULT!**_ "

 _She closes her eyes again, desperate to shut out the accusations, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" The voicing are raging at her, baying for the blood they are well entitled to. Then another voice manages to pierce through the gale._

" _Jane! Jane!" It's a beautiful voice, one that sets her heart aflutter, but with the surge of joy at hearing it comes a dreadful realization. She knows what's coming next. Jane sees the source of the voice, feeling nothing but terror._

" _Niria… No… Please…" The young asari turns to her with a shining smile. Niria walks towards her, arms held out in front of her, as if reaching out for a hug. She's only an arm's length away when it happens. A dark hand appears in the shadows behind her with a deep mechanical roar. "NO!" A flash of blinding light spears out from the the hand and strikes Niria in the back. Her eyes go wind as her chest is blasted open, spraying Jane in a cloud of gore. As Niria sinks to the ground, Jane wipes a hand along her chest, and it comes away coated in violet blood. She closes her eyes again, pleading to any power that will listen for it to stop._

 _She feels the ground shift underfoot and opens her eyes for a final time. The dirt beneath her has been replaced with smooth, bleached bone. Jane reaches down and picks something up from the ground, a skull… a child's skull. She turns it so she can look into its hollowed eyes. Stencilled on the brow is a number, "003." Her knees are weak as she looks around and realizes that she's standing on a mound of skulls, each with its own number. 190, 486, 250 are directly under her. She doesn't need to see them all to know exactly how many are there. Jane has seen the hard copies of Orsen's files. The voices of four hundred, ninety-nine children bombard her, not with accusations, but with the pleading cries of endless suffering. They beg for the pain to end, for something to make the terror go away… and there's nothing she can do. They're already dead, but the ghosts don't care. They wail and scream and shriek for help that she can't provide. The desperate pleas are knives in her heart, driving her to her knees. "Please… please stop… I can't help you. Please…" The voices are suddenly drowned out by a mechanical roar sounding from the sky. Jane tries to force her eyes to stay down, but it's no use. Against her will, she lifts her gaze to the heavens and sees a dark hand descending from the sky upon clouds of ancient, malicious hatred. As the darkness closes around her, Jane screams her terror into the endless, echoing void._

 **Niria**

Her dreams had been a mixed bag. While they'd been more than a little erotic at the start, they'd become darker as the night carried out. She heard someone begging for something to stop, but she never once saw the source. Faint glimpses of descending darkness had invaded her thoughts just before everything had shifted back to some more than pleasant fantasies about Jane. As she slowly finds her way back to the waking world, Niria feels a breeze of cool air across her back. She sits up, reveling in the wonderful feeling of a good night's sleep, as the memories of the night before come back to her. Finding Jane in the special stocks, realizing just how much the girl had had to drink, a drunken admission of love, being kissed _by_ Jane rather than the other way around. Then the girl had passed out in her arms, which had led to Niria falling to the floor whilst trying to hold her up. Jane had wrapped her arms around Niria's stomach and refused to let go. Now as she wakes up, she notices that Jane isn't holding her anymore. In fact, Jane's not even in the bed anymore. In her confusion, it takes a moment to hear it. The soft sounds of someone weeping coming from the closet. Niria stands up from the bed and pads over, finding the door slightly ajar.

Small for a closet, at least as far as an asari would see it, the room is only about 3m x 3m. Most of the people Niria knew kept all manner of clothes and knick knacks in their closets. She'd expected Jane to do something similar, but had never looked for herself. No clothes, no shoes, not even her tools. The only things in the closet are Jane herself, on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably, and the image of a huge black hand burned into the wall. Her stomach knots in instinctive fear, leaving her paralyzed with indecision for a moment. Then the sounds of Jane's distress let her tear her gaze away from the image. Niria kneels down next to Jane, deliberately facing away from the wall. Jane is staring at the hand with a mix of fear and sorrow. Tears are streaming down her face as Niria tries to help her, "Jane, what's wrong? What is this?"

Jane doesn't look at her. It's almost like she doesn't even realize that she's not alone anymore, but she still speaks. "It followed me… It won't go away…"

 **Aethyta**

She has a bit of a bounce in her step and a dozen little jokes lined up as she walks down the hall to Jane's room. Though she'd promised to go easy on Jane over the incident, she had still made sure to have plenty of material ready for use regardless. So it was with a broad smile and a light heart that she swung the door open. "Alright kiddos, time to get…" The bed's empty, with the blankets strung out halfway to the open closet. At first she thinks that the girls have finally decided to really 'get to know' each other, but that notion is quickly dispelled when she hears Jane sobbing miserably. Aethyta enters the closet and takes the scene in at a glance. Jane is kneeling on the ground, Niria is trying to comfort her, and on the wall is the reason. Her gut twists in revulsion at the memories from Mindoir. The black hand has returned and balefully looms over Jane once more. "Goddess dammit." Niria briefly looks up as Aethyta slings a surge of energy at the wall. The hand is quickly lost to sight as the entire facade dissolves under the warping energy.

This does nothing to calm Jane down. Between sobs, she manages to choke out, "It doesn't matter. I've tried to get rid of it before. It comes back. It just keeps coming back…"

There's not much she can say that'll help, so instead she simply helps Jane and Niria to their feet, before leading the two of them to the dining hall. At such an early hour, the hall is empty apart from a couple of nightling asari about to shuffle off to bed. Aethyta calls Mags over and tells her to get some food for the three of them. Once Mags brings the food out, they take their meals to the eastern window in observation tower. They eat quietly, letting the smooth orange light ease away some of the tension. When the meal is finished, Aethyta clears her throat to get their attention, "Alright, I know what that was in there. I know that you see it in your dreams and that the only reason it was alone is because we caught it early this time, right?" Jane stays silent, simply nodding in response. "So, the way I see it is we've got a couple options. We could just leave it as is, but that'll just let it get worse over time. I still remember that night on Mindoir and I'd rather not relive that." Her cousin raises a questioning brow, clearly confused over what Aethyta was hinting at. Despite her curiosity, Niria stays quiet as Aethyta moves on, "We could also try some neuro-chemical suppressants, try to just shut the dreams down entirely."

Jane's face twitches at the idea. While they'd do the job, suppressants like those had a tendency to limit a person's ability to function emotionally. "That might be the only thing that could help. It might let me sleep peacefully for once."

"It would also take away her ability to feel anything!" Niria's glaring at Aethyta with undisguised hostility, "There has to be something we can do to actually fix the problem rather than just burying it!"

"Take it easy cousin. I'm just trying to lay out our options here. You are right though. Trying to just push the dreams down would just be a way of hiding from the problem. It'd keep things under control for a little while, but it's not much better than doing nothing in the long-run. There's something else that can be done, more specifically, there's something you can do." Niria raises a brow at her, "You could meld with her as she sleeps. Then you'd be with her in the nightmares." Jane's eyes go wide at the idea, causing a small surge of panic to radiate from her.

"No! We can't do that!" She'd been expecting Jane to oppose the idea. Her mind wasn't exactly a safe place under normal conditions.

"I'm willing to try," Goddess bless her little cousin for her courage, despite her lack of common sense. "Anything that I can do to help you, I'll do." She gently takes Jane's hand in her own.

"You don't understand…" Jane is beside herself with worry, "It's not safe. We we meld, I'm in control of my thoughts. I can shield you from the worst of it, keep things more or less contained. But when I'm asleep and my subconscious is in control… things bubble up from… somewhere. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm willing to take that chance. I'll be alright Jane. Have faith." The young woman takes her into a tight embrace, clinging to her like it's the last time she'll ever be able to do so. Aethyta doesn't interrupt, even though she desperately wants to poke fun at Niria for being so doughy-eyed, but now's not the time. Despite what most of her family thought, Aethyta does know when to joke around, and when to leave things alone. When Jane finally eases back, the two of them turn to look at Aethyta. She goes through the process slowly and as plainly as she can. Melding during a dream is not something that most asari ever learn how to do, given that only one partner would be fully aware of what's happening, but it's still a fairly simple process once the details are made clear. Aethyta leads the two of them through several meditation forms, each intended to open up their minds to each other, make it easier for them to link together, in addition to tiring them out so they'll be able to sleep. As subtly as she can, Aethyta pushes Jane far harder than Niria since her cousin is the one that'll need to stay in control. The dreams need to come as naturally as possible, meaning that Jane needs to be truly out of it when the time comes.

Neither of the girls pick up on it, and in no time Jane is yawning with hooded eyes, so she leads the two of them back to Jane's room. "Right, so first thing's for Jane to get comfortable and for you to reach out as gently as you can while she falls asleep." Niria nods her understanding, kneels next to the bed as Jane finds a comfortable spot. "Good. Now don't complete the meld until she's almost out. Too soon and the stimulation will keep her awake. Too late and you'll just wake her up. You need to finish the connection just as she's sliding away so you can ride the tide." Jane's eyes are unfocused as she slides further and further towards sleep. It's almost time when Aethyta leans close to whisper to Niria, "Don't go digging. Follow the dreams and help with what you see. Don't bring anything from yourself in and don't try to wake her up. She needs to face this inside her own mind." Niria nods at her. Aethyta can feel the faint sensation of biotics from behind her as she steps out into the hall. There can't be any interruptions during the process. She rests her back against the wall and sits down to wait. To pass the time she opens up her omnitool to check some recent mail. Messages from family all over the galaxy, offers for credit services, offers from unknown sources for _special_ services, and dozens of others. Most of it's random crap but there is one that catches her eye, a vid message from David. "Now this is interesting."

"Hello Aethyta. I wish this could be a live communique but knowing you, you're probably hip deep in something strange that you can't talk about." She smiles at that. The human male knew her pretty well, including some of her more clandestine activities. "I have something that I wanted to talk to you about. It's about Jane."

 **Niria**

It was a struggle to keep herself awake as Jane slowly nodded off right in front of her. She had to stay utterly focused to pick up on the right moment, that one instant between awake and asleep. When it came, Niria poured her mind into Jane's, feeling the current of thought pulling her in. She feels herself pulled in a hundred directions at once as the meld takes hold. Her instincts are telling her to make for their usual meeting place, the 'temple' of Jane's control. Her heart is telling her to let her feelings pour into Jane's mind to soothe the terrible ache in the girl's soul as the dreams begin. Her body is telling her to embrace the exhaustion she feels and slip into sleep alongside Jane, to share her own dreams. As tempting as it was to let go, Niria stays focused on the task at hand. Wading into the streams of thought, she's nearly drowned in thought and sensation. It's a mix of burning rage and frozen horror, both states locked in a bitter war with each other. As her connection starts to buckle, she digs deep before finding the old mantras that her tutor had given her. She focuses her awareness down a single corridor of thought, parting the tidal flow of emotion. With the way now clear, Niria wills herself deeper into Jane's mind. There is so much to see, so much to feel, so much to know that she almost breaks her concentration. It's just so _tempting_. "I'm here for Jane dammit. Focus!"

The desire to give in fades away, leaving her on smooth sanded beach, a yellow sun setting in the distance, giving rise to a plethora of colors. A few dozen yards away, she spots a figure walking along the beach. With a start, she realizes that it's Jane. She didn't notice it at first because the girl isn't wearing her suit. In fact, she's not wearing anything. Her skin is pale and marred by scars, some obviously caused by terrible wounds like the one across her cheek, others are those machine straight surgical scars that she's snatched occasional glances at. Niria gets a feeling of deep contentment flowing from the girl and for a moment, she thinks that maybe Jane will escape her nightmares tonight. The hope is dashed to pieces as the wind starts to howl. Before it was a simple seaside breeze, carrying nothing more than a pleasing scent of clean seawater. Now it roars at them, carrying with it the odor of old blood. Jane holds her hands to her ears, ducking her head to try and shut out the sounds on the wind. They're sounds of pain, fear, a relentless deluge of suffering.

The scene shifts from that once pristine beach to a room of metal, filled with cots and medical equipment. A torrent of gunfire sounds from the door, dragging her gaze to a staggering female figure. Jane runs to the woman's side, pleading for forgiveness as she lowers her to the floor. Though she's never seen it, Niria does understand what she's seeing. Jane had spoken of it on occasion, though only with the bare minimum of details. This is the day that Sara died, a day that Jane would hate herself over, for years to come. "It's not your fault." She hadn't meant to speak, but the pain of the scene was too much for her to stay silent. Jane goes still, her apologies stymied for a moment before another, far harsher voice whispers to her.

"Yes… it is. Why did you let me die?" Her heart breaks a little to hear Jane go back to begging for forgiveness. Soon after, a dark hand tears the remains apart, leaving Jane screaming for it to stop. The scene shifts again. This time, the two of them are standing on a rooftop, watching a human woman in violet armor firing a rifle into the grey haze around them. Niria recognizes the woman from the pictures Jane keeps next to her bed. The girl begs Hannah to run away, to no avail. A black hand tears out of the ground and grabs Hannah. Her screams match Jane's own as she's crushed in that hideous grip.

"Hannah is alive Jane. She's not gone." Jane's distress stills for a moment, but again another voice ruins her tiny moment of relief.

"Yes she is. She's just a husk now. Trapped forever in the darkness. As are the rest of them." Hundreds of faces appear in the dust, screaming for their pain to end, each one just another claw raking across her heart as they demand revenge. The world disappears in the dust, replaced by a dirty white plane, made of skulls. Each one has a number stencilled on its brow, each with it's own cry for help echoing out as she gazes into their empty eye sockets. After several moments the screams are joined by something very different. Niria is shocked to hear her own voice echoing through the air, calling for Jane. She turns to see a phantom of herself walking towards Jane with her arms outstretched. Then the dark hand appears behind her doppelganger. A flash of light from it spears into her copy, and slays her, blasting a torrent of viscera across Jane. Niria wretches, struggling to control her own terror at the sight as she watches the human girl run a hand across her chest and cry out at the sight of purple blood.

"I'm not dead Jane. It's just a dream." For the first time, Jane fully responds, slowly turning. The anguish in her eyes is beyond measure.

"No… not again. I can't watch you die again…" Niria carefully walks over to her, keeping her arms at her sides. Jane looks behind her and Niria can feel the presence at her back. She bring up a barrier behind her, struggling to hold against the flash of light. Mind rending pain fills her skull as she looks into Jane's eyes. In a flash of thought, Niria catches a moment of hope from Jane. 'This has never happened before. You've never stopped the light…' She needs to move fast if she's going to help.

"I'm here for you." The girl's eyes are filled with wonder as she steps closer. Jane puts her hands to either side of Niria's face, giving her a feeling of immense joy, coupled with a deep rooted fear of the unknown.

"I… I don't know what to do." In a flash of memory, Niria sees another moment, when Jane was lost to herself and received help from an unknown source. A quiet, unrecognized voice, speaking to her as if from nowhere. She carefully marshalls her power to hold back the light as she speaks.

"This is your mind Jane. What happens here is whatever **you** allow." Jane's eyes go wide as Niria speaks like that voice from memory. "Choose your fate. Live… or die. Survive or submit. It's up to you." It takes an eternity or perhaps a single moment for Jane to react. The words spark something in her, a little note of protective anger that quickly grows into a furious blaze of rage. The girl steps up next to her and starts throwing her own power at the dark hand assaulting her, followed shortly by a shadowy doppelganger on the other side. Niria lets her barrier fade, immensely relieved that the light is still held at bay. She steps away and looks back to Jane. In her place, a third figure has appeared. A copy of herself is now standing in line with Jane and her shadow self. The three together manage to throw back the dark hand in a tidal wave of biotic power. With it's disappearance, all the screams fade into nothing. The field of skulls disappears, replaced by the beautiful beach from earlier. Jane turns to her, taking hold of her right hand.

"Thank you." The soul deep relief in Jane's voice makes her quiver with joy. A feeling of boundless calm and surety is spilling out from the girl. "It'll come back, but now… now I think I can handle it." Niria wraps her left hand around Jane to pull her close. They come together for a brief kiss.

As they break away from each other, Niria whispers into Jane's ear, "Anything for you. Get some rest now. I promise, I'll be there when you wake up." Jane smiles sleepily as everything begins to fade away. The meld ends with a gentle feeling of peace suffusing her whole body, as Niria slowly opens her eyes and sees Jane fast asleep with a small smile. A single tear trails down her cheek as Niria carefully stands up. She plants a kiss on Jane's forehead before quietly walking to the door and out into the hallway. She finds Aethyta sitting against the wall, playing a card game on the extranet. Knowing her, it's probably for a large amount of money or some exotic liquor. Niria clears her throat to get her cousin's attention.

Aethyta looks up through tired eyes, "About damn time. I was startin to think you'd gone and fallen asleep too." She stands up to look her in the eye, gesturing at the tear running down her cheek, "How'd it go?"

Niria wipes her face before answering, "I think it went really well. It was strange, horrifying for a while, but in the end, I think this will really help her. Thank you for walking us through this. Goodnight Saffa." She hugs Aethyta before turning back to Jane's room and steps inside.

"Where you going kiddo?" She can already hear the teasing to come as she turns back.

"I told her I'd be there when she woke up. Hopefully, that can be true from now on." Aethyta clasps her hands together, tilts her head to the left and flashes her eyelashes at her.

"Awww, how adorable. Two little lovebirds, gettin all cuddly together and-" She's cut off as Niria carefully closes the door. Her cousin's muted laughter still drifts through the door as she pads her way over to the bed. Niria climbs in next to Jane, doing her best to avoid disturbing her. As she settles in, she feels Jane's arms snake their way around her stomach and pull her close. She doesn't try to push away this time. Instead she relaxes completely, letting the slow and steady rhythm of Jane's breathing lull her to sleep.

 _Date_ _: 4.16.2171_

 _Location_ _: Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"What is the matriarch's decision?"

"She has grudgingly agreed to our proposal. When the time comes, she'll encourage the Fulcrum to join the Alliance military. To prepare, she's going to arrange for the Fulcrum to spend time with a group of asari she trusts, once her flares have been completely dealt with obviously." They were in dicey territory. Jane wasn't exactly the following orders type, but he had a few ideas to help with that. "In addition, my best man will soon be arriving to help make the case for her joining. He'll tell her about the special arrangements we can make. Hopefully it will be enough. Although, truth be told, the biggest problem I see right now is a new bout of resistance from the asari queens. From what I understand, a few of them are reconsidering their support." While Aethyta still had approval for Jane to be there, some of the queens had expressed dissatisfaction over the length of her stay. Something needed to be done, before they started causing problems.

"You needn't worry," Asari's voice is leaden with grief. Given how much damage she'd needed to inflict on her own people, he's not really surprised. "I've already identified the focal points of the opposition. I simply need to select the appropriate agent to deal with them."

"Would it be of use for this one to offer the services of this one's finest operative? His skills are of extreme quality."

"Will he follow orders to the letter? Risk life and limb for the sake of our instructions?"

"Indeed. He will stop at nothing, risk all that he is to carry out his mission, in total secrecy if needed." Asari gives her approval. "Excellent. Drell, this one humbly requests that you petition the Master of Circles to release his finest for one final mission."

"It is no trouble. Though he will not be happy at the delay in returning to his family, the agent in question will honor the Compact, as always. I shall have him report to an agent of your choosing Asari. Simply provide the comm codes."

"Good. I look forward to seeing his work. I only pray that this time, we need not spill more blood."


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41 - Meetings**

 _Date_ _: 5.5.2171_

 _Location : Destiny Ascension Secure Comm Room_

 **Asari**

If she were to list off all the things that drove her to unreasoning anger, having to wait for contact with her agents would probably top the list. While the crew of the _Destiny Ascension_ had been nothing but courteous during her stay, each and every one of them affording her the courtesy and respect a matriarch of her standing deserved, some were beginning to question the purpose of her extended stay. They'd catered to visiting dignitaries before, but never for more than two or three days. After almost three weeks the crew was becoming somewhat perturbed at her presence, seeing it as some kind of vague insult towards them, as if her presence were somehow a form of roundabout judgement of their ability to function without oversight. While they would never say it to her face, her people inside the crew had kept her well informed. Even the ship's captain, Matriarch Lidanya, was beginning to chafe at her presence. "I assure you that our… discomfort, is not personal. I and my crew are wary of extended visits from any outsiders. Even those of your social standing."

Thankfully Drell had sent word the day before. The agent he and Hanar dispatched had met with her own, which meant that she should be receiving word any… "Finally…" the comm system comes to life as her agent at long last makes contact. The image is heavily distorted due to the intense security measures in place, but given the scale of the threat they face she's willing to put up with it. As it is, the young woman on the other end of the line is barely visible as Asari speaks. "My alibi for being here will only last so long, so I would appreciate good news."

The young woman on the other end clears her throat before responding in her characteristically chipper manner, "Then I am glad to deliver my report my lady. He has agreed to all objectives and has sworn to carry them out to perfection or perish in the attempt." She can feel the tension slowly begin to drain out of her. Dealing with wetwork agents was always a gamble. She could never know if they were cold blooded professionals or violent psychopaths until she saw their work. The only reason she had agreed to this man is because her fellow council members had sworn up and down that he was the best. Even Elcor had spoken at length of his precise, clean work.

"Did he have any issues with the mission? Special conditions or demands for additional payment?" Money was no issue for someone in her position, but there was always the risk that someone like this man would have some perverse need to claim a gruesome trophy or that he would do something vile to satisfy personal greed or lust.

"No my lady. In fact, he stated that we need only pay his expenses and a small fee. However, he did make it very clear that once this mission is complete, he would not under any circumstances partake in another. The only reason he gave was that someone named Arashu was calling him home." The Drell goddess of motherhood and protection. The man was likely returning home as a newly minted father, one of many respected reasons a drell could be released from the Compact. "I hope this will not disrupt your plans my lady."

"Far from it. I was told this would be his final assignment. So long as he carries it out to completion there is no problem. You will be his contact. Maintain communication with him whenever possible, give him whatever he needs, and stay out of his way. Maintain comm silence towards me until the mission is complete."

"Yes my lady. It is my honor to serve." The cheerful young woman fades from the screen, leaving the matriarch alone with her thoughts. Asari carefully considers all the possible ways this could go wrong, preparing fallback plans as she goes. She walks out of the comm room an hour later to inform the captain that her stay is at an end.

 _Date_ _: 5.7.2171_

 _Location : Thessia_

 **Queen Malea**

The storm has been pounding the city for two days now, flooding the low lying districts, including the lowest terraces surrounding her estate. Though the evacuations were going fairly well, she feared for the hundreds of people still trapped by the rising water in the lower levels. She'd lead multiple congregations in prayer earlier in the day, directed her house's response teams to help in the evacuations at midday, and spent the entire afternoon convincing, coercing, or outright threatening the planetary council to get the needed relief supplies. Night is falling as Malea, the last hereditary queen on Thessia, finally makes her way back into her chambers. Thankfully none of her attendants or underlings are in the room, so she feels no shame at all in collapsing onto her bed in exhaustion. Her feet tank her as she gives them their first break in almost twelve hours. Despite how tired she is, Malea can't stand going to sleep in formal attire, so after somehow getting back onto her feet, she changes into less voluminous robes made of fine amber silk. A feeling of pure, giddy joy fills her heart at the glorious comfort surrounding her.

Her worries temporarily pushed aside, Malea sits in her favorite chair facing the grand fireplace, warmed by a roaring fire prepared by her servants, and settles in to read a few petitions. Most are just requests from various nobles for a dinner outing, each trying to advance their social standing by associating with her. Though the few remaining queens held no real legal power, their social influence was not to be underestimated. Then there are a few from alien dignitaries looking for a new feather in their diplomatic cap. The last message however is not so easy to ignore. It's another request from Liseera, Matriarch Aethyta asking to bring another human in addition to keeping the current one there for an even longer stay. While she had no objection to humans in general, the ancient traditions are her responsibility, and they'd indulged Aethyta long enough.

She starts typing out her response when one of her windows, apparently left unlatched by her maids, blows open, letting a deluge of rain pour in. Malea rushes over to close it so her carpet won't get soaked, but before she can reach the window, she feels a tiny prick on her neck. Malea slaps a hand to the spot, thinking for a moment that something has bitten her. Instead of some disgusting little bloodsucker, she pulls a tiny metallic dart from her neck. As she tries to make sense of it, everything becomes hazy. The rooms spins crazily as the floor rushes up to meet her.

She spends a unknowable period of time drifting between dreams and darkness, before everything comes back to her. It take a moment to realize that she's back in her chair, with her hands tightly bound to the arms, and her legs tied together. She tries to call out, but there's a piece of cloth wrapped over her mouth. A flash of rage at the indignity of it all moves her to try and break free with her biotics. That rage is quickly subsumed by panic when she can't seem to summon the power. Not even that faintest tingle of energy fills her. It's then that she notices the other presence in the room. There is a male figure standing in front of her fireplace, clothed in dark, unmarked leather. "There is no point in trying to summon your biotics. The suppressant will keep your abilities contained for at least an hour. A ludicrously expensive utility, but well worth it given the circumstances"

The voice is heavily distorted by a voice modulator. The male turns to face her, but his face is hidden by a helmet with large red eye lenses and no mouthpiece. She can't even tell what species he is. The body shape rules out turians, quarians, and any non-humanoids, but that still leaves humans, batarians, or drell. It could even be an asari in disguise. No matter what it is, the figure has defeated more than a dozen layers of the best security on Thessia. She's only known three people from the last five hundred years that could do this, all them assassins.

Were it not for the cloth over her mouth, Malea would be demanding an explanation. "No doubt you wish to know the reason for my being here. I intend to explain fully, but first, you need to be made aware of the stakes of your situation." The figure activates her vid-screen, bringing up a very familiar image. Her eyes go wide as he continues speaking, "I trust you recognize this place, a small villa on the coast of the eastern sea." She slowly nods, pure dread growing in her heart. "It is good that you are being honest with me. You also recognize the two people in this room, do you not."

She does indeed. One is an asari matron, sleeping soundly on a simple but comfortable bed that she'd helped pick almost a year ago. The other is a tiny infant resting in a small, powder blue crib, little more than a year old. As she looks on, her captor pushes a button on his wrist and a third figure detaches from the shadows. Dressed entirely in black, the figure makes its way over to the crib, gently lifting the slumbering infant. The figure slowly rocks the child back and forth in one arm, as it draws a shining blade in the other. Malea's heart is thundering in her chest as she groans into her gag. The figure on the screen holds the blade poised over the child for several moments before her attacker pushes another button on his wrist. The blade is put away, and the baby is returned to her crib as he turns to face her, "My associate is under strict orders. So long as the proper set of signals is sent, no harm shall come to either of these innocents. However, should you prove uncooperative, he will feel no guilt over ending their lives. Do we understand each other?" She stares at the intruder, despair writ large across her face, but nods all the same.

"Good. I will carry out my masters' mission without hesitation, but I would prefer as little bloodshed as possible." Her assailant draws up another chair in front of her and sits, "You have interfered with the plans of my masters considerably over the last few years. While it has been tolerated in the past, events are in motion now that cannot be risked. My masters have three simple demands to make of you. Obey them and your hidden bride and child will remain safe. Fail to do so, and both of them will die. First and foremost, you will end your opposition to the expansion of the asari military. Second, you will stop calling for trade sanctions against colonies that wish to remain independent from the council. Third and most important, you will allow the matriarch of Liseera her human visitors with no opposition. The matriarch and the human girl she is training will be most useful to my masters in the future, but our interference is jeopardizing these plans and that is unacceptable." The intruder stands once more and walks behind her.

"In truth, my masters hold no ill will against you Queen Malea, but there is more at stake than you can possibly imagine. As such…" She can here him press a button and watches, screaming in impotent terror as the shadow on the screen draws its blade once more. Malea can't help the tears as the figure gently caresses her beloved's cheek with the blunt side of the blade. Another button is pressed. The blade is sheathed once more, and the figure fades into the shadows. "You are never to speak of this, to anyone. Remember, there will be no mercy, should you remain in the way." Once again she feels a jab in the side of her neck, followed by sleep. What shallow dreams she has are haunted by the thought of her two most precious ones being murdered and of the blood that would be on her hands. When she wakes up, Malea finds herself in bed. She looks around the room, finding no one, before bolting to her comm panel and desperately punching in her beloved's comm code in. As she waits, her eyes settle over something on the desk that she's never seen in here before. It's a serrated dagger, stabbed into the desk, a red ribbon tied to the hilt. There is something written in old world asari on the ribbon, ' _Laelio maelai eyala'_. Their lives, your choice.

Her hands are trembling as she pulls the dagger out. The blade shines in bright silver as she turns it over in her hands, mind abuzz with worry. She nearly has a heart attack when the comm line is finally answered. Her beloved is groggy and half asleep as she answers, "Hello? Who is… ohhh Malea. It's so good to see you. What's wrong? You look pale as a ghost."

"Are you and our little one okay?" The desperate fear in her voice would normally bother her, but not today.

"What? Of course we are. What's wrong?"

"Please… I… I just need to see her." Confused, her beloved quickly moves over to the crib and gently lifts their child before carrying her over to the comm panel. The little one stirs slightly but stays asleep.

"See, just fine. Why are you so worried my love?"

"I…" She spares only a second to glance at the beribboned dagger on her desk. 'Their lives, your choice.' They can never know. She can never risk it. "I had a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare. I just needed to be sure."

"Don't worry. I promise everything is fine. It was just a dream."

"Can… Can I come see you? I want to start spending more time with the two of you."

"Of course. We'd love to see you more. Remember, I'm ready to announce ourselves as soon as you feel ready." Her beloved smiles sleepily at her, melting away some of her fear.

"Soon. Go ahead and go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you. I love you." Once the channel is closed, Malea makes her way back to the fireplace, all sense of peace and relaxation utterly destroyed. She happens to spot the petition from Matriarch Aethyta again. Remembering one of the intruders demands, she quickly types a response, declaring an immediate sensations of opposition, before quietly crying herself to sleep.

In the coming weeks, she would do the same for the military and colonial petitions. She would never stand in the way again, nor would she ever speak of what had happened. That night would remain her most closely guarded secret until her death, four hundred and twenty seven years later.

 _Date_ _: 5.8.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Jane**

 _This has to be the most fun she's had since coming to Liseera. With constant practice, and plenty of bruises, Niria has become the perfect sparring partner. She could never match Jane for strength, but with her biotics she could actually move faster. The two of them have been at it for near on three hours, starting with basic forms, then on to extended attack patterns, and finally full contact sparring for the last half hour. They've each gotten through the other's guard a few times over the last month. Niria has a small split in her lip from the day before, courtesy of a punch Jane hadn't be able to pull all the way back on, and Jane herself has small scar over her left eye from the first time Niria managed to hit her. Her heart is hammering as she launches into one of her favorite combinations, a series of lightning fast diagonal slashes aimed at overwhelming a target through sheer brutality. Niria cleanly deflects each strike, lightly dancing back a step with every swing. As Jane finishes the combination, Niria moves into her own attack and starts their conversation back up. "So what do you wanna do tonight?"_

 _Jane meets every attack head on, answering through heaving breaths, "Don't know. You got something in mind." A quick counter gives Niria a jolt from Fel's training gear._

" _I thought we could go down to the beach," Niria boosts her next jab with a small biotic surge, giving her the speed to get through Jane's guard for a single tiny hit, "Just the two of us."_

" _Oh so you want me to to watch you go swimming again." Jane breaks Niria's chain by backhanding the blade with her gauntlet, following that with a heavy lateral slash at chest level. Niria barely manages to duck back in time before starting her attack again. "Then again, it would give me a chance to sneak up on you again. Maybe this time I could get you to scream loud enough for one of the neighboring towns to hear you." Niria glares at her, causing her to mistime her next swing, giving Jane time to reverse the flow of the fight again. She forces Niria back a little more with every swing._

 _Just before she can disarm her and win, Niria has to jab back. "I was thinking we could bring a blanket and sleep down there tonight." Jane actually trips a little, losing all her momentum just trying to stay standing. Anytime Niria wanted to trip her up, all she had to do was start talking about sleeping together. Though she enjoys it, Jane can't help but feel supremely embarrassed anytime someone brings it up. In truth, the idea is intoxicating, though she's not about to admit it._

" _You actually want to sleep on the beach?"_

" _Yeah, it's kind of romantic. Watching the sunset together, listening to the waves gently lapping against the shore, settling down for the night in eachother's arms, a quick goodnight kiss or two or ten." Jane misses another step as the picture Niria is painting starts taking over her thoughts, morphing into ever more… intense possibilities. Now she is the one being pushed back, the possibility of defeat increasing every second thanks to her growing fantasies._

" _You sure you want to go down there alone? We could invite a bunch of people down and have a little party."_

" _Nope. I want it to be just us." It they weren't both panting from exhaustion, Jane is certain that Niria would be practically purring. She's on the back foot now, desperately trying to push aside her feeling and focus. For a moment, she manages to turn it around and force Niria back a step._

" _So why do you want it to be just us, all romantic and stuff? Why get romantic with me in the first place?"_

" _Isn't it obvious?"_

" _Not really. Why?" Jane finally has the position she needs. Her blade is poised for a winning stab and Niria's is off to the side, too far to stop it. As long as she stays focused, Jane knows that she's won. At least, that what she thinks._

" _Because I love you." For a split second, everything stops. Her heart skips a beat, her muscles lock up, and her blade freezes mid-jab. In that instant, Niria makes her swing, crashing her blade into Jane's and knocking it from her hand. The two of them look at it with bug eyed astonishment. Niria has never managed to disarm her before, so neither of them has any idea what to do with it. They slowly turn back to face each other, chests heaving as they struggle to control their breathing. They spend almost a full minute staring at each other before Jane uses her biotics to grab Niria's blade, rip it out of her hands, and hurl it across the room. Then she launches herself at Niria, dragging both of them to them ground. She's careful to absorb most of the fall with her own body before rolling on top of Niria. Jane is holding herself up with her hands just beside Niria's shoulders. Looking deep into the asari's eyes, Jane whispers, "Say it again…"_

 _No hesitation, "I love you." Jane feels Niria's mind reach out for hers and opens her own completely for the first time._

 **Tica**

Another boring day on cleaning duty, thanks to her sister's prank. "She was the one that did it, why do I have to pay for it?" Yes she'd helped in the ensuing cover-up but the initial prank had been all Tila. That hadn't mattered one damn bit to their mother, so now they're both are stuck cleaning the locker rooms next to the holo room for a month. Tica steps through the door and starts picking up towels left scattered here or there. As she goes through the outer room, Tica hears someone inside the showers, but the showers aren't running. Confused, Tica follows the sounds to one of the stalls, spotting red armor plates, a red suit, and a set of training leathers along the way. When she finds the stall where the sounds are coming from, she carefully opens the door. Inside she freezes in place after seeing Niria and that frightening human girl... _together,_ in much the same way she'd once seen her parents. Limbs entwined, bodies heaving, strange sounds pouring out. Tica silently turns around, walks out, and gently closes the door behind her.

As she walks out the locker room door, Tica spends a while trying not to think about how much she's just accidentally invaded someone else's privacy. She's still mulling over how to apologize when she hears a slight whistle, "Hey, Tica! What's wrong?" She looks up and her eyes get even wider when she spots Matriarch Aethyta.

"Oh! Uh, nothing! Nothing's wrong." Aethyta gives her a suspicious look.

"Right… You seen Jane or Niria? I've been looking for them all morning." Her mind races as she tries to figure out what to say. She doesn't want to lie, but then again she also doesn't what to just come out and say what she saw.

"Uh… yes. They're inside the locker room."

"Great, thanks." Aethyta tries to walk past her, but she steps in the way.

"No, no, no mistress. You can't go in there right now." Tica waves her hands slightly to try and ward the woman off.

"And why is that?" Aethyta's eyes are narrowed.

"Well, um, Jane and Niria are uhh… sparring."

"So what? I've seen them spar before. Wait, why in the locker room." Aethyta tries to push past her again, so Tica grabs hold of the door handle to stop her. Now Aethyta is positively glaring at her, all her amusement spent. "Now look here little one, there had better be a damn good reason for this."

It's a struggle to find her voice, "Well, ma'am… They need privacy. They're not so much sparring as they are uhh… _sparring_." She tries to put enough emphasis on the word to make her meaning clear. For a second it looks like she's failed. Aethyta cocks a brow at her in annoyance.

"What the hell are you talking about Tica? Why would they need privacy if all they're doing is spar- ohhh ho ho." Aethyta gives an chuckle at realizing what was happening, "This is rich. Go ahead and let them have fun. When they manage to stagger out tell them I want to talk to them in the tower." Aethyta leaves her by the door to the locker room, singing some perverted song as she walks away. Tica leans against the wall, humming to herself to drown out the faint sounds coming from inside.

 **Niria**

With a deep feeling of supreme satisfaction, Niria buttons her cloths up as Jane snaps her plates back into place. While she certainly feels wonderful, it's obviously nothing next to what Jane feels. The girl has goofy smile plastered across her face, her eyes half closed as she hums quietly to herself. Once the two of them are fully clothed, Niria takes one of Jane's hands and they walk out. She's surprised to find someone waiting just outside the locker room door. It's Tica, one of Fel's youngest daughters. The young one nearly jumps out of her skin when Niria speaks. "Hi Tica. Are you waiting for someone?"

Tica stares at them with wide eyes, shifting her gaze between her and Jane several times before speaking, "Mistress Aethyta wanted me to tell you that she wants to talk to you and Jane in the observation tower right away." With that, Tica practically flees from the room.

Niria trades a look with Jane, "You don't think she heard us did you?" They'd tried to keep quiet, but things had gotten a little… intense. Jane looks half dazed, apparently still in the clouds. She brushes off her concerns and the two of them head up to the tower. On arrival they find Aethyta with her feet up on one of the couches. She's eating a piece of fruit, humming to herself. As they move to sit across from her, Aethyta smiles up at them.

"You know, I was a looong time ago, but I still remember the first time I _sparred_ with someone. She was a friend I grew up with, adorable pale blue skin, beautiful eyes, and a rack to make a matriarch blush." Her stomach clenches in panic as she realizes what Aethyta means. "We _sparred_ every chance we got. On the beach, at university parties, even a few times at the temple. Got pretty crazy together, what with all the _sparring_."

"Oh goddess, Saffa, please stop." She covers her eyes with one hand, more embarrassed than she's ever been. Jane, obviously confused, is just looking between the two of them.

"So Jane, was this your first time _sparring_?" Aethyta wiggles her eyebrows at Jane, clearly trying to get her to blush.

"No we spar all the time." Aethyta starts laughing hysterically, leaving Jane completely bewildered. "Why is that so funny?"

Niria tries to help her understand, "Jane, she's not talking about combat sparring."

"Then what is she talking about?" Niria leans in close and does her best to explain without making the situation even more embarrassing. By the time she's done, Jane looks completely mortified, "Oh god…" With her eyes on the floor, Jane's face turns beet red.

Aethyta finally stops laughing, mostly, "Don't worry kids. I was young once, and I understand _the urge_ all too well. That being said, I would recommend that you lock the door next time. Tica'll never open the door without knocking again." Her mother had talked to her about sexuality decades ago, but that conversation had nothing on this one in the awkward department. "Now that the fun part is over, I do have an actual reason or calling you up here. In a couple weeks, a friend of mine from the Alliance will be dropping by. You remember David Anderson, right?"

Though her face is still bright red, Jane's voice is reasonably steady, "He was the one that carried me off Omega."

"Yeah. He also came to help on Mindoir."

Jane cringes at that, "I… wasn't really all there at the time." Not surprising. Jane's memories from those days are heavily fragmented. During their melds, she never got more than a scattered sense of pain and fear from those memories. "So why is he coming here?"

"He wants to talk to you about a few things. Possible career options for someone like you. All I ask is that you hear him out. Well that and I'd like you two to keep your pants on while he's here. I'd rather not have to pry you and Niria off of one another during his visit."

 _Date_ _: 6.1.2171_

 _Location : Illium_

 **Queen Calca**

Her head is pounding as she makes her way from the meeting hall. Twelve hours of listening to corporate representatives complain about one idiotic thing or another. Twelve hours of reminding them that not one of them was entitled or even worthy of her support. _Twelve hours_ … and now she has to board a shuttle to go meet with some dignitary from the Hierarchy on some ship in orbit. She sends away her guards with an irritated wave, wanting some small measure of solitude on the flight. As the shuttle lifts off, Calca takes out her snuff box and inhales a pinch of the pure blue powder inside. Sky dust was one of the few pleasures she allowed herself beyond reading or fine silk clothing. The stimulant helped her keep everything in perspective, gave her the energy she needed to get through the mind numbing tedium of her official responsibilities.

She settles back, waiting for the usual surge of energy. Instead, everything goes dark as she falls asleep. When she finally comes to, she feels something digging into her wrists. Her eyesight clears, giving her a good view of the shackles holding her in place. She tries to use her biotics, but nothing happens. Then she takes in her surroundings, cringing in disgust. She's chained to the wall in some disgusting den, with a grated floor, filthy concrete walls, and dingy yellow lights. A clanking noise sounds from the only door, followed by a deep throated growl. The door slides open and three varren tear out towards her, eliciting a shriek of terror. Before they can reach her, they're stopped short by the chains on their necks. Each one looks half starved, with ribs visible beneath their skin. The drooling monsters are snapping wildly at her, desperately trying to sink a tusk into her flesh. The chains start retracting, dragging the flailing beasts back. A voice comes from her right side, "Do not worry. The chains will hold them back, so long as I am not given reason to release them."

"Who the hell are you?! What's meaning of this you barbarian?!" She tries to turn and face the voice, but she's tightly bound. A figure in dark leather is hovering at the edge of sight, dull red light spilling from its helmet. Whoever it is, it's a male, but other than that, she can't tell anything more. She sees the figure hit a control on its wrist. The chains on the varren loosen, allowing the three of them to charge her again, this time getting close enough for their frantic snapping to splash her with their filthy drool. The figure hits another control and the chains retract, pulling them away from her again. "WHAT DO YOU WHAT?!" She's absolutely frantic at this point.

The figure moves to stand before her, its dark coverings preventing any manner of identification. It speaks through a voice modulator, giving it a heavy mechanical drawl, "It is quite simply Queen Calca. You stand in opposition to the plans of my masters. This opposition will end… immediately." A measure of her pride worms its way back into her heart.

"What? How… how dare you make demands of me! I do not answer to swine like you!" The figure walks to her side, hitting the controls on its wrist again. The varren claw their ways closer to her, the chains slowly letting out, giving them more and more space to approach. As each link is fed from the spools, the beasts edge closer, snapping madly.

"Now is not the moment for insults majesty. These animals have not been fed properly in some time. They would delight in a chance to feast on royal flesh." The figure doesn't retract the chains this time, leaving the varren less than a meter away, wildly flailing their tusks and claws at her. "It would be unfortunate if I were forced to allow them to feed."

Her heart is beating so rapidly, it feels as though it's trying to rip free of her chest. "Alright, alright! I'll hear what you have to say!" As if she has a choice.

"I'm glad to hear that. My masters are at the end of their patience. You will end your opposition to the expansion to the asari military. You will stop calling for embargo against independent colonies. And most importantly, you will cease your interference with the affairs of Liseera."

"Liseera? What interference?" She can vaguely recall a petition from the pompous matriarch of the colony, asking for permission to keep her pet human. "What the hell do you care about Liseera?" She hears him punch his controls again and wails in terror as a few more links are loosened on the animals' chains. The varren drag themselves closer, one of them actually managing to swipe its claws across her shin. The cuts are shallow, but the faint hint of blood just drives the animals deeper into frenzy. "OK! I'LL LET THEM KEEP THEIR HUMAN! JUST STOP THESE MONSTERS! PLEASE STOP!"

The varren snarl as the chains retract again, dragging the varren back behind the door. "I'm glad to hear that. The matriarch will be bringing another human to the colony soon. You will not interfere." The figure steps behind her. "Something to remember Lady Calca… we have eyes everywhere. Eyes in every office, tower, colony, ship, and station in the galaxy. I was able, and will be able, to get to you with no effort, no matter what you do. Should you go back on your word, the results will be… unpleasant." She feels a pinch her neck just as the figure hits its controls again. She tries to scream as the varren charge her one final time, but all she manages is a strangled cry as she passes out.

Dreams of death and dismemberment haunt her until she wakes up in her shuttle. There are no signs of her ordeal and for a moment she thinks it was just some kind of horrible sky dust induced dream. Then she feels the intense stinging from her shin. Calca lifts the hem of her dress, giving her a clear view of three ugly slashes, all stitched shut very recently. She stares in abject terror, the memory of those three drooling monsters snapping with insane hunger leaves her petrified. It's a relief when her pilot calls up to her, "Apologies for the delay my lady. The solar flare has passed and the way is clear. We'll be arriving in ten minutes." Calca stays completely silent until arriving at the Hierarchy vessel. The shuttle trembles as it settles onto the deck and the engine cycles down. She stands on shaky legs before staggering up to the cockpit. It's already empty. The only sign that it was ever occupied is a single silver bladed dagger stabbed into the control panel, a simple red ribbon tied to the hilt. A short message is printed on the ribbon in old world asari, " _Aiyala mali. Aiyala triama._ " Eyes everywhere, eyes watching.

Her meeting with the Hierarchy official flies by, due mostly to her thoughts being completely locked on what had happened. Later she would review the security footage, seeing the black figure from that dingy hole stepping out of her shuttle, looking straight at her through the camera, before completely disappearing. The real pilot was found recovering in a hospital a week later, apparently just getting over a head injury from a 'fall'. Calca would confide in a single aide after finding a measure of her courage. That aide vanished less than an hour later, never to be seen. Calca kept her mouth shut from then on. She never got in the way again, instead falling ever deeper in sky dust addiction. Two years later, having withdrawn from public life entirely, Queen Calca passed away from a massive overdose. Her successor would prove to be for more forward thinking, never once necessitating a visit from Calca's tormentor.

 _Date_ _: 6.4.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Jane**

 _Niria is putting on the finishing touches of the courtyard in her mind, and finishing the count at long last, "12449, 12450, 12451, 12452, and at last, 12453." The two of them look out over the 'temple' with pride. Though most of the statues are still a little ugly or misshapen, the temple itself is spotless. All the stones are intact and polished to a pearlescent sheen, all the columns are straight and flawless, and the shallow channels that help her drain away excess energy are smooth and perfectly formed. They take a seat on the steps leading up to her own statue. "Who are they again?"_

" _The last time I got to speak directly to one of them, she told me that these are all the people that were like me." She'd explained it as best she could a few times. It doesn't help that she's still confused by it herself._

" _I've never seen aliens like these before. Where are they now?" Niria doesn't know. Though they'd shared deeply with each other in the last month, even more so than what Tica had seen, Jane still keeps memories from the others hidden. No one else needs to suffer from that._

" _They're gone… I think. I don't really wanna talk about it." She feels Niria wrap an arm around her and they sit peaceful for a while. "Thank you for doing all this." Jane waves at the 'temple', "I feel so much better now. I haven't even had a real flare in almost a week."_

" _That means that you can finally go visit Hannah." Jane smiles at that. "Can… can I come with you? I mean I understand if you want to be alone for it but I just want you to know that I'm happy to go with you."_

" _I'd love for you to be with me." Jane feels Niria's mind opening further. Despite how much she wants it, there just isn't time for them to 'share' right now._

" _Sorry, but I've got to meet with Anderson today. But maybe later…" Niria smiles as Jane wraps her mind around her and carries her clear. Once the meld break, they head down to the landing pad, meeting Aethyta along the way. They arrive just in time to see an Alliance shuttle come in for a landing. Aethyta steps forward to greet Anderson as he clears the gangplank. The man is wearing a formal dress uniform, with campaign ribbons and medals on his chest. Everything is polished and properly fitted._

" _Good to see you again David. Lookin good. Anything new going on with you?"_

" _Nothing I can talk about, but I did manage to get ahold of something for you." Anderson hands her a small wooden box, "Cubans. Best in the galaxy."_

" _I knew you were good for somethin." Aethyta surprises the Alliance man with a kiss before popping the case open and pulling a cigar out. She takes a deep sniff, quivering with delight at the aroma, "Ahhh, you knew just what a lady wants. So, I hear you got something to say to Jane." Anderson turns to Jane, starting a little at the fact that he now has to look up slightly._

" _Hello Jane. I've got an offer for you."_


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42 - Reunions**

 _Date_ _: 6.4.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Anderson**

"Not interested." Hackett had warned him, told him time and time again that Jane would be resistant to the idea. That being said, he was still surprised at just how quickly she'd shot the offer down. After he'd given Aethyta the cigars, the good matriarch had led him, Jane, and the younger asari holding her hand to a dizzyingly tall tower overlooking the colony. He'd tried to move to the western window with the view of the sea, but Jane and the others sat facing the molten fields to the east. After taking a seat across from them and accepting a drink from Aethyta, Anderson had laid out the offer Hackett had suggested he start with. Jane had listened closely, smiled, and refused.

"Any particular reason?" He had a pretty good idea what she was going to say. Hackett had given him access to most the profile the order had on the girl, which had lead him to prepare multiple offers and arguments to convince her to join up when the time came. The admiral made it very clear how important it was that he convince Jane.

"I can't be tied down waiting for orders or approval. There's too much that needs doing." Anderson didn't know the full details, but the files from Hackett listed a somewhat disturbingly large web of activities across the galaxy. Jane actually had people on Omega and the Citadel tracking down pirates and slavers. Her shipyard in the home cluster was putting out several ships a month, each in a non standard configuration. They looked liked high-end merchant ships, but most merchant ships didn't carry military grade torpedoes.

"I take it you plan on resuming your hunt for the Red Wake then." The mercs were on the rise again, something Jane no doubt knew.

"Yes. Their leader escaped me, and they were behind the attack on Mindoir. I'm going to track them down and kill them all." Jane's smile is gone. "I don't think the Alliance would be too tolerant with the way I fight." They had records of her hunt on Omega, thanks to a young information broker. Hackett had made it very clear.

" _Standard service is out of the question. Not only would her methods be a diplomatic nightmare, but convincing her to hold back for the sake of PR will never work. You need to make it clear that she would only be subject to special authority and that she'll be allowed to start her hunt again."_

"Admiral Hackett can make arrangements to have you placed directly under his command, with me as your immediate superior. You wouldn't be a regular line soldier. Instead, you'd be special forces from the beginning. Bootcamp would still be necessary but more as a formality, to get the paperwork in order. Special arrangements could be made for your varren, or say… your young friend here, to accompany you." He waves a hand at the young asari Aethyta had identified as Niria. Given way the two girls were hanging off each other, Anderson couldn't really imagine Jane being overly willing to be separated from her. "And, since you do intend to start after the Wake again, I can promise you access to any intelligence the Alliance has on the bastards."

"Really?" Jane's glaring at him with open suspicion, "Why is the Alliance willing to make special arrangements for me? Why would they be willing to give me access to classified information? And why does Admiral Hackett want me under his command right off the bat?"

"I take it you don't keep a close eye on the news." Jane shakes her head. "Ever since Mindoir fought off the slaver attack, colonization applications have skyrocketed, along with public support for military operations in the Traverse. Then there's the sterling work your friends at the colony have been doing since the attack was shattered. The planetary governor sent out word to every colony in the Traverse, offering militia training for anyone who's willing. Almost half our colonies have sent people to get trained, and then those people return home to spread what they've been taught, which has led to dozens of raids being beaten back, which crippling losses for the attackers. Pirate and slaver attacks have been plummeting in frequency and severity ever since you massacred the Wake on Mindoir. People are more confident, more adventurous than ever and it's making life better for people all over the Alliance. Admiral Hackett, and certain officials in the know, believe that if you could inspire good like that on your own, then you could do a hell of a lot more with Alliance backing, along with Hackett's direct support, and that's more than worth some special arrangements." It's working, at least to a certain extent. He can tell Jane is at least considering the possibilities.

"You mentioned bootcamp. Why would it be necessary? I can already fight better than most soldiers, and my weapons, armor, and biotics are better than most people's. What would I get out of it?"

"In reality, it would just be for the paperwork. Going through the motions would help us integrate you into the system, making it completely legal for us to share classified information with you. Not to mention, it'll give you your first contacts inside the Alliance beyond the admiral and myself. It would also give us some time to arrange for you to use a ship without significant oversight." That would be a bitch to organize. The Alliance fleet didn't lack in numbers, but finding a quality ship that wouldn't be missed was not going to be an easy task, or an expedient one.

"Would I have to give up my suit? My armor? Cause that's never going to happen."

"Nope. We've enough pull to get you cleared to keep it. If fact, we'll have someone at the training camp to make sure things stay on track, and I'll be there the first few days to set things up. You'd need to leave your weapons somewhere safe, but the suit and plates would be fine." She's not excited about the idea, but at least it looks likes she's giving it some real consideration. "You don't need to make a decision right now Jane. It's still almost a full year before you can join up so take your time. I'm just here to let you know about what the Alliance can do for you. In the end, all I ask is that you give the idea a chance. Someone like you could go far in the military, especially with Admiral Hackett's special service offer." They trade a few non-comital promises before Jane and Niria leave together. Anderson sits back down with Aethyta, this time facing the western sea. "Thank you for letting me come here to make our case."

"Gotta say, you set out a pretty good offer, at least as far as I can tell."

"You've spent a lot longer with her than I have. Do you think Jane will sign up?"

"Maybe. Honestly she's kind of a wild card, but if she thinks it'll get her closer to the Wake then she'll probably do it, at least for a while. Jane probably won't make a decision for some time though. Now that her flares are taken care of she can finally go visit Hannah. Her and Niria are leaving in a few weeks, once one of our ships is freed up for a quick trip to Sur'kesh. After that I've got something set up with an old friend that'll keep her busy for a while." Aethyta takes a sip of her drink and carries on, "Coming here to make the offer in person was a good idea, makes it seem more like you're asking for help rather than making a sales pitch, which is something Jane is more likely go along with. Though I am curious about why **you** are here. I get what you said about the good she can do, but I know that's not the real reason. If that was it, Hackett would never have sent you out here all gussied up and handing out such pretty sign-up bonuses. So, what is it, for real?"

Anderson thinks to himself for a bit, trying to decide what was safe to share, "I can't tell you much, but here's what I've got."

 _Date_ _: 6.29.2171_

 _Location : Sur'Kesh_

 **Niria**

The trip from Liseera had only taken a few days, but it had felt a hell of a lot longer. Jane was a nervous wreck for the entire trip, constantly fidgeting, adjusting her plating, frantically pacing, petting Spits enough to annoy him, or mumbling to herself at all hours of the night. Niria had finally piped up the day before arrival, "Jane, please relax. Everything will be fine. You're flares are under control, so it'll be completely safe."

Jane had just kept on pacing and nibbling on her nails before whispering nervously, "But what if I just haven't noticed the build up this time and a flare hits while we're there? What if I have a nightmare while we stay the night and start trying to put stuff on the walls? What if some one with a grudge against me finds out about Hannah after seeing us visiting?" Niria had tried to easy Jane's fears, tried to renew her confidence in her new found control. Nothing had worked.

Now as Gavin lands Blue on the pad, Niria takes her hand and whispers, "No matter what happens, I'm right here. Everything will be fine, I promise." Jane takes a deep breath before stepping down from the gunship with her right behind. The two of them make their way inside, checking in with the security station right off the bat. Mirdan had told them to do it as soon as they arrived, promising to come collect them when he received word of their coming. Apparently his sister had demanded it, among several other security changes including checking in their weapons. Jane leaves her guns at the security station, but her sword stays sheathed at her shoulder. No one has the courage to demand otherwise. The staff doesn't try to stop her from bringing Spits in with them, other than a few grumbling complaints over the trail he was leaving. It take a few minutes for Mirdan to come for them. Niria understood that he was supposed to be a bit elderly, but she'd never really given any thought to just how old thirty-eight was for a salarian. He approaches at a carefully measured pace, every other step accompanied by a tap from the wooden cane in his left hand. He doesn't put much weight on the cane, but it's presence in general is telling.

As he steps over to them, some of the weight on Jane's shoulder is lifted. She takes the old salarian in a tight hug before he leads the two of them towards Hannah's room. Several staff members beat a hasty retreat when they spot Jane, "Why are they so afraid of you?" Jane winces at the question.

"Last time I was here I had a flare and I kind of… blew up part of the hospital."

"And she lashed out at a few staff members that attempted to pull her away from Hannah during the earliest stages of treatment." Mirdan keeps his pace as steady as his voice, providing neither judgment nor approval of the actions described, merely an account of them. "Understandable given the circumstances." Niria sees Jane's eyes drop to the floor in shame.

"Is your sister is still mad?"

"No… well, not at you at least. She still tends to glare at me whenever we speak, but she's at least stopped leveling demands against me to pay for the STG resources I've been using. She still insists that I attend her granddaughter's artistic activities, though it no longer feels as though my life depends on it." They arrive at Hannah's room in short order. Jane steps in front of the door, but doesn't move to enter.

"Has… has there been any change?" The quiet but desperate hope in her voice is heart wrenching. The look on Mirdan's face tells Niria that he feels much the same way. The old salarian takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out.

"Yes and no." A brief look of hope flashes across Jane's face. "All her injuries have healed cleanly. All bones have knitted together perfectly and all organ damage is fully repaired. However, we still cannot find the cause of her current state. Medically speaking, as far as we can tell, she's in perfect health. Though it is painful and more than a little humiliating to say, we still have no explanation as to why she has yet to awaken." Jane's whole body seems to sag slightly, as what little hope she'd had drains away. "Do not give into despair. I have no intention of giving up and neither should you. We will find a way Jane, no matter how long it may take."

Jane gently wraps the old salarian in a hug, "Thank you Mirdan." When she lets go, she reaches out for the door's handle and slowly opens it. "Can you guys give me a few minutes alone with her, please?" The two of them nod and Jane closes the door behind her. Mirdan and Niria spent a long time alone in the hall, trading some meaningless small talk. Mirdan tells her about some of his work with Hannah and Niria speaks to him about home, focusing mostly on her and Aethyta's work with ending Jane's flares. It's just some light-hearted talk to pass the time as Jane gets a private moment with Hannah.

 **Jane**

 _Her heart is in her throat as she steps over to the bed. She almost doesn't make it to her mother's side, the guilt nearly driving her to flee. The only thing that keeps her going is a happy chuff from Spits as he settles his head across Hannah's legs. When she finally reaches the bed, Jane spends several minutes staring down, trying to figure out how she's supposed to feel. Hannah's heart is beating with a slow, steady rhythm, and her monitors all show stable brain activity. By nearly any measure, Hannah was is perfect health, but for whatever reason she was still unconscious. Her hanar is tucked under Hannah's left arm, even cleaner now than it had been the year before. Mirdan has been taking better care of it that she ever had._

 _After dragging a chair over and sitting, Jane carefully takes Hannah's right hand. "Hi mom. I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to come visit, but the flares only stopped a couple weeks ago." It's all she manages before the tears start falling. "I'm sorry you're trapped here. I'm sorry that I didn't do more. I'm sorry that I let you get hurt..." she stops holding back and lets a year of guilt and shame pour out. Jane holds Hannah's hand, quietly crying for the next hour._

 _Eventually, though the tears still fall, Jane stills her sobs enough to speak again, "A couple things have happened since… since Mindoir. I got to ride in a repurposed krogan dreadnaught, although I accidentally blew up my room. I've been living with Aethyta at her family's colony. I think you'd like it there. There's a beautiful blue-green ocean within walking distance with a soft, warm sandy beach to the west. To the east is a huge expanse of magma fields with whole rivers of molten stone. The flowers there are really pretty and they smell like the vanilla scented candles you brought out for our birthdays." Jane has no idea if Hannah can hear her. A lot of people liked to believe that coma patients could still hear what was going on around them. Jane hopes so._

" _I… I even met someone I really like. I think you would like her. Her name is Niria and she's the one that's been helping me with my flares. Aethyta did the basic stuff when we arrived, but Niria took over after that. She's smart enough to help me on my projects, like the new plating I have or the new set of legs I built for Spits once I finally got some good materials to use. She doesn't ever look at me like I'm a freak. One time she even told me that my eyes are actually beautiful. My scars don't make her uncomfortable, even the big one on my face. She's tough too. We've been sparring together for a while now." Jane briefly pauses to push aside the embarrassing memory of Aethyta teasing her and Niria for their_ _ **sparring**_ _. "Niria's not as strong as me, but she's fast and just as stubborn as I am. She can hold her liquor pretty well too. Wait… you might not actually like that part…"_

 _Jane takes a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady, "Things are so weird right now. I think… I think I love her, but… I don't know what that's supposed to feel like. I wish you were with me. I wish we could talk again. I wish you were awake." Her voice is starting to waiver again, causing her next words to come out as little more than a strangled sob. "I want you to wake up. Hannah… Mom, please wake up…"_

 **Niria**

"She's been in there for a really long time. Do you think she's ok?" Niria's doing her best to avoid worrying. Anytime Jane's had trouble for the last year, she's always been able to offer at least some comfort to her and being stuck in the hall for Jane's first visit with Hannah since having to leave her is more than a little nerve wracking.

Mirdan doesn't seem worried, "It's the first time she's felt it was safe enough for her to visit. Given the events that led to Hannah's current condition, and the fact that Jane clearly blames herself, it is only reasonable to assume that she would want a fair amount of time alone with her, if for no other reason than to give voice to her feelings without fear of judgement." The good doctor has been pouring over his notes the whole time they've been waiting, likely looking for new avenues of treatment for Hannah.

"Why would Jane blame herself? It's not like she wanted the slavers to come."

"True, but they did come to Mindoir specifically to kill her. As such, any deaths or injuries that occurred weigh heavily on her. I have noticed over the years that Jane has a somewhat self-destructive view of the world. Any time her actions can be linked to a good person being harmed, no matter how miniscule the link may be, she endures a heady bout of depression, leading her to push away the people she cares about, likely in an attempt to protect them from herself. It happened after Sara's death on Omega, as well as after her friend Keeva began to be harassed. I and several of her friends have noticed a heavy uptick in such feelings from her since the attack on Mindoir, though something has begun to curtail it in recent months. I can only assume that she has found some small measure of close emotional support from someone. Perhaps a certain young asari that she's been spending a significant amount of time with." The elderly salarian gives her a tight smile before returning to his notes on Hannah's treatments. Niria blushes slightly and the two of them let an air of companionable silence fall for several minutes.

Just before the hour and a half mark, Niria decides to ask something a bit lighter, "May I ask a personal question Doctor?" Mirdan keeps scanning his notes but still answers.

"Certainly. Keep in mind however that while I'm happy to listen to questions, I cannot guarantee answers."

"Of course. Jane has mentioned once or twice that you have a favorite nephew named Mordin Solus." Mirdan nods at him. "Given that salarian clan names come before the given name, that would mean that the two of you share a given name, but are of different clans. How is he your nephew if that is the case? Is it just that you two see each other as family or is there more to it?" Mirdan looks at her with a rueful smile.

"Old family drama I regret to say. At the time I was hatched my mother was not yet the dalatrass. As such she was not technically allowed to birth any children without the dalatrass' permission, which she never acquired. Also at that time, she and her sister were engaged in a rather heated competition to determine who would succeed the dalatrass at that time. An unauthorized child would have jeopardized her claim, so I was temporarily given over to the care of a sub-clan, where my mother's cousin raised me for several years. Eventually, the previous dalatrass passed away, and my mother was able to take control. A year later I was allowed to return, protected under the aegis of her now absolute authority in the clan. She offered to allow me to retake my true clan name, but to me that seemed an insult to my cousin who'd done so much to give me a good life. I kept the name Mirdan, though I am officially recognized as part of clan Mordin as well."

"Then by any chance, is your nephew named after you?" The old salarian chuckles a few times before answering.

"Though my youngest sister would vehemently deny it, yes. She likes me far more than she would ever admit in public. She's never demanded I to go to a child's dance recital as my other sister has." After some quiet laughter, the silence falls again, but only for a few minutes. The door to Hannah's room quietly opens and Jane steps out for a moment. To Niria, it look very much like Jane has spent almost the entire time crying.

"Jane? Are you alright?" The young woman quickly wipes away the last vestiges of tears.

"Yeah. I just… Yes I'm fine. Do you wanna come in now?" She nods quickly and Jane takes her hand to lead her in. Niria keeps the look on her face as neutral as possible when she sees Hannah. Intellectually, she knew what to expect from a coma patient, but actually seeing someone in such a state in more than a little disturbing. "Mom, this is Niria, the one I was telling you about. Niria, this is Hannah Shepard, my mother." Jane led her to one of two chairs pulled next to the bed, before quietly launching into a few stories she had about her and Hannah.

She talks about the first time they'd met, flushing with more than a little embarrassment while describing her behavior at that first meeting. Then Jane shares part of the story of the time she blew up part of a mountain, and the birthday celebration Hannah had put together for her, the first one she'd ever had. After that came the first time Jane had actually been to an ocean, which was intact the first time she'd ever seen any large body of water free of sewage. She could help but laugh a little when Jane mentions falling into the small underwater valley, leading to her spending almost fifteen minutes just trying to climb out. Jane let's out a short laugh as she describes Hannah's reaction when she'd finally made her way back to the surface. "She didn't let me out of her sight for almost a month after that. The next time we went to the beach Hannah wouldn't even let me go into the water without her."

Niria stays quiet, mostly just listening to story after story. Jane relaxes a little more with every story shared, slowly letting the tension from the trip drain away. As the sun languidly sets outside, Jane finishes speaking with a glowing smile on her face. "You two are pretty close, aren't you?"

Jane nods, "Absolutely. She's the first real family I ever had. I never knew my biological parents. The people that… raised me… well, I'm not sad that they're gone. I had some really good friends on Omega including Mirdan, but Hannah's the only person I ever shared everything with. She gave me a home. I can buy a house or an apartment, but she was the one that made it a home. She kept me from giving up after the mountain ended up not having answers. She convinced me to go to school and start learning how to be a regular person… kind of. She was never, ever afraid of me. Afraid for me yeah, but never of me. She didn't stop me from fighting for the colony. Hannah just picking up her rifle and fought too." Jane bows her head, clearly trying to hide the guilt on her face. "And now she might never wake up."

Niria wraps an arm around Jane's shoulder, "She'll wake up Jane. It might take a while, but it will happen. Have faith." After getting a tight smile, Niria tells Jane about some of the treatments Mirdan had been talking about moving onto. Then Jane read from a couple books, old ones with leather spines. Apparently they were some of Hannah's favorites, old stories from earth about people fighting using swords made of light with magical powers. A few chapters later, Jane marks her spot before putting a vid up on the screen across from Hannah's bed. It was one of humanity's classical films, where for some reason the characters were obsessed with a piece of magic jewelry. The two of them spent all night in Hannah's room, eventually falling asleep on the room's couch together, with Spits sleeping at the foot of Hannah's bed.

The next morning they said their goodbyes to Mirdan. Before leaving, Jane rolled in a casque she'd unloaded from Blue. "I couldn't decide what to bring from Aethyta's stores. I told her what I was doing and she suggested this." Jane fills a flask and hands it to Mirdan. A single sip was enough to rock the salarian back on his heels. He steadies himself with a hand on the wall, breathing deeply for several minutes. Mirdan forestalls Jane's panic with a broad smile.

"I'm certainly not as young as I used to be but… excellent choice all the same." Jane breaths a sigh of relief and lifts Mirdan off the ground with a hug. The two of the reclaim their weapons and climb into Gavin's gunship, careful not to disturb the cargo crate he'd gone to pick up during the hospital visit, the one plastered with explosive and bio-hazard stickers. Mirdan sees them off, waving after them as Blue pulls into the air. The side panels slide closed and they make their way to the ship Aethyta had sent them in. The trip home is far happier than the ride to Sur'kesh.

 _Date_ _: 9.2.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

Searing pain lances through her head as she drags herself down to the landing pad, making her question her reasons for living more than once along the way. "Maybe going on a bender with Gallia wasn't a good idea." She hadn't meant to, but Gallia had gotten her hands on some of the good stuff from Sur'kesh, with Gavin's help, and it had taken Aethyta far too long to convince her to give some of it up. One shot had led to another... and another... and another, which then devolved into a chugging contest, and after that, everything is just a drunken blur. The coffee in her mug gives her some relief, but for the most part she just had to barrel through the agony. It would be disrespectful to let their guests land without stopping by to welcome them.

She reaches the pad with her mind mostly clear just as the old junker shuttle settles onto the ground. Allytha shoots an irritated glance her way, annoyed at her for showing up hungover. The shuttle might look like a flying trashcan, but the four people that step out are the polar opposite. Their armor is pristine, if a little on the revealing side. Then again, justicars seldom cared about social norms over propriety. The first is a woman she's fought beside more than once over the centuries, "Justicar Samara, honored to have you here."

The lead justicar keeps a level expression, as Aethyta has gotten used to seeing from her over the years. Centuries of facing the worst scum in the galaxy tended to level out a person's emotions. It was one of the only way a good person could stay sane doing such work. "The honor is ours Lady Aethys." The justicar lets a small smile show for a moment before the mask of serene calm settles back into place. "My fellow justicars and I are happy to assist with your pirate issues as we wait for your intelligence ring to find the answers we seek. With me are Justicars Aris," Samara waves to the next woman in line, a stocky matron with heavy burn scars on her throat, "Please forgive her silence. Old injuries make speech difficult for her." The justicar in question nods respectfully as Samara gestures to the next in line, a pale violet skinned asari with a perpetual scowl, "Justicar Trava." Aethyta nods to the woman, receiving nothing in return. As Samara points out the final member of her group, Aethyta feels a surge of cold rage rise up. This one she knows quite well… at least she used to. "And the youngest of our number, Justicar Lia." The last asari meets Aethyta's baleful gaze for only a moment before turning her eyes to the ground.

She glares at the young woman for a short time before regaining her composure, "Like I said, it's an honor to have you here. If you'll follow Allytha, she'll show you to the chambers we've prepared for you. I'd like a word Justicar Lia if I may." Samara nods, no doubt aware of the reason, before turning to follow Allytha with the other justicars in toe. Once they're alone, Aethyta turns to the young woman, "You've got a lot of nerve coming here."

Lia keeps her eyes on the ground as she speaks, "I apologize. It was not my intention to come here mother, I-" It takes all her self control to avoid physically lashing out at the young woman. She manages to get by with a snarl.

"Don't you dare call me that! You lost any right to call me that almost a hundred years ago!" The young justicar bows her head further.

Lia stutters out her response, "Of course Lady Aethys. I meant no disrespect."

"I assume you're the reason the queens didn't raise any trouble over Samara coming here. Did you tell her to use you as a way in?" It's a struggle to keep her rage in check. _This one_ has many sins to answer for.

"No my lady. I am not certain Justicar Samara is even aware of our… past affiliation. We had only contacted the queens for permission to come a week ago. In only a few hours we received transmissions from several of the queens, each giving their approval. Some of them were quite distressed. Queen Calca in particular looked worried, terrified even. We faced no difficulty on the way here." She files away that bit of information for later. For now, she needs to lay down the law.

"Fine. Don't you dare assume that you're welcome here like the others. If you hadn't come with Samara I'd have you thrown back in that shuttle and dragged back into orbit. While you're here you are not to leave the prepared chambers, unless it's to reach the shuttle pad. Servants will bring food if necessary. You're not to speak to anyone while you're here if it can be helped and you will stay away from my family as much as possible. I will tolerate you for the time being, but as soon as the justicars leave, I expect to see you go with them. Now, go and leave me in peace. The route to the chambers has been sent to your omnitool." The young woman doesn't say another word, nor does she lift her gaze from the floor. She walks along the designated path without hesitation, the only sound coming from her being the faint hint of sobbing. Aethyta isn't moved. A hundred years of desperately trying to forget someone will do that.

 **Samara**

After depositing what little that had brought with them in the assigned chambers she, Aris, and Trava received a call from Aethyta, offering to introduce them to the two chosen liaison 'officers'. She'd been expecting a meeting in an office somewhere, perhaps with a few younger maidens. Instead, Aethyta brought them to an impressive holo-training facility. At the center of the arena are two young woman locked in high speed combat. One is a young asari in light combat leathers. The other was a real surprise, a young human with crimson hair and glowing eyes. The two of them fight with speed to put even long-time warriors to shame. The asari is faster, fighting with fluid grace and precision. The human, though slower, strikes with brutality that would make a krogan proud. Each one scores occasional hits, the asari's being numerous, light taps, while the human's are brutal, crashing blows. As the justicars take their place at the edge of the arena, Aethyta calls out to the fighters, "Pack it in girls. We've got company." The fight winds down with a few final swings, before the girls walk over, hand-in-hand. "Jane, Niria, say hello to Justicars Samara, Aris, and Trava. Justicars, this is Jane and Niria. They'll be our representatives traveling with you while you're in the sector." The human cocks an eyebrow at the matriarch but stays silent.

Justicar Trava sneers at the girls, "I wasn't aware that we'd be taking children with us. We're going into battle Matriarch. We don't need any dead weight." The crimson haired girl matches Trava's sneer, quietly growling at the same time.

The asari girl leans closer, "Easy. They don't know you yet. Some people just don't have any manners." As the human eases back, the maiden turns to them. "It's a pleasure to meet you justicars. We knew you were coming, but Lady Aethyta did not inform us of our role in your mission. I am happy to assist in any way I can. What about you Jane?" The girl considers for a moment.

"I suppose. As long as Spits can come too." A burly varren uncurls from one end of the arena and trots over. The beast drops a copious amount of drool as Jane scratches it behind the ears. She's heard of varren trained for war, but she's never seen one so large or with so much armor.

Ever the diplomat, Trava scoffs at the idea, "Why do we entertain this insect Justicar Samara? I can see no reason why this animal should be allowed to accompany us. What could that filthy beast and this savage possibly do to be of any use to us?" This time, Samara can feel the unmistakable surge of building dark energy as Jane snarls at Trava, swinging her blade into position. The now growling varren hunches lower, letting metallic talons extend from its artificial front legs.

"We could kill you for starters! A corpse would be more polite!" Samara steps between Trava and the human, looking down on Trava with more than a little disappointment.

"Return to the prepared chambers immediately Justicar Trava, before you shame yourself further." The violet skinned asari glares for a moment before lowering her eyes in contrition and stalking away. "I apologize for Trava's behavior. She is not used to working with others. Can you forgive her for this breach in courtesy?" The younger asari steps next to Jane and whispers into her ear. The rage immediately bleeds away, leading the girl to scabbard her blade.

"Maybe, if she leaves me alone." Samara bows her head in agreement. "We were going to get something to eat after training. If you wanna talk more we'll meet you in the dining hall." Jane and Niria leave the hall with her varren trotting behind.

Matriarch chuckles as they leave the room, "Gotta say, Trava may not be the brightest matron I've ever met."

"I will not claim she has any significant ability in the field of diplomacy, but she is a superb warrior and relentless hunter. I must ask, are the girls capable of fighting a real battle?" While the sparring was an impressive display, it wasn't necessarily enough.

"Niria's never been in battle before, but Jane's been teaching her to fight. And Jane's been fighting at least since she was thirteen, possibly much longer."

"I do not understand. While I'm fairly ignorant about the ways of humans, I was under the impression that they kept their children from battle at least until the age of eighteen." She's surprised to see Aethyta hesitate in her answer.

"Jane's… not a typical human. It'd be better if you ask her about it. Then again, she's not likely to share much. That scar on her face isn't the worst one she has. Let's just say that when the bullets start flying, you don't need to worry about her and she'll keep Niria out of trouble, at least during a fight."

"I see. I will join them in the dining hall to let them know what we'll be doing. Thank you again Lady Aethys."


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43 - A Reminder**

 _Date_ _: 10.6.2171_

 _Location : Interstellar Void_

 **Jane**

 _Nothing. A full month of flitting back and forth between half a dozen small outposts had gotten them a heaping pile of nothing. Jane has spent the time sparring with Niria to keep her edge, working on the ship whenever she could keep the engineering crew from noticing,_ _ **sparring**_ _with Niria, and occasionally talking to Samara. The justicar has shown her nothing but courtesy and respect since they'd left, politely posing questions about Jane or Spits or any of a dozen other topics._

 _Samara didn't blink one bit at what Jane had done on Omega, offering only a few words of condolence for Sara. The only emotion she'd shown had been a brief flash of rage when Jane gave a vague description of where her eyes had come from. "It was an… experiment." Her discomfort had prompted Samara to pursue the subject._

" _What was the purpose of the experiment?" She hadn't answered. Talking about those days wasn't exactly easy, even years later. "Why did you agree to it?"_

" _I didn't really have any say in the matter." That's when the anger showed up._

" _And where are those responsible now?"_

" _They're gone. All of them." Samara had bowed her head and dropped the subject. The other three justicars spoke far less. The matron with the burns on her throat, Aris, hadn't spoken at all, opting instead to communicate through sign language. A few signs to point out the ship's hygiene facilities and the mess hall was all the justicar had offered for quite a while. Truthfully, Jane didn't mind the silence, even if it did make it a bit difficult for her to teach Jane a few tricks to improve her barriers in week two._

 _Aris was an ocean of civility compared to Justicar Trava. At least Aris didn't sneer at her when she entered the room or whisper insults at every opportunity. Either Trava doesn't realize how good Jane's hearing is, or she does and is simply doing her best to be a bitch. The woman was also disdainful of Jane's… activities with Niria. Which is why Jane made sure that they were as loud and as obvious as possible anytime they happened to be in bed when Trava returned to her own bunk in the next room. The justicar's glares had gotten more hostile, but the bags under her eyes were more than worth it._

 _The youngest justicar was a very different story than the others. Lia did everything she could to avoid Jane and Niria, going so far as to duck out of the room anytime they entered. When Jane had finally managed to corner her for a moment to demand the reason, all the explanation Lia gave was, "I honor my promise." Then the young woman had made her way out, leaving Jane even more confused than before._

 _As another day dawns, Jane prepares herself for the all too familiar tedium of their established routine. Drift through space, receive and examine transmissions from various sources, make an FTL jump to the next system, find nothing special, rinse, repeat. They'd encountered a few small time smugglers, but other than a few drugs, none of them had been worth more than a call to whatever authorities happened to be nearby._

 _Just as Jane opens her eyes she can feel the ship drop out of FTL. Niria's still asleep so Jane moves slowly to avoid waking her, a feat made all the more difficult by the fact that Jane always ended up putting her arms around the girl while they slept. It takes a few minutes, but eventually her arm is clear and she can start strapping her plates on. The breastplate is the only one locked in place when an alarm starts blaring, shortly followed by a warning from the ship's captain, "All hands brace for combat maneuvers. All nonessential personnel return to habitation areas and remain there until the all clear is given." This announcement is followed by a minor tremble in the deck as the ship's VI compensates for maneuvers with slight changes in gravity._

 _Jane slaps the rest of her plates into place as quickly as she can. Finally some excitement! The last few latches lock into place just in time for Niria to roll off the side of the bed. Never a morning person, Niria mumbles out several curses before falling back asleep on the floor. Jane chuckles to herself before waving Spits over. Being too heavy to sleep on the foot of their already slightly over-stressed bed, the lovable oaf had made something of a nest in the corner, with a pile of any shiny and loose items he'd gotten ahold of over the last month. The small mountain of beloved junk shifts and scatters as he gets to his feet and trots over. Jane whispers in his ear and leans back to watch as he takes position at the foot of the bed. Spits drags his tongue across Niria's bare feet, leaving a dollop of drool as he goes. Knowing how gross it feels, Jane isn't at all surprised when Niria snaps awake with a shout. "Eww! Stop! Stop that!" She frantically scoots back away from Spits while he drags his tongue across the floor, ready to lick her again. Once her back is against the wall, Jane calls him away, leaving Niria to glare at her. "Dammit Jane! You know how gross that is!" Her girlfriend grabs one of Jane's back-up shirts and frantically wipes her feet off, leaving it completely soaked by the time she's done._

" _Sorry, but I thought it would be funny." If looks could kill Jane would have died then and there. Instead her smile only grows as Niria gets to her feet. "Come on and get dressed, something's happening." Though muttering all kinds of unflattering things under her breath, Niria quickly gets dressed. When the two of them are fully clothed and armed, they leave their room for the nearby mess hall. That's as far as they get when Samara's voice catches the._

" _Jane, Niria, please come here." The four justicars are armored and armed themselves, but none of them are moving to leave the hall. "Our efforts have paid off and the captain is currently ordering an attack against what has been confirmed as one of the wanted pirate vessel. Though these criminals do not have as dark a history as those above them, they will likely have some useful information."_

" _Aren't we going to go watch?" Jane is itching to see what's happening. She's never been involved in space combat beyond a few boarding actions at Mindoir, and those had been purely close combat rescue missions._

 _Trava snorts in derision but stays silent otherwise. It's Samara that explains, "The captain of this vessel has the matter well in hand. It would be of no benefit for us to be present on the bridge. In fact, our presence would likely serve as little more than a distraction."_

 **Niria**

She's not surprised at the crestfallen look on Jane's face. It's the same feeling Niria has. She watches Jane reign in her irritation before starting to pace back and forth. They can feel the ship's internal gravity shift multiple times to compensate for maneuvers. There are even a few moments when vibrations from minor hull impacts shake the room.

Eventually, Jane loses her patience, "Screw this." Niria watches her rapidly type out a sequence of commands on her omnitool with a look of absolute concentration. Moments later, Jane's face lights up with vicious satisfaction, asking jokingly "How come nobody keeps their security protocols up to date anymore?" Before Niria can ask what Jane means, the girl waves her omnitool at the vid screens in the mess hall, hijacking their displays and putting up a mix of tac feeds and camera shots from the ship's hull. Aris gives an amused grunt before turning to watch the screens. Trava mutters something about 'disrespectful apes', but she snaps her mouth shut after Samara levels a baleful glare. As usual, Lia stays as quiet and out of the way as possible.

The ship they're on is a corvette sized vessel purchased from the turian hierarchy almost a century ago. Against a capital ship, it would be little more than a stinging insect. Against a ship full of piratical scum, it was a deadly opponent. She can't help but mirror some of Jane's excitement as they watch the ship make another pass over the target vessel, letting loose a volley of fire from the GARDIAN system. Flashes of laser fire light up the screen and then the feed cuts to another angle as the ship comes back around.

It doesn't look like another run will be needed. The target ship is already venting atmosphere in three places and it's engines have cut out. The gravity shifts again, settling back to normal as the ship pulls alongside the target vessel. One of the screens shows their ship's docking collar latching their opposite's hull, over an airlock. Samara gets to her feet, "To the docking collar sisters. We will break those who fight back. However, we need prisoners if we are to learn where they are based." Jane is almost bouncing in excitement at the prospect of combat. That excitement is promptly punctured with the justicar's next statement. "Jane and Niria, the two of you will be remaining here." Niria cringes at the barely leashed rage in Jane's eyes. With the exception of Samara, the others all take a step back, Trava going so far as to slide a hand her pistol. "Is there something wrong Jane?" There's no mockery or derision in the question.

"What do you mean we're staying here?!" Niria has no doubt that half the ship can hear Jane shouting. "How can you keep me from a fight?! I can help. I can fight!"

Rather than anger at her outburst, Samara looks on with nothing but sympathy, "I know that Jane. Matriarch Aethyta spoke at length about your abilities and combat history. In battle, you are a whirlwind of destruction. A relentless, merciless warrior that leaves behind little on the battlefield beyond death and mayhem. An angel to her allies, and doom to her enemies. In war, such a battle-sister would be priceless beyond compare. But this is not war and today, we do not need annihilation. We need precision, focus, and above all, prisoners. I am sorry Jane, but leaving survivors is not something you are well versed in and this battle is not one you are suited for. Please remain here whilst we conduct our assault." Jane's shoulders slump a little bit more with every word. As Samara and the others leave the room, Niria sits next to Jane, gently holding her hand. Her slight grip on Niria's hand is massive contrast to the crushing hold she has on the bench next to her.

 **Jane**

 _It's torture waiting for word as the others go into battle. The only small consolation comes from the camera feeds on the other ship. Their security was laughably pathetic, crumbling in seconds under her attention. The angles suck, the quality is low, and the feeds are slightly intermittent, but it's better than nothing. Watching the justicars work is actually fairly interesting. Samara is all fluid grace and serene detachment, dispatching enemies with effortless ease. Trava and Aris, though very different in attitude, are almost carbon copies in battle. Both are born attrition fighters, holding ground at every turn, absorbing incoming fire with fortress-like barriers to give Samara and Lia time to strike. Lia herself is like a ghost. While the others fight in the open, Lia ducks through the narrow service corridors or through a few holes in the walls, before striking from behind. More than one pirate dies never having seen his killer._

 _The justicars rip through the pirates like a hot knife through butter, securing the ship's bridge in no time and taking almost a dozen prisoners in varying states of dismemberment. Lia and Aris are sent to secure the engine room as Samara and Trava begin questioning the survivors. Since it looks like the excitement is over, Jane starts spooling through the footage from the fight. Despite missing out on the action, there are some things that she can get from this. There are a few biotic techniques that could improve her own abilities, especially Aris' use of triple layered barriers._

 _The recording reaches one particularly intense engagement where four pirates were, for a short time, able to a choke-point with a heavy machine gun. Aris and Trava had forged ahead, using a fascinating linked barrier to bull through the storm of bullets. Once close enough, they used the barrier to crush the pirates against the wall. Something catches her eye as the feed reaches the end of it's usefulness. One of the corpses was stuck on the wall at the edge of sight, impaled on a damaged segment of the bulkhead behind it. It has mark on its throat that looks so familiar. Jane pauses the feed and zooms in on the offending mark, trying to will it into focus. A full minute of concentration passes before the memory suddenly clicks into place. With it comes a blinding flash of absolute hatred._

 _Snarling at what it could be, Jane leaps to her feet and storms out the mess hall, with Niria and Spits right behind. The young asari pleads with Jane to stop and tell her what's wrong, but she can't. All thoughts beyond confirming her suspicion are subsumed by a haze of red. The crew eagerly clears the way as she moves towards the docking collar, none of them willing to test the fury that they've been warned about. The only resistance comes from the fire team ordered to guard against a possible counter assault. Their leader, an asari matron with more courage than brains, steps into her path and demands that she return to the habitation area. Jane doesn't break her stride as she waves a hand at the obstacle. The matron is thrown into the wall before sliding to the floor in a dazed heap. Her team is at a loss on what to do as Jane draws her sword and storms into the ship. Niria is right behind her, with her own narrow blade in hand._

 _In moments they arrive at the corridor from the camera feed. Three bodies are piled against the wall, but the only one she cares about, a batarian missing two eyes, is still on its feet. If not for the spar of metal sticking out of his chest, it would look like he was just resting against the wall. Jane marches over, rips off the remains of his chestplate, and finds it. Three curved red lines traveling up his neck. The symbol of the Red Wake, tattooed on less than a year ago if she's any judge. Jane draws a dagger from her belt and carves off the slice of meat with the tattoo. Her grisly trophy in hand, Jane stomps further into the ship, the rage so powerful that the ground under her feet warps under the energy flowing out of her._

 **Samara**

"Your life depends on your cooperation captain. Where are you based and whom do you serve?" After securing the bridge, she had immediately begun the interrogation. The captain is a relatively young asari with a battered set of eclipse armor, likely peeled from a corpse if the poorly patched bullet holes are any indication. Though clearly frightened, the maiden is surprisingly stubborn.

"I'll give you nothing without assurances justicar. Give me amnesty or you get nothing." The rest of the prisoners keep their eyes on the ground, happy to avoid attention for now. There are a number of techniques she could use to draw the information out, but she never gets the chance to use them. A feeling of immense power floods the bridge as Jane storms into the room. Her eyes are locked on the captain who has but a moment to react to the advancing human. "Who the he-" Jane throws an arm forward and the asari captain is hurled back into the bulkhead. She's pinned in place under a torrent of energy. Before Samara can demand answers, Jane draws her black blade and stabs it into the wall less than an inch from the captain's neck.

With a snarl, Jane poses her own question, "How long have you served those murderous swine?!" The woman squirms under Jane's malevolent gaze. Samara can see the a single wrong move from the asari pirate will bring about an agonizing death.

"What?" The captain is trembling in terror as Jane holds up a ragged hunk of flesh with a red symbol on it and growls at her.

"The Red Wake! How long have you been their dog you pirate whore?!" The entire bridge is shaking madly. Samara can feel the raw power pouring out of Jane. The glass displays on every console shatter, causing a rain of razor sharp shards to fall onto the heads of the nine men kneeling off the the side. Jane is almost frothing at the mouth in blind rage "Answer the question! Answer me or your screams will wake the dead!" The flood of energy pinning the asari against the wall redoubles, drawing a miserable groan from the woman. The pressure on Samara's mind only grows and the captain is actually being forced _into_ the wall. She can hear bones breaking.

"Jane! If you keep this up she will be unable to tell you anything! You must let her down!" The girl grinds her teeth but the power holding the asari in place fades away, and she collapses in a mewling heap. Jane rips her blade out of the wall before placing the tip under the woman's chin. Amazingly, the pirate is still awake, her eyes flooded with terror at the utter lack of mercy in the girl's eyes.

"Last chance! Answer me, or I'll skin you alive!" To back up her threat, Jane gathers energy and lashes out at the woman's left hand. A scream of agony floods the room as the flesh boils away in a flash of blinding light, leaving behind nothing but bleached bones and rapidly growing puddle of blood. The asari looks at the now fleshless hand, pure horror in her eyes. Jane slaps the side of her face with the flat of her blade in a silent demand for answers.

The mutilated pirate lets out a terror choked answer at last, "A few months. They contacted our boss about finding someone. He accepted and started sending small raids out to start looking. Then the Wake sent an observer to help. We picked him up on Omega and we were supposed to start raiding larger outposts so he could start gathering more information. But then you showed up. Please, he wasn't here long enough for more. I don't know anything else. Oh goddess, please give me some medigel. I'm gonna bleed out." Samara has never held much compassion for piratical scum. The target of her centuries long hunt has utilized such filth to escape many, many times. But even she thinks that's enough.

"Jane, please back away and allow Aris to apply medigel. The captain may still be useful." The human girl clearly doesn't agree, or maybe she's so deep into her rage that she can't think anymore. Jane swing her blade up, making ready for a killing blow.

 **Jane**

 _The hatred is overwhelming. They're still hunting her. After leaving them utterly devastated twice over, the Red Wake is_ _ **still**_ _hunting her. The fact that this pathetic worm is just a pawn, too ignorant to realize what she had stumbled into, has no bearing on her hatred. The asari is still Wake scum. She's one of them!_

 _Jane raises Abyss, ready to let her hatred draw more blood, but a soft grip on her wrist stops the execution in its tracks. She snaps her head to the side and her snarl of rage dies in her throat. Niria is gently holding her wrist, looking into her eyes, not with anger or revulsion, but with depthless sorrow, "Enough. Let it go. She has nothing else for you. Come back to me… please…" The rage slowly leaks out of her. With a heavy sigh, Jane slots Abyss back into place and lets Niria walk her away from the wall. Niria stops to nod at Samara before moving to the door with Jane following close behind._

 _They're almost out of the bridge when a quiet whisper reached her ear, "Now there's an animal I never thought I'd see on a leash." She stops in her tracks, slowly turning to the source of the voice. The pirates are all kneeling in a line, with only a few of them daring to look at her. The voice is familiar, but the proper face is nowhere to be seen. Jane stalks closer, trying to figure out which bastard it was. It's only when the stench of cologne hits her that she can place the voice. Jane zeroes in on the source, "Tell me Hassen," the third human in line flinches at the name, "how long did it take for you to go crawling back to the Wake. Your surgeon was pretty good, giving you a new face so you could get back without them realizing what you did, but you forgot to change your scent. You paid my toll and I gave you a second chance. Then you went and pissed it away." The merc tries to back away, but there's nowhere to go. "I don't do third chances Hassen." Jane gathers energy in her hand and hurls it at the kneeling merc. Hassen is blasted into pieces by the impact, splattering gore across almost everyone in the room._

 _One of the other pirates, a surprisingly fat krogan, manages to break his bonds and surges to his feet. He charges Jane, trying desperately to bull her over and escape. She side steps before lancing a kick at his right leg. With a roar of pain, the merc's now shattered knee buckles under him, dropping the krogan on his stomach. Jane slams a knee into his back and draws her dagger again. With the rest of the pirates looking on, she jams the blade under his crest. The krogan's enraged shouting quickly shifts to horrified screaming as she saws through the cartilaginous connective tissue. With a sucking squelch, Jane rips the krogan's yellow head crest off and throws it onto the ground in front of the other pirates. Spits grabs the crest, lightly chewing on it right in front of the krogan. The overgrown lizard is weeping like an infant as she shouts at the others, "Answer all the justicar's questions, or this will be end up being the kindest thing I do to any of you!"_

 **Niria**

After finishing her tirade, Jane stormed off of the bridge. They'd made it halfway back to the ship when Jane turned to the nearest bulkhead and began slamming her fists into the wall, howling in rage. She winces at the sound of bones breaking. Niria wraps her arms around Jane's stomach and tries to pull her away, "Jane stop! You're just hurting yourself!" The blind fury bleeds away, dropping Jane to her knees in tears. Niria holds her close, whispering in her ear. "It's alright… I'm here for you."

"It's not alright! I left them alone too long… and now they're strong enough to hurt people again..." Jane rarely talks about the Wake, outside of vulgar promises to do terrible things to their leader when she finds him.

"It'll be alright. We'll… we'll figure something out. Maybe Saffa can help." Jane is shaking feverishly as Niria helps her to her feet. They slowly walk back to the ship, pointedly ignoring the bewildered looks from the fire-team at the docking collar. Before they go back to their room, Niria drags Jane to the infirmary, despite the girl's protests. The doctor on duty takes one look at her hands, arches a brow, and starts wrapping the broken digits. Afterwards, they return to their room. Niria sends a message to Aethyta, detailing what happened. She receives a terse return message with a promise to look into it. They sit in silence for a long while, not moving much until they feel the ship break contact with the other vessel. The justicars arrive a few minutes later, quietly speaking amongst themselves.

An hour after their arrival, Samara enters the room. She looks down at them, taking in Jane's wrapped hands and generally disheveled appearance without judgement. "We have the location of their primary facility. Your… display, proved to be sufficient motivation for the rest of the crew, who are now bound in the cargo hold. They provided an abundance of information, so much so that it will require a far larger force to deal with all the possible leads. We will deposit them on the nearest colony so that a full accounting of their crimes can be properly leveled against them. After which, we shall return to Liseera to receive any intelligence on our fugitives, and then we will gather a strike force to destroy the pirate's base of operations. In the meantime," Samara takes a seat across from them, her face utterly devoid of expression, "I would hear of your past affiliation with the group you call the Red Wake, and why they drive you to such rage."

 _Date_ _: 11.16.2171_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

Jane and Niria's first outing with the justicars hadn't been quite as successful as she'd hoped, but at least all four of the justicars had returned alive with some useful information, so that was something. Aethyta had met them on the pad, but left Jane and Niria alone after seeing the look on Jane's face. The girls immediately left the landing pad, with Spits trotting behind them, holding something in his teeth that looked suspiciously like a krogan's crest. Niria's message had mentioned the Red Wake's return, however small it might currently be, and the disturbing effect it had on Jane. Aethyta sent word to David in the hopes that maybe the Alliance might have something. His answer had been less than welcome, "Sorry Aethyta, we're hitting them whenever we can, but most of them seem to be hiding in territory outside Alliance authority. We can't move against them full scale without starting a war with the batarians or the independent colonies in the Terminus." She'd thanked him for trying and closed the channel.

After speaking to Samara about what they'd learned, Aethyta sent a petition to the Asari government for assistance in destroying the pirates. In response, they received promises of support from five colonies, giving them a strike force of fifteen additional ships, about two hundred huntresses, and a squad of commandos. The justicars were all off with leaders of the strike force, planning the impending assault, along with the attacks necessary to herd the pirates back to base. All of them, with the exception of the one standing at attention across from her. Lia had come to her without delay when she'd called. "The six of you are going back out soon. When the fighting gets up close and personal, Jane is gonna be right in the thick of it and Niria is going to insist on being right there with her. The fact that these pirate shitheads are in league with the Red Wake is going to drive Jane out of her senses, and that means that she's not going to be taking good care of herself in a fight," Aethyta pauses for a moment, barely able to stomach what she's about to say, "so that's what you are going to do. If Jane loses herself to the rage, **you** will be there to keep her and Niria alive."

The young justicar doesn't flinch in her answer, "Yes Lady Aethys. I give you my oath that I will do all I can to keep them safe."

"And how far will you go to honor that oath?"

"I shall stop at nothing. If it comes down to it, I will give all for them. My life, for theirs." Aethyta nods and shoos the woman out.

 _Date_ _: 12.15.2171_

 _Location : System 22.91 - Oort Cloud_

 **Samara**

She readies her pistol, walking through the mantras of focus as their boarding pod nears the hull of the pirate base. Their task force had ripped through the few ships the pirates had on hand before blockading the station. A few fools had tried to run the blockade in shuttles, but each and everyone had been blown to pieces. Now they, along with the rest of their assault force, are hurtling towards the station, their advance covered by heavy fire from the blockade. "Once the hull is breached, follow the plan as closely as possible. We are expecting at least a hundred pirates, but that number is not a guarantee. There could be significantly more. Therefore, we will search for any slaves or stolen cargo. Once we have retaken anyone or anything that's been taken, we will evacuate the base and the fleet will destroy it."

She glances down the line, spotting Jane and Niria right at the door. Jane is whispering advice into Niria's ear, trying to still the inexperienced asari's obvious anxiety. Lia is not far away, keeping a steady eye on the girls, in stark contrast with her earlier behavior. Since their return to Liseera, Lia has repeatedly placed herself into the line of fire to keep the girls safe, much to the human girl's ire. Jane had shoved her out of the way more than once, before throwing herself into battle. Jane's already prodigious fury had only grown in the small raids over the last month. She was always at the front, always on the attack, killing with wild abandon. And on her heels, every step of the way, was Niria.

The asari maiden was not overly aggressive by nature. She had none of Jane's fury, but what she did have in spades was focus and stubborn courage. Not matter how heavy incoming fire became, Niria would stay with Jane, cutting down anyone 'lucky' enough to get behind her or using her rifle to clip anyone who tried to get a long range shot at her mate. While Jane's black sword could cut through armor without slowing, Niria's more conventional blade forced her to focus on the relatively thin joints of their enemy's armor. She has also has proven quite adept with a biotic warp, using the ability to weaken her opponent's armor before stabbing her blade through the weakened plates. The two of them fight with uncanny coordination. Jane is power and fury, while Niria is speed and grace. Together, they carve through the opposition without slowing.

"We are not looking for prisoners today. If you are threatened, do not hesitate to kill. Good luck sisters, and goddess be with you." The rest of the asari with them all nod solemnly and finish their own preparations.

As they make ready for combat, the pod's VI announces, "Impact in twenty seconds. Brace for deceleration. Brace. Brace. Brace." Moments later, they can feel the retro-thrusters fire, slowing their approach to keep them from being crushed against the side of the station. The pod makes contact and its mag-locks latch onto the plating. A set of cutting lasers start boring through the hull, breaching it in no time. Jane steps to the front and wraps herself in a triple layered barrier, courtesy of Aris' lessons. The pod's doors bloom out like a steel flower's petals. A storm of gunfire sails in, but the assault is blunted by Jane's barrier as she charges through the breach, letting loose a piercing howl and pirates start dying.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44 - A Future**

 _Date_ _: 12.15.2171_

 _Location : System 22.91 - Pirate Den_

 **Jane**

 _There are plenty of targets. The asari at her back manage to keep pace… barely. Niria is the only one that doesn't lag behind at all, keeping her back clear as she slices through another pirate. As the corpse falls to the ground in pieces, Jane draws one of her guns and pours fire into a group trying to suppress the other boarding pods. With a brief reprieve from the incoming fire, a group of huntresses surges forward, hammering the few pirates still holding position with a mix of gunfire and biotics. While their support moves up, Jane hurls a warp field at another group to the arbitrarily designated 'south'. Writhing in agony as the field slowly tears them apart, the pirates are easy prey for the fire teams moving in, or the occasional mauling from Spits. Niria drops a singularity in the middle of another group. The artificial black hole rips them off their feet, holding them in the air for Jane to send a shockwave at them. When the two biotic fields collide, an explosion of dark energy rips the pirates into pieces, splattering them all across the bay._

 _The cacophony of battle fades rapidly after that, replaced by an occasional burst of gunfire from one of the teams breaking off into the side passages to search for stolen goods and people. Lia, now acting as their shadow in battle, silently moves to watch for any threats. Samara is giving orders to Trava and Aris, sending the two matrons with almost half the assault force to secure the station's reactor to make sure it can't be overloaded before they're done. Shortly after the others leave, Samara makes her way over, a grim look darkening her face, "We have recovered the first group of kidnapping victims. If you held any reservations over our decision to execute all of these criminals, I believe it is safe to say that all such doubts shall soon be dispelled." Samara waves them into line behind her and she leads them down one of the corridors left alone by the assault teams. They move quickly, dispatching anyone foolish enough to attack them. As they go, Samara quickly summarizes what has been done to the recovered captives. Beaten, mutilated, often violated, and uniformly implanted with typical slaver obedience chips. As the list of atrocities grows, Jane's rage becomes ever more difficult to reign in._

 **Samara**

As they break through a third hastily improvised checkpoint, Samara is forced yet again to reign in Jane. The human girl has repeatedly moved in ahead of the group and launched straight to melee with no thought of tactical caution. She is taking hits that aren't necessary, leading to more than one shot breaking through her shields to impact her armor or to punch a small hole in one of the joints. Niria stays with her, covering the growing gaps in her defenses as best she can, but there's just too much incoming fire to block it all. Even her varren isn't vicious enough to keep her unharmed

While she clearly gives no thought to her own safety, Jane is still clear headed enough to throw herself between Niria and the heaviest fire. At the fourth checkpoint, there's a heavy chaingun throwing shells down the hall, the first two breaking against Niria's barriers. She's pushed back a step, but then Jane is there, projecting an impenetrable shield to hold back the flood, before charging ahead to engage. The human girl hits the barricade like a bomb, slashing and stabbing everything in sight. Once the defenders are reduced to a scattering of bloody chunks, they step up to their target, one of the cargo bays. Jane's blade lights up with biotic energy and she slashes it into the door. After four cuts, followed by a small biotic pull, they have a way in, and the stench has a way out.

The smell of unwashed bodies, bodily waste, old blood, and untreated wounds crashes into them. For once, Jane doesn't charge in. In fact, she actually backs away from the door, mumbling under her breath. Samara isn't close enough to hear what's being said, but she is close enough to see the color drain from her face. The senior justicar steps to the door and takes in the scene. Two dozen asari look out, each one mutilated to some degree. Limbs missing, eyes removed, crests broken, and a dozen other wounds. The only things they all have in common are the shattered, hollow looks on their faces, and low hum coming from all of them. The sound is so low that she doesn't so much hear it as she does feel it. There are multiple overlapping pulses buried beneath the sound. While clearly uncomfortable for her, Lia, and Niria, there don't seem to be any negative effects, at least not for them. Samara tries to call a medical team for the captives, but she's stopped by a feral growling from behind her.

Jane is braced against the far wall with Niria frantically trying to reach her, "Jane! What's wrong? Please, tell me what's wrong. Wha-" She's rebuffed by a small biotic pulse. The young human's head snaps around to look at the room, drawing a gasp from them all. Her eyes are pure black without the slightest hint of humanity.

 **Jane**

 _She opened the way and everything turned to shadow. From the shadows came the sound. With the sound came the memories. Memories of ghoulish experiments and the screams of the innocent echoing across eternity. With the memories came rage. Rage at forces that have tormented her/him/them for eons. And with the rage she/he/they can hear a signal buried in the sound. Taking in her/his/their surroundings as if for the first time, Jane discounts the others in the hall, each one meaningless and grey… except two. One is a small green light, looking to her/him/them with nothing but affection. The other, the one closest to her/him/them, is a bright silver star, an impossibly beautiful light in the shadows, but it's not enough. A single instant of serenity is buried by abyssal fury as she/he/they takes off towards the source of the signal, with the green light bounding behind._

 _Thousands of voices whisper/shout/roar/beg for the signal to end. Other grey ones try to stop her/him/them, but they can do nothing. Armor is cracked, flesh is slashed, doors are shattered, and the screams without almost smother the screams within. Bullets fly and her/his/their body is pierced over and over, but the pain is nothing she/he/they haven't felt before. Blood falls from her/his/their body, leaving a small trail through the halls of the station. She/he/they can't help but feel as though the dark red color is wrong. It should be blue… or it should be green… or grey… no! It should be black. Dissonance! Argument! Incomprehensible squabble! It only fuels the rage that propels her/him/them through the halls, through the meaningless greys, and through the final barricade. A dozen grey ones wait inside, paralyzed by the sight of her/him/them bathed in blood and hate. But the greys don't matter at all. Instead, all focus is on the dark void at the center of the room. It stands with arms extended, blades raised as if in praise._

" _Embrace your end Fulcrum!" and the room descends into anarchy._

 **Niria**

She'd been nervous before the battle started. Worried that she wouldn't live up to Jane's expectations or that Saffa would be disappointed with her. Then the fight had actually started and things seemed to be going well. But something was happening to Jane. Niria had always known about the anger deep down. Jane did everything she could to keep the darkest rage buried as far away from Niria as possible. Through each barricade, despite the obvious difficulty she was having, Jane kept a muzzle on it. Then they found the captives. Two dozens young asari, beaten and brutalized beyond all sense. Moments after opening the door and hearing the captives' humming, Jane lost control. At first, Niria thought the girl would shake it off, but it wasn't to be. Instead she'd charged further into the station, leaving a trail of absolute carnage behind her, not to mention a steadily growing line of her own blood.

Samara sent the captives' location to one of the medteams and immediately took off after Jane, with Niria and Lia struggling to keep pace. They rush down the blood drenched corridor, passing scraps of blasted flesh and shattered barricades. A plethora of screams echo down the corridor, coupled with the sound of clashing blades. As they reach the blasted doors of the station's command post, a brutal migraine blossoms in her skull. Samara and Lia are in the same boat, both of them grinding their teeth against the blinding pain. Staggering through the door, the three of them are treated to a sight right out of a horror vid. Gore of multiple hues is splashed against almost every surface in the room. The few partially intact bodies left have looks of abject terror locked on their faces and shredded flesh scattered across what used to be their workstations. One body, a batarian, is hanging from the roof, his own intestines playing the part of the noose. Spits is moving from body to body, savaging each one, either making sure they're dead or looking for a snack.

At the center of the chamber Jane is wildly attacking a black armored figure. Her opponent is shaped like a human, but moves with inhuman grace and its twin blades strike with as much power as Jane. Whatever the creature is, it has clearly been injured. Black ichor is leaking from a dozen cuts and its armor is riddled with cracks. As Niria looks on Jane smashes her sword's pommel into the creature's face, shattering the mirrored black visor. Beneath is a soulless, rotting, black skinned face lined with eerie blue lines, and devoid of all emotion. The creature is only knocked back a single step before it launches into a blistering attack with both blades. Niria has never seen Jane move so quickly, twisting and twirling fast enough to dodge around the figure's dark swords, before slicing pieces off of her prey with lightning fast returns.

As Jane and the creature tear at each other, the two other entrances open up and more pirates storm in. The grisly look of the room actually stops them in their tracks. Their distraction is short lived, but more than long enough for Niria and the justicars to close in. She keeps to the simple forms Jane has taught her, ever mindful of one of her first lessons. " _When your opponent knows what he's doing, keep things random. Don't give him an obvious strategy to adapt to. When they don't know the blade, stick to the basic forms. It'll shorten your reaction times if you don't have to think too far ahead._ " As Samara and Lia move in with a mix of biotics and pistol fire, Niria attacks with the basic forms that Jane has spent so much time hammering into her head.

Her first target, a truly repulsive batarian with some sort of ugly rash on his face, is the first to fall. His shields, tuned to stop high velocity projectiles, don't flash into being as her relatively slow moving blade slams into the thin material at his throat. Her sword parts the material with ease, opening his neck down to his spine. As the batarian falls to the ground, dying with a strangled moan, she moves on to the next man in line, careful to follow another of Jane's lessons. " _When you've got more than one target, don't be afraid to use one of them as a shield. Slice their eyes out and step behind them. In close quarters they'll soak up a couple shots before falling down._ " A turian is the 'lucky' one. She hits him with a shallow cut across the face, drawing a scream as he drops his gun and brings his hands to the shredded orbs. Before he can react, Niria wraps him in a biotic field, grabs him by the cowl, and drags him between herself and incoming fire. The turian is riddled by his comrades' bullets, silencing his screams forever. She shoves the corpse at the rest of his squad and closes in with Lia right next to her.

The young justicar keeps herself between Niria and the worst of the enemy fire. She doesn't have much time to think about Lia or the terrifying clash between Jane and the creature as the next target closes in.

 **Jane**

 _The grey ones died quickly in flashes of light and blood. The dark one, he still fights, matching her/his/their hateful rage with its own cold, soulless fury. Both fighters take heavy damage, dropping blood and ichor with every turn. She/he/they shatter the dark one's face shield, letting a baleful blue glow seep out of the creature's face. She/he/they keep moving, slashing, breaking, and stabbing as fast as possible. The creature is taking far more damage than those that she/he/they have fought before. As the bright star and the friendly greys keep the hostile greys at bay, she/he/they smash Abyss down through the creatures left arm, severing the limb at the shoulder and sending one of its dark blades crashing to the ground. There's no time to celebrate or capitalize on this, as the creature pivots faster than thought and rams its own blade through her/his/their stomach._

 **Niria**

Pure panic seizes her as the dark blade is stabbed into Jane's belly. Niria takes a single step towards the creature, intent on doing something, anything to stop it from killing her love, but it's unnecessary. Jane, rather than being paralyzed by agony as most people would be, locks a hand on the creatures remaining arm and flashes a surge of biotic energy into the limb. For the first time, the creature gives voice to pain as its arm is blasted into dust. The black figure only a moment to process its failing before Jane slams an energy wreathed fist into its chest, catapulting it into the bulkhead. Niria and the justicars finish of the last of the pirates, with help from the newly arrived commando team, as Jane closes in on the creature.

 **Priest**

He has failed. The master's mandate was the destruction of the Fulcrum. The signal drove his target into an unthinking rage and this should have given him all the advantage he'd need. But the Fulcrum has grown far more powerful during its time in hiding. Losing his arm was no real loss. It could be reattached later without trouble. Ramming his blade into the Fulcrum's stomach should have been the end of it, but even the nanites coating his blade, a gift from the master, are proving to be useless. The Fulcrum's body has no trouble reducing the nanites to their base materials and absorbing that to repair the damage he has caused.

The priest is not capable of feeling pain. Instead, as the Fulcrum destroys his other arm, he gives voice to the fury of failure. He is blasted into the bulkhead, completely unable to change his fate. As the Fulcrum closes in to finish him, his master pulses a final command to activate his observation failsafes. Pleased to be able to serve a final purpose in his death. A feeling of serenity settles in his mind as the Fulcrum slashes its blade into his neck and everything goes dark.

 **Niria**

The whole room goes silent as the creature's severed head smacks into the ground. Its body is consumed by a haze of red lightning before it collapses into dust. The last of the pirates are already dead and Samara is talking to the reactor assault group, but Niria only has eyes for Jane. She sprints to Jane's side, trying to get her attention. Her love's eyes are still completely black and look out with little recognition. "Jane, talk to me… please. You're badly hurt and I need you to talk to me." She's careful to avoid touching the blade still rammed through Jane's stomach. A heavy stream of blood is pouring out of her, leaving a gruesome trail along the contours of her armor.

Jane rapidly blinks at her, mumbling complete gibberish in a dozen overlapping languages. Niria catches a few somewhat familiar words here and there, but nothing even remotely approaching a cohesive sentence. She puts her hands on her love's cheeks and touches her forehead to Jane's, gently reaching out with her mind, "Focus on my voice. Come back to me. Come back Jane." Slowly, the girl's eyes shift back to their true shade, that gorgeous glowing violet. With the 'normal' color, comes the return of comprehension.

"Niria? What… Where?"

"It's me Jane. We're on the pirate station. Do you remember what happened?" Jane's face crinkles as she tries to remember.

"Heard a sound… everything went dark." Pure exhaustion is starting to drag Jane to her knees. Spits trots over and gently rubs his head on her back, quietly chuffing at her. "Killed the greys… got to the source…" Jane looks down at her stomach, "Source stabbed me… I killed the sound… Trapped in the shadows… but heard you." Jane takes one of Niria's hands in her own, "You pulled me back… a shining silver light in the darkness." She leans in a plants a kiss a Jane's forehead, drawing a pained smile from her.

"We need to get you to the medbay Jane. I'm not a doctor, but I don't think having a sword in your gut is too good for you." A pair of medics come running to them, but Jane waves them off at first.

"Let me get it out myself. It's not the first time I've have to pull one out." She takes hold of the dark blade and wraps it in a golden haze. After several seconds, the black metal dissolves into a foul smelling liquid slurry, before disappearing in a manner similar to the creature who'd wielded it. Jane goes to stand and ends up falling back to her knees before doubling over to retch out a torrent of blood and bile. After emptying her stomach, Jane whispers to Niria, "Actually… I'm gonna need a little help… please." The two medics bring a stretcher over and Niria helps Jane lay down on it. "They might need help carrying me. I'm a bit heavier than I look." Despite being fairly slim, Niria knows that Jane weighs in at over 140 kilos. Without question, Lia and Niria each take one handle for the stretcher. Together with the medics, the two of them carry the now unconscious Jane back to the boarding pods.

 **Samara**

The senior justicar watches the human girl as she's carried from the room, disturbed at what she's witnessed. Never before has she seen someone fight with so much power and speed. It shouldn't be possible, even for the mightiest biotics in the galaxy. Samara remains in the captured command center, carefully coordinating the rest of the assault. After another hour, all the captives on the station have been rescued and the rare materials they were told of have been recovered. As the last pockets of resistance are trapped behind welded doors and collapsed passages, Samara summons Trava and Aris. It only takes a short time for them to arrive.

Trava wastes no time in her report, "The reactor is secure. We won't be setting to overload though. That thing is so badly maintained, I wouldn't be surprised if it blew out of spite as soon as we touch it." Samara nods in affirmative and turns to Aris. The near mute justicar is taking in the carnage, signing a congratulations to her leader for the victory.

"I cannot take credit for most of this destruction sisters. This was primarily the work of Jane. She arrived well before we did, slaughtered the command crew, and bested their leader in single combat before taking a severe stomach wound." Aris doesn't look surprised, giving only a single nod in response. Trava on the other hand is stunned.

"How… How is that possible? How could one human do that on their own." She has no answer… yet. Samara sends her fellow justicars back to the ship before taking one final look around the room. After surveying the carnage once more, her gaze settles on the severed head of the enemy commander. Unlike the rest of the corpse, the head is still completely intact, seemingly still looking out through its glowing blue eyes. Disgusted by the grotesque changes to what might once have been a normal human, she raises her pistol and fires a single shot. The bullet bursts the head like an overripe melon, scattering rotting brain matter in a fan behind it. Finally, the remains are consumed by the same red lightning as the corpse and Samara marches from the room.

Once the rest of the teams have pulled back to the boarding pods, their ships retrieve them in short order and the fleet pulls back to a safe distance. When clear, the captain looks to Samara for permission and receives it with a single nod. The entire fleet opens fire at once, sending missiles, rail gun shells, and GARDIAN laser fire into the station. Not being designed for an all out barrage, the pirate den rapidly crumbles to scrap. Eventual, one of the ships manages to penetrate the station's reactor, causing the entire structure to be enveloped in the ensuing blast. The fleet makes for the system edge before jumping to FTL, leaving behind nothing but a few scraps of plasteel, titanium, and the shattered husks of what used to be starships.

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2172_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

She's been deeply relieved when the girls had returned at the beginning of the new year. The call from Niria she'd received had her stomach in a knot as she waited for their return. Finding out that Jane had lost control so close to Niria had been a real scare, but the details had been worse. Another one of those black armored creatures that could actually fight her on more or less equal terms had been found, and it had almost killed Jane before being slain itself. That means that the people the Red Wake do business with still have access to some serious hardware. Aethyta had been sending out feelers through her network to see if anyone else has found these things, but so far it looks like the ones Jane's killed are it.

That Jane had managed to get herself hurt again was no surprise. What was a surprise is that Lia had done everything she could to keep her word, much to Niria's mixed relief and annoyance. It made it easier to keep the scowl off her face as she watched Lia escort the girls out of their shuttle at the dawn of the new year. Jane of course showed no sign of her injury, other than the somewhat obvious patch where she'd been run through. As the justicars moved off towards their own quarters, Aethyta had gotten a real shock when Trava, always a royal bitch before, had actually wished Jane a pleasant evening. Without a scowl no less!

Samara reported everything that happened during the hunt, including everything they knew about what happened to Jane. The sound that drove the girl into a frenzy had been caught on Niria's suit cam. Apparently, after she'd found out, Jane decided to test the sound on herself to see if it had the same effect. Other that some mild annoyance, there were no side effects. "I thought that'd be the case. It wasn't the sound so much as the signal buried beneath it, and without the bastard in charge, that signal was gone." Despite this, Jane had gone to work on special aural dampeners to keep such a thing from happening again. "I don't know if they'll work, but I have to try something. I can't risk being so vulnerable to a fucking sound."

Despite her misgivings, Aethyta hadn't stopped the girls from going with the justicars to mop up the last few pirate remnants, those that had managed to avoid their net. The fights had steadily dwindled to a series of minor skirmishes and even those began to peter out soon after. It was good timing too. A month and a half after the battle at the station, Aethyta's network managed to dig up some information on Justicar Trava's fugitive. They'd all been there to see her off, and thus were in a perfect position to witness something amazing. She actually smiled at Jane, "You're pretty good in a fight Jane. Keep it up. One day I might just have to suck it up and apologize to you." No one had been as stunned as Jane. The girl had managed little more than a numb wave as the justicar boarded her shuttle and left.

A few weeks later, Aris had her intel. Again they'd all gone to see her off. The burned justicar actually embraced Jane and Niria before speaking in a pained, hoarse whisper, "A pair of real huntresses." Then she too was gone.

Now, Aethyta's network was zeroing in on information for Samara and Lia. Soon they would leave too and with nothing more planned to occupy her, she was planning on talking to Jane about joining the Alliance again, but not today. Aethyta would save her spiel as Anderson's proxy for a week or two. After all, Niria wanted Jane all to herself on the girl's birthday.

 **Niria**

She has a bounce in her step as she moves to the special stocks. Mags had called as soon as the room's silent alarm had gone off, a feature installed after Jane's bender the year before. Now, as Niria closes in on the store room, the sound of quiet swearing echoes out. Saffa had hidden the Greela much more carefully, and a good thing too. As she steps over Spits, who's napping in the doorway, Jane has only managed to track down a single bottle. They make eye contact and Jane freezes in place, giving only a look of mild embarrassment.

Niria steps up to her and gently pulls away the bottle, "I've got a better idea for this year. Come with me." Without waiting for a response, Niria turns away and leaves the room, calling for Spits to follow as she goes. The burly varren's footsteps easily catch up to her, followed soon after by Jane's. Niria leads them up to the observations tower, before pointing out a veritable feast she'd had prepared for the three of them. Spits immediately charges over to the heap of his favorite food, mashed ruby melon mixed with illiarus flowers from the magma channel, all sprinkled atop a twenty pound slab of flame scorched klixen meat. As Spits tears into his supper, Niria leads Jane by hand to their own dinner. She pops the cork on the bottle of Greela still in hand and pours two glasses. Jane beams a tight smile at her and the two of them dig in. While Jane still drinks quite a bit, it's not the wild binge from last year. Niria nurses her own glass with tiny sips, well aware of the fact that even such small amounts will get her tipsy fairly fast. Once the food is done, she leads Jane over to the eastern window, where she's assembled a small mound of gifts sent from Jane's friends. Saving her own for last, Niria watching with boundless amusement as her love opens the gifts. Among them are new books from Mirdan bound in genuine leather, a new helmet from Keeva, similar to the old one but even more streamlined and menacing, and a bright silver circlet from Vollo, which also came with a twenty minute video message espousing the virtues of the circlet and salesman it was purchased from.

Once the other gifts are done, the time came for her own, "I spent a long time working on this. It's not quite as impressive as your own, but I hope you like it." She holds out the meter and half package, careful not to let the thundering of her heart shake her hands. No doubt Jane could hear it but at least she didn't laugh about it. With a huge smile, Jane carefully open the box and her eyes light up in glee. Inside is something Niria has spent the better part of a month working on. It's a forty five centimeter dagger, with a lustrous silver blade and pristine white quillion shaped like a pair of angelic wings. Set in the pommel is a perfectly clear crystal, inside of which is single drop of her own blood. There's an inscription running along the length of the blade, written in one of the oldest of all asari dialects. One so old that apparently even Jane can't read it.

"It's beautiful… what is it? What does it say?" Niria's heart is pounding in her chest as she carefully sits in Jane's lap. In a gesture so familiar as to be automatic, Jane wraps her arms around her as Niria starts to explain.

"This is a very, very old tradition. It supposedly goes back to the time of the goddess herself. It's called a Liseeran bond blade and they're only ever given to someone you treasure, mind, body, and soul. The inscription is supposed to be the story of you and the person you give the blade too. Bear in mind that it looses something in translation but I hope you still like it." Jane squeezes her affectionately as she points to the first words and begins translating. "An angel came to us, bathed in pain and strife. She found a young maiden, adrift without cause or purpose." Though she'd never admit it to Saffa, Niria had never had a good idea on what she wanted from life, not until Jane had come. "Together, they faced shadows of old and darkness of dream, and forged a powerful bond." Jane hugs her closer, nuzzling her neck lovingly. "The angel and maiden then came together… in a union of love, and spent their lives together."

Jane's grip loosens and Niria turns to look at her. Her eyes are wide, almost fearfully so. Jane opens and closes her mouth, seemingly at a total loss. Eventually she manages to squeak out, "What?" Niria slides out of Jane's lap, before putting her hands under the dagger alongside Jane's.

"The past two years have been the happiest and most interesting of my entire life. I'm not sure if I would ever have had a shot at the future I want if you hadn't come here. You make me so happy Jane… I love you. To be a little clearer on what a bond blade is supposed to mean, I guess a human might say that it's… a marriage proposal." For a short, heart stopping moment, Niria fears that she's made a horrible mistake. To her eye, it looks like Jane is utterly terrified. ' _Oh goddess! What have I done?! This will scare her away and she won't talk to me anymore! How could I be so stupid?! How could I-_ ' Her panicked train of thought is cut off by a tiny whisper from Jane.

"You… you actually _want_ to marry me? Why?"

"Why? Why wouldn't I? You're brilliant, beautiful, loving, kind. You never judge me or my dreams and you're always helping people in need. You make me happier than I ever thought possible. I… I think you're perfect for me. I love you Jane." She can see a tear trailing down Jane's cheek.

"I'm… not like most humans. I've talked to Mirdan and he said that my implants will keep me alive for a long time, maybe three hundred years. You'll be stuck with me for a lot longer than with most other people."

"I wouldn't be stuck with you Jane. I'd _get_ to be with you. The way I see it, the more time we have together, the better." Now Jane really is crying. "Will you join your life with me Jane? Will you be with me, mind, body, and soul?" The pounding in her chest is almost unbearable as she waits for Jane to answer.

Her love leans in and whispers, "Yes..."

 _Date_ _: 12.15.2171_

 _Location : Unknown_

 **Unknown**

 **Fulcrum Located**

 **Asari Space - Ancillary Outpost**

 **Signal Efficacy Confirmed**

 **The Lure Has Worked**

 **Adendum...**

 **Signal Does Not Reduce Fulcrum's Threat Level**

 **Conclusion...**

 **Use Only as a Lure**

 **Attention…**

 **Fulcrum Has Been Observed in Close Proximity to Young Asari**

 **Observation Indicates Powerful Hormonal Response**

 **Conclusion...**

 **The Fulcrum is Attempting to Propagate Unique Characteristics Through Asari**

 **Likelihood of Passing Abilities to Offspring Through Sexual Reproduction**

 **65.12** **%**

 **Likelihood of Passing Abilities to Offspring Through Asari Reproduction**

 **9.322** **%**

 **Conclusion…**

 **Risk Unacceptable**

 **The Fulcrum Must be Stopped**

 **Agent Jortan Will Facilitate Action**

 **Agent Jortan Status…**

 **Elevation to Primary Agent in Progress**

 **Addendum...**

 **Subject is Proving to be Sub-Optimal**

 **Cybernetic Augmentation Necessary**

 **Neural Rewrite Necessary**

 **The Fulcrum Will be Drawn Out**

 **Reproduction Will Not be Allowed**


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45 - Hollow**

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2172_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

The girls finally managed to stumble out of bed once half the day was gone, both of them grinning widely at lunch. While Aethyta knew one of the reasons, which also happened to be the reason why Jane's neighbors had requested better soundproofing for the walls, the dagger strapped to Jane's thigh had been a hell of a shocker. Truthfully, it wasn't a huge surprise that Niria had proposed, but Aethyta had never seen such an old tradition presented to alien before. While some more conservative asari would be offended at such a permanent commitment to someone like Jane, Aethyta just saw the opportunity for decades of teasing. It's an opportunity she leapt on as soon as the girls came into the dining hall.

Given how common a sight the two of them were, no one had played them any mind when they'd come in. Even Aethyta had only planned on some light teasing over the night's festivities… at least until she'd seen the dagger. As soon as that lovely silver blade came into view, Aethyta hopped up on her table a let out a piercing whistle. More and more people turned to see the girls and joined in with their own calls or whistles as word spread. For their part, the girls didn't get angry or upset, though Jane did turn bright red and Niria flushed violet as they made their way over to Aethyta's table. Mags, somehow aware of the proposal before everyone else, had prepared a meal full of Jane and Niria's favorites. As lunch progresses, a general air of celebration settles across almost everyone in the room.

A few of her more stuck up relatives look at the two girls with something approaching disdain, but they're pointedly ignored by the bulk of the family. When they're halfway through the meal, the two remaining justicars make their way in, so Aethyta invites them over to join them. Despite still being wholly unwelcome on Liseera or really any planet Aethyta's family was on, Lia has by all accounts kept close to the girls and thrown herself between them and incoming fire multiple times, so Aethyta will tolerate her outside the prepared chambers… for now. The two women make their way over in short order and Samara, upon seeing Jane's new dagger, speaks up, "We congratulate the two of you on your decision to join your lives together. When do you intend to hold the ceremony?" Jane is still a bit in the clouds, so Niria is the one to answer.

"We haven't decided yet. It'll be soon though."

"Will Lady Aethyta be performing the ceremony?" It wasn't unusual for her to do so. She'd performed the ceremony for Fel and Allytha, then made a bit of an ass of herself by getting completely hammered at the party afterward and drunkenly kissing the krogan shaman that had come to perform a blessing of sorts for Fel's side of things.

"Actually, we were wondering if… maybe... you would be willing do it." Samara's serene composure breaks for a split second, before returning with a slight smile.

"I would be honored to do so. Please be aware though, that the code will not allow me to break from the pursuit of my target without circumstances similar to those that brought us here to begin with. However, should the opportunity present itself, I will gladly perform the ceremony." The girls are giddy with excitement. "Do you intend to hold a traditional ceremony to match your proposal."

Jane comes down for a bit to answer, "I'm not wearing a dress." Aethyta and Niria starts giggling at the earnestness in her tone. Even Samara cracks a smile. "What's so funny?" Since they can't stop laughing, the justicar is the one to enlighten her.

"In a traditional bonding ceremony, the pair being joined typically perform the ceremony unburdened arms and armor … and clothing." Jane's eyes are wide as can be and her face is beet red. In an old nervous habit, she starts tapping on the table, making a brand new dent it's surface. "Of course, it is not a requirement, simply a very old and much beloved tradition."

Before Aethyta can pounce, she spots Nis at the door, silently signaling for her attention. Aethyta makes her excuses and follows Nis into the hallway. "I apologize for interrupting the celebration mistress, but we have a situation.

No time for bullshit, "What's wrong?"

"An allied family's listening post has picked up transmissions similar to those intercepted from the pirates the justicars helped slay. It appears that a small group of them managed to escape the purge and are attempting to reconstitute their strength in a secluded sector." Aethyta doesn't even bother to keep her irritation down.

"Goddess dammit. Things are finally gettin to normal, so of course something has to go and ruin it." She pinches the bridge of her nose, a thousand different curses bubbling just below the surface. "Is there anyone else that can take care of this? We already handed the bastards main staging area to the republics on a silver platter and provided them one hell of a distraction with Jane there."

"I've already checked mistress. We are the closest colony with any real military presence. By the time one of the others decides to take this seriously, the scum might decide to move on, and if that happens it could mean years of trouble." Nis is right. Aethyta hates to admit it, but she's right.

"Shit… well, I suppose Samara would probably be willing to help out one more time, especially since it'll take another week or two for us to get the info she needs. And I just know that a certain pair of girls will jump at the chance to get back out there again. Tell Calara to get her ship ready for a three week cruise. Then call Gavin back from the orbital platform. I want Blue ready to take the girls and the justicars up in two hours." Despite the hectic hours, she knew that Gavin loved his new job. A giant paycheck, constant chances to get in the air, and a colony full of eligible young woman that all tended to ooh and ahhh whenever he talked about flying. It didn't matter that almost all of them were several times his age, he was practically in heaven.

"Right away mistress." Nis breaks away and heads to her tower, already sending out the calls. Aethyta lets out a heavy sigh before moving back into the dining hall. Her scowl is enough to dispel some of the light energy in the air as she makes her way back to the table. Jane picks up on her mood right away and unthinkingly drops a hand to one of her guns.

"What's wrong?" Aethyta gives the details as quickly as possible, and to her complete lack of surprise, both the justicars and the girls volunteer to head out immediately. Jane went back to her own room for a bit to grab a few packages, before heading to the landing pad.

When Niria asked what the cases were for, Jane's response had been a sheepish whisper, "It's a surprise. I promise you'll love it." Gavin arrived soon after and they loaded up.

 _Date_ _: 4.26.2172_

 _Location : System 61.77 - Orbital Junk Yard_

 **Jane**

 _The trip has given her plenty of time to work. The bond blade on her thigh was a beautiful piece of work, even if she'll never be able to use it in battle. Something so lovely demanded a hell of a gift in return. Jane has spent almost the entire trip working in solitude whenever she could. Niria had come close to finding out several times but so far so good. The bench in front of her is covered in sketches and diagrams showing different design ideas for her project, each one inspired by a different voice in her head. Dozens of little touches from multiple designs are showing up for this project. The last time she'd worked on something like this it had only taken a few days, but Jane hadn't been in control back then. This time, it's a labor of love, not the product of a trance. While the voices are giving good ideas, in the end, it's completely her choice._

 _She's just putting the final touches on the biotic conduits when the captain announces their arrival in system 61.77. The system is an old dumping ground for junk ships that either aren't worth retrofitting or ones that have just been forgotten. Their own vessel slowly moves through the debris field, carefully maneuvering around the drifting hulks. As they approach, Jane tracks down Niria on the observation deck and they spend the approach time talking about what they might do in the coming months. Niria points to a relatively intact turian ship, "We could take that one to a shipyard and fix it up. Then we could hire a crew, go out on our own. We wouldn't even need the Alliance to go after the bad guys." Jane smiles at the idea. The ship in question is an old turian corvette about seventy five meters long. It's in decent shape, apart from the obvious neglect from however long it's been drifting in this junkyard. With a good supply of credits, not a problem for her, and a shipyard off the beaten path, it could really be something amazing._

 _It takes a few hours to drift into position. Captain Calara wasn't taking any chances at being detected. They dropped out of FTL at the very edge of the system and moved in on minimal power until they could confirm the lack of orbital assets. Once they were sure, the captain had brought them through the field to keep the surface from seeing them as long a possible. Now that they're close enough, Jane, Niria, and the justicars board Blue for the trip down._

 _Date_ _: 4.26.2172_

 _Location : System 61.77 - Hidden pirate base_

 **Alenshas**

After months of careful preparations, his targets are finally on the way. It had been a trying process. Leaking just enough information to be detected but still avoiding suspicion took several weeks in its own right. Then he'd had to pick up the special tools for this trap. His employer, a singularly deranged batarian named Jortan, spent hours preaching to him over the dangers and goals of this mission, before handing him a rifle along with an ornate case holding a single bullet.

" _These are the most important tools you have ever held. This rifle and its single round are designed with one goal in mind, to break through even the most durable of barriers. Her defenses will be worthless against it... but beware. There is one and only one of these rounds in the galaxy. It's worth almost as much as your contract, so don't waste it."_

He'd considered just stealing the gear and selling it to any of dozen warlords that would be interested in such a thing, but in his business reputation is everything. If he starts looking like a bad deal, especially to someone whose reach is as wide ranging as that Red Wake psycho, then his career, not to mention his life, will be over. So Alenshas had gone to work. Picking the site had been easy, given that he only needed a small base for the targets to knock over and a clear vantage point to take his shot. This puny pirate nest wasn't much to look at, but it was the perfect shooting gallery.

As the target's gunship makes a final strafing run over the base's meager defenses, Alenshas finishes his set up and braces his rifle on the edge of the ridge-line. The gunship settles to the ground and four people hop out, along with the largest varren he's ever seen. The small group rips through the remains of the outer defenses with ease before blasting their way inside. Alenshas relaxes into the rifle and waits for the right moment.

 **Niria**

The attack goes off without a hitch. With Jane leading the way and Spits mauling anyone trying to get behind them, the five of them rip through the pirates on site. This den is a tiny speck compared to the others they've knocked over in the last few months. Only about two dozen pirates to stand against them, armed with the kind of low grade gear that Jane doesn't even bother to salvage anymore. "The cost of moving it to a seller would outweigh any money I'd make on it. And the materials sell for bottom dollar because they're so common." Niria tosses an old shotgun back onto the ground. "I'll sell the location to one of the respectable merc groups in the sector. They pay pretty well for prebuilt bases with salvage inside."

They sweep into the tiny command center and take down the leader of this little band, a turian high out of his mind on Lyf. As the corpse slides down the wall, Spits sniffs around the room before stopping to snarl at a wall. Jane walks over and raps her knuckles against the sheet of steel. Instead of the sound of solid metal, they hear a slight echo. Jane stabs Abyss into the panel before dragging down, parting the metal with ease. Behind the panel is a single pallet loaded with casques of a foul smelling liquid. Jane takes one sniff before declaring, "That's a lot of liquid Lyf… probably three hundred doses." She kicks a few vials on the floor, "Minus the three that prick took before we got here. We should probably get rid of this stuff before I sell this place's coordinates." Jane rips the tops off the drug containers before casting a heavy warp inside each one. The liquid is quickly consumed in the biotic surge and reduced to nothing but fumes and ash. The fumes would be hazardous to anyone without a breather, but they'd all wanted to be careful today.

Samara steps up and puts a hand on Jane's shoulder, "It was a wise decision to destroy that material. Even reputable mercenary organizations can easily fall to the temptation of illegal activity with such readily available materials, and I would prefer not to have to return here to clean house again." They all share a quick smile before heading back outside.

 **Alenshas**

His targets have finished their sweep and are now calmly making their way back to the gunship. The oldest asari leads them out, followed by the primary and secondary target, then the younger justicar and the varren taking up the rear. Alenshas spots the crimson hair, violet eyes, black sword, and checks them against the recordings Jortan gave him. He needs to be absolutely sure. After all he only has one shot. Jortan's words come back to the fore.

" _We would prefer if both were slain, but the primary is the only one that truly matters."_

Alenshas steadies his breathing, slowing his heart rate to the bare minimum to prevent any unnecessary movement.

" _We don't know the demon's maximum range. She prefers to get close and shred her enemies in melee, but that doesn't mean that long range will bring safety. Strike from no less that one thousand meters and evac the instant the shot is taken."_

He sights through the scope, settling the crosshair on the primaries back. Fortune smiles on him as the targets are moving in a line. His current angle means that only the primary will die, but the shot will still pierce through and hit the secondary target. At least he can get the maiming bonus. The one Jortan kept calling a demon is looking around them with a look of open suspicion. 'Does she know what's about to happen?' The idea is patently absurd, but disturbing all the same.

 **Lia**

Something is wrong. Jane is looking from side to side, softly snarling in every direction. Her oath still at the forefront of her mind, Lia steps up behind the girls and raises a barrier to cover them. Niria is trying to speak to Jane, "What is it?"

The human girl keeps looking around, almost frantically at this point. "Something's… something's wrong." She draws her sword and charges the conduits, "It's been bugging me since we got here. This was too easy." Niria is only a few feet away, offering calm reassurance.

"Don't worry. We got them all. Even the orbital scans had no one left on the planet but us. Come on, let's go home." Jane calms slightly but keeps looking around.

 **Alenshas**

The damn justicar is in the way! The round will definitely kill on the first impact, but there's no guarantee with the second. He has to hit the primary before anything else. Alenshas carefully moves a hand to one of the detonators on the ground to his left and pushes the primer.

 **Samara**

A small plume of dust puffs up to the west, dragging her attention away from the girls for a moment. Buried in the sound of the local breeze, Samara hears the faint echo of a detonation. She raises her own barriers around their group and Lia steps to the side to focus on the source of the sound along with her. The senior justicar is ready for a fight, but decides that now would be a good time to leave. There may be some information that they don't have.

 **Alenshas**

The target is clear and the secondary is right in front of her. The small group looks at the little distraction charge he'd detonated, one of dozens, and then they proceed towards the gunship. His sights are settled over the primary's torso. Most of his kills were headshots, but today called for him to reduce the chances of missing as much as possible. Before following the others, the two targets turn towards each other. The so called demon is still scanning the area and she turns her gaze on the ridge. It only takes a few moments for her to raise her sights to his position. In that instant, he knows he's out of time. Alenshas pulls the trigger, sending that impossibly expensive shell screaming towards his target.

 **Jane**

 _Everything feels wrong. The fight, the pirates, the base, none of it felt like it should. Jane can't explain it. There was just something in the air that tweaked her the wrong way, a sense that something terrible was going to happen. "Back to Blue. We know that the ones we came for are dead. Once we return to orbit, we can have the captain run a more thorough scan of the area to be certain." Samara's level tone does nothing to ease her worry._

 _Jane scans the area, desperate to pin down the source of her unease. Nothing at ground level, so she turns her gaze to the ridge line almost a kilometer away. After first there's nothing to see, so she works her way up the line of stone. Then she sees it, a tiny glint at the top, followed by a searingly bright flash. In that instant, Jane's perceptions shift into overdrive. She sees everything faster than ever before. The dust in the wind drifting by at a snail's pace. A few drops of drool falling from Spits' mouth at an impossibly slow rate. The round from the sniper on the ridge screaming towards them._

 _Niria is less than five feet away, right between her and the oncoming shot. She can't get between them in time, nor can she throw her out of the way, so Jane does the only thing she can and throws every scrap of power she can into a barrier surrounding Niria. Everything goes into it, even her own barrier is dropped to give Niria a chance. As the energy leaves her, all she can do is pray._

 **Niria**

It only lasts for a single moment. A feeling of absolute safety and warmth settles over her as Jane wraps her in an impossibly strong barrier, pouring every ounce of strength she has into it. Niria tries to ask why, tries to understand, but before the words can be formed, it's too late. A single moment of endless agony and then everything fades forever.

 **Jane**

' _No… it's not real… it can't be real…' The shot hits the supercharged barrier around Niria, a barrier supplemented by every scrap of power she has plus energy from Samara and Lia. Niria's shields are the best Jane has ever made. The plates around her chest are better than the ones Jane made for herself. But none of it matters._

 _In a sight pulled straight from her nightmares, the shot passes through those unbreakable defenses like they aren't even there before passing into Niria's torso. A single instant of realization dawns in her eyes before the shot passes through her. On exit, the bullet keeps going, followed closely by the contents of her chest. The shot then hits Jane in the abdomen, breaking through her own critically weaken defenses and plunging into her gut. Mind shredding agony saws through her as she's dropped to the ground, covered in violet blood. Somehow, through the haze of agony, Jane turns her eyes back to her beloved._

 _Niria is still on her feet, and for a moment, Jane can hope that she has, through some kind of miracle, survived. But hope has never been her friend. Niria's chest has been torn open, and there is nothing left of her heart. She was dead before the bullet left her body. As if her physical shell has only now realized what has happened, Niria crumples to the ground like a puppet with cut strings. Jane stares into her eyes, once so full of life, beauty, and hope. Now they are hollow, looking out with the empty gaze of the dead._

 _As that horrible, hateful reality comes crashing down on her, Jane picks up the sound of engines, and spots a small shuttle powering into the sky._

 **Alenshas**

His mission accomplished, Alenshas sprints to his ship. The engines cycle up on the emergency settings and he immediately takes off. He's almost two kilometers up when the shuttle is brought screaming to a halt by something. If not for his harness, Alenshas would have been dashed against the controls. As it is, he frantically tries to uncover what has happened. The ship is in perfect working order, and his instruments indicate a full exit burn in progress. He cycles the main viewer to the hull mounted cameras, desperate for an explanation.

The shuttle is wrapped in an amber energy field, a field with a tapering golden thread stretching back to the pirate enclave. He zooms in and nearly dies of fright. The human girl, the one Jortan kept calling a demon is on her feet, a massive hole in her stomach and the trail of golden energy extending from her hands. The girl makes a pulling motion and Alenshas' ship plummets from the sky.

 **Samara**

She never saw the shot, just the outcome. Jane dropped to the ground covered in asari blood with new hole in her plating, but Niria stayed on her feet for a few seconds before falling as well. Stunned for a moment by the suddenness of the attack, Samara quickly regains her composure and steps between the girls and the direction the shot had come from. Moments later a ship takes off from the offending ridgeline, before she's roughly shoved out of the way.

Jane is back on her feet, wreathed in biotic power. The wound in her gut is bleeding freely and some of her innards are visible. In a surge of energy, the girl casts a biotic attack at the rapidly ascending shuttle, catching it in a haze of power. With a look of intense strain, Jane holds the shuttle in place before drawing back on her tether of energy. The shuttle crashes to the ground a short distance away is a storm of dust and debris.

 **Alenshas**

He blacked out for a moment after the impact. It wasn't possible. No biotic, no matter how powerful, could launch attack from that range. But she had. Maybe Jortan was right. Maybe she was a demon. Alenshas tries to clear his head and come up with a new exit strategy. There was a small hanger about a kilometer away, maybe he could use something there to escape. His confusion prevents him from hearing the sound of shearing metal as the door to the cockpit is ripped away. Suddenly, he is torn from his harness and hurled out through the open hatch.

After a few bounces, each once breaking another bone, Alenshas comes to a halt at the foot of the senior justicar. The woman looks down on him with a cold fury before lifting him to his feet. The other justicar pulls a pistol and aims at his head. The younger asari is weeping freely, "Now you die murderer!"

The elder asari shouts on order, "No! We will bring him back to Liseera. There he will answer for what he has done and reveal who sent him." The young justicar looks ready to argue, but both of them are cut off as the human strides towards them. Her eyes are void black, missing all traces of the odd color he'd seen earlier. A physical feeling of endless darkness is pouring off of her as she stalks towards him. The justicars trade a single glance before the elder one looks at her. "Jane you must wait, we must find out wh-" The human girl pays them no mind. Instead, she looks him straight in the eye, draws back her arm, and punches her hand into his chest. Alenshas' world disappears a storm of agony. His every thought, memory, and emotion ripped from him in seconds. The only thing he can do is shriek in impossible agony as everything he was, is, and ever could be is utterly obliterated.

 **Lia**

The horrible depth of her failure left Lia with nothing to do but try to avenge her murdered charge. Samara stopped her, but neither had been able to stop Jane. The girl barely looks human as she stabs her hand into the salarian's chest. Lia had no idea a living being could scream as he does. Jane stands with Niria's killer hoisted in the air, held aloft by his own heart, shrieking into the sky. A stream of energy flows from the salarian, each tiny mote of power leaves the body more and more withered. By the time it ends, there is little left of the assassin but a shrunken, desiccated husk. Even that begins to break down as Jane closes her fist on what's left of the corpse's heart.

 **Samara**

In an asari, Samara would have assumed the attack was that of an Ardat-Yakshi, but one of extreme power. She has no idea what to do when such a thing comes from a human. Normally, the perpetrator of such an attack would draw a sort of narcotic rush from the dead, but Jane doesn't look energized. In fact, she looks like the life has been drained from her, instead of the other way around. Her eyes are still jet black as she moves to Niria's body and silently kneels.

 **Jane**

 _She'd seen it all. The moment the assassin had been given the contract, when he'd received the purpose built rifle and ammunition, even the full details of his target._

" _The asari is the primary target. The demon Akshar seeks to spread her curse and the asari is a perfect host for her spawn. My masters demand this asari's death. The demon must not spread her evil… she must not be allowed to breed. We would prefer if both were slain, but the primary is the only one that truly matters."_

" _It's my fault. Niria is dead… and it's my fault." The voices give rise a gestalt song of agony, each one adding its own mind shredding twist on the pain. She doesn't try to shut it out. She doesn't deserve to shut it out._

 _Jane silently kneels next to Niria's body and gathers up her love's earthly remains. The justicars try to speak, try to comfort her, but they don't get through. Jane slowly walks Niria back to gunship and places the body on one row of seats before sitting next to her. She looks out with vacant eyes, completely unfeeling towards the outside world. No reaction to her own pain. No response as the justicars treat her stomach and clean the blood from her face. No feelings as she waits through the ride up to the ship. Jane reacts to nothing. She can't. To react, one must feel. And right now, Jane can't feel anything… Niria is dead and Jane is completely hollow._


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46 - Ashes**

 _Date_ _: 5.7.2172_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

The crowd is completely silent as Blue settles onto the pad. They didn't know the details like Aethyta did, but they did know what had been lost. Most of the younger asari have their heads bowed, trying to hide the tears. Family members, both distant and close, were still filtering back to Liseera for the funeral. Her cousin would be here in a few days, along with the general. Though the old soldier could barely walk on his own anymore, he had made it clear that nothing would stand between him and his daughter in this most tragic of times.

Blue's side hatch slides open, allowing the justicars to hop out first. They're followed by Spits, who for the first time Aethyta has known him, isn't bouncing around with his customary excitement. It would seem that the darkness of the last few weeks has punctured even his simple happiness. Finally, the last living member of the group steps down, the body of the fallen cradled lovingly in her arms. Jane is covered in dried blood and crusted filth, with a slight smell of spoiled viscera seeping from her. Her armor has a gaping hole in her gut, exposing an ugly new scar where the assassin's bullet had torn into her. Jane's hair is a wild mane, the customary braid loose and torn in several places. Despite looking like utter hell, Jane's face is completely devoid of emotion. Her eyes are fully dilated and Aethyta can't tell if Jane is actually with them, or if she's in one of her trances.

The human girl silently walks down the cleared avenue, ignoring all attempts to engage her. Several of the girls she's been training try to talk, to offer their condolences, but Jane pays them no mind. With Niria's body held perfectly still, the young woman smoothly marches into town, stopping for nothing and no one. The few family members that try to demand to see the body are held at bay by a sphere of amber energy. Aethyta follows behind her at a fair distance, trying to come to grips with losing her favorite little cousin. Sixty four was too young, far far too young for an asari to pass away.

It takes about ten minutes for Aethyta to pick up on where Jane was going. The girl is taking a fairly direct route to the Triune Cathedral, the single largest temple dedicated to the goddess Athame in this sector, outside of Thessia's. Niria had never bought into the whole 'All is one' stuff from the modern faith, opting instead to follow the goddess in three. She'd taken Jane to plenty of services, much to the young woman's mild annoyance, but it had been important to Niria, so Jane had never argued. Now, she silently enters temple, lays Aethyta's little cousin on the altar as gently as she can, and pulls her guns from her belt. Aethyta is stunned when the girl aims her guns into the air before firing both on full auto. The few acolytes and priestesses inside flee in terror as Jane fires into the air behind them. Once the temple is clear, she slams the doors shut with her biotics and seals the temple. The only thing they care hear from within are the mournful howls coming from Spits.

 **Samara**

The elder justicar had followed at a respectable distance on the way to the temple. It wasn't a complete surprise when Jane drove everyone out. Nor was it a surprise when Aethyta rounded on Lia, ready to berate her for failing to keep Niria safe. Before they'd returned to Liseera, Samara sent a full report, including all the details she had and all the footage from their suit cameras. The response from Liseera had started with ardent disbelief, followed by claims that it was some kind of sick joke. Then, once she'd sent the full story, all they'd received in response was a terse demand for them to return immediately. For the duration of the journey, Jane had taken over the medbay and refused to allow anyone but the ship's doctor inside. When they got into orbit over the colony, the medbay door had opened for the first time since leaving the target world. Jane's wounds were patched, Niria's body was cleaned and wrapped in a pure white sheet, and the doctor refused to say anything that had transpired, citing doctor patient confidentiality as the reason.

She politely makes her excuses and leaves the two women alone. Aethyta's sister stops her a few minutes later. "Do you intend to leave justicar?"

"Justicar Lia and I shall remain for the funeral, afterwards we will depart immediately." Allytha nods her thanks and leaves Samara in peace.

 **Lia**

As the temple doors slammed shut in their faces, Aethyta had rounded on her. There was no excuse she could give, no reason for her survival in the face of Niria's death. There had been a moment when Lia could have prevented it. Had she just kept her position behind Niria, the shot would have taken her instead, and given her cousin a fighting chance at survival. Instead, she'd allowed herself to be distracted, costing the girl her life. Lia had felt the shot pass within inches of her back. The rush of air following the bullet was intense.

Samara leaves her alone with Aethyta and she braces for the rage of her estranged mother. The matriarch doesn't disappoint. As soon as Samara leaves, Lia feels a surge of dark energy, moments before she's painfully slammed into the wall. Aethyta faces her, wreathed in a storm of violet energy, a look of abyssal rage on her face, snarling through grinding teeth, "How many?!" Another surge of energy redoubles the pressure on her, "HOW MANY?!" The already immense pressure becomes crushing, leaving her almost completely breathless. "HOW MANY HAVE TO DIE BEFORE YOU HAVE THE GOOD GRACE TO DO THE SAME?!" Lia doesn't try to fight it. Aethyta is absolutely right. After all, this isn't the first time family has died because of her.

The pressure disappears for a moment, giving her seconds to speak, "I'm sorry Lady Aethys… I have no exc-" Another blast of power cuts her off, throwing her into the wall again. This time one of her ribs cracks on impact, driving a spike of pain into her chest.

"Shut up! I don't want your acceptance! I don't want your apologies! I want you gone! I WANT HER BACK!" This time she's thrown across the room, her cracked rib blossoming into a shattered one. Heat blooms in her chest as the internal bleeding starts. "All you had to do was take the shot. You just had to drop dead instead of her and I would have forgiven you. Now…" Aethyta finally breaks from her assault, unable to speak through the mix of grief and rage.

Lia can only think of one way to even come close to fixing this.

 **Aethyta**

Through a heady combination of hatred and sorrow, Aethyta almost misses the sound of a blade being drawn. It's not something she expected. Maybe Lia's finally lost it and has decided to try ending her debt by killing her. She twists back to face the maiden, ready to put her in the ground for her latest betrayal. Instead, Aethyta sees Lia holding a dagger to her own chest, right over her heart. The woman is pleading with her, "Please… please… I can't stand it anymore… please…" Aethyta steps closer and wraps her hands around Lia's, slowly adding pressure to the dagger.

 **Lia**

She can feel the blade break her skin, letting a trickle of violet blood drip down her chest. Aethyta is looking her straight in the eye with nothing but hatred and disappointment. It's finally happening. Her shame can finally end. That dark hope is all she really has left, the hope that Aethyta will finally release her after a hundred years of penance.

The dagger has pierced down to her sternum when Aethyta rips it out of her hands and hurls it away. Her mother's rage cools enough for her to speak, "You're not getting away from this. You don't just get to walk away from your responsibility. I may have a new reason to hate you, but I'm not the one you've failed the most. That _honor_ ," she practically spits out the word, "belongs to the girl with Niria, mourning in the temple. If you want out, if you ever want to be forgiven for this, you have to earn _her_ forgiveness."

She doesn't understand, "What? I… How? What can I do?"

"From this day forward, your life is hers and hers alone. Do what she says, go where she tells you, and no matter what it takes, you **keep. Her. Safe.** I don't care how long it takes. I don't care how painful it is, how cruel she is, or what she makes you do. Until Jane releases you, there is no forgiveness, even in death." Lia nods numbly, too broken to speak. "Find Samara and bring her to the observation tower. You will tell her everything and make her accept this change. I expect you there in one hour."

At the tower, the elder justicar looks at her with a mix of pity and disappointment, "I hope you understand the gravity of this decision. For the duration of this new oath, in the order's eyes, you will be less than nothing. Your name will be stricken from the records and your deeds will be expunged. Should you fail in this oath, should Jane too fall under your protection, it will be as though you never existed…" Lia bows her head in contrition, words utterly failing her. "Are you certain this is the path you must take?" She looks the senior justicar in the eye, offering only a single nod in affirmative, "Very well. From this moment until the day this oath is fulfilled, you are hereby named as a Fallen Sister. In the eyes of the Justicar Order, you no longer exist. Goddess have mercy on your soul, for we have none to offer." Samara and Aethyta turn their backs, leaving her alone in her shame.

 _Date_ _: 5.9.2172_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

This crowd is much smaller, but even more somber that those that had been waiting on the girls' return. It's just Niria's immediate family, a few asari and their bond mates, all waiting on the last two family members to arrive. Aethyta is wearing a set of ceremonial robes, the kind she only wears when something wonderful or something horrible happens. Exactly what today was calling for. The shuttle sets down onto the pad, extending a gangplank as the side hatch cycles open. Her cousin is just like she remembers, all somber and reserved, dressed in the robes of a high priestess. The only change from the last time they'd been together is the barely caged grief darkening Anatria's eyes.

Coming down the ramp next to her, one trembling arm locked with hers, is Niria's father, General Niratan Vultas. The old turian had been a respected general in his day, moderately famous for his campaigns against multiple separatist insurrection attempts. He'd retired from active service a few years after Niria was born, mostly so he could spend as much time as possible with her before she was sent to be educated on Liseera. Now, as he nears the end of his life, he has to deal with one of the rarest of tragedies. That of an alien father outliving his asari daughter. Aethyta steps up to them as they reach the bottom of the ramp. "Cousin… I'm so sorry." Anatria holds her hands out and taps her forehead to Aethyta's. Then Aethyta turns to Vultas, "General, we are honored by your attendance."

The old turian fixes his unclouded eye on her, "As if I wouldn't be here for my beloved daughter. I may be old, but I would still do anything for my child. I brought her statue," he holds out the beautifully carved figurine in his free hand. It's a near perfect likeness of Niria, "I intend to perform the proper observances, so that her spirit might find her rightful place." Anatria is supporting the general's slight frame with little effort. At one hundred thirty, a man like him just doesn't bulk out like he used to. The three of them walk side by side to the temple, their pace set by the slow tread of the general.

Aethyta has to ask something, "Will your sister be joining us?" Anatria grimly shakes her head, "Disgraceful…"

"It is her life cousin. If she chooses to waste it, wallowing on that goddess cursed station, then that is her curse to bear." The general sneers at the mention of the sister in question. Aethyta can't blame him. She wasn't exactly a beloved member of the family.

"I trust our daughter's remains have been properly readied for the rituals." The general's voice is a dry rasp. When Aethyta doesn't respond, he demands an answer, "Dammit woman, has she been readied or not. I will not tolerate any disrespect to my only child."

"It's not disrespect general. She was taken to the temple, but her… her betrothed drove everyone out as soon as she arrived and sealed the doors. No one has been able to get in since. Jane won't allow anyone in." Anatria had been overjoyed at the announcement of her daughter's betrothal whereas the general had been a bit indifferent.

Her cousin doesn't seemed concerned, "She will allow us in. Niria often spoke of Jane, and never once did she paint a picture of the type of person who'd deny a mother and father their last chance to say goodbye to their child." Aethyta doesn't have much faith in that, but she stays quiet. It only takes a few more minutes to reach the temple. Aethyta keys the call system and waves her cousin over. Anatria steps up to the doors, careful to speak as clearly as possible, "Jane Shepard, I know you can hear me. My name is Anatria Aethys, mother to Niria Aethys. With me is her father, General Niratan Vultas. We are hear to say goodbye to our beloved daughter. I know that you loved her dearly, perhaps almost as much as we do. Will you allow me perform the rites to ease her into embrace of the goddess? Will you allow her father to guide her spirit to its deserved rest? Will you let us say goodbye to our only child?" No response. They stand there in utter silence for a long time, trying to think of something to convince Jane to open the doors.

Then, at long last, the locks disengage and the doors swing open. Anatria stifles a gasp at the sight awaiting them. The entire temple is lined with hundreds of slow burning candles, filling the air with the beautiful scent of summer flowers. They move inside, leading a slow procession of acolytes and priestesses towards the central icon of the triune goddess. Lying on the altar atop a pile of her favorite flowers, clothed in a pristine white rob, is Niria. Her body has been immaculately cleaned. As they get closer, Aethyta can see thousands of ceremonial marks on her skin, each tiny rune painted on with a degree of perfection that would put even the most ancient of matriarchs to shame. If Aethyta hadn't known the truth, she would think her little cousin was sleeping peacefully. They arrive at the altar and spot the final detail. Niria's hands are folded over her midriff with a thick, immaculate braid of vivid crimson hair loosely clasped in those delicate digits. It's a hell of a contrast to the girl it came from.

Jane is sitting on a pew facing the statute of the goddess. What's left of her hair is draped over her face, obscuring her eyes but nothing else. Her cheeks are pale and drawn. Jane clearly hasn't tended to herself since arriving. Her armor is scattered around the altar, and she's still covered in dried, flaking blood. Jane doesn't acknowledge them in anyway. Aethyta's not even sure if she notices them. The girl stays perfectly still, just staring at Niria's body. There's absolutely no reaction when Anatria solemnly kneels in front of her, "Thank you Jane, for showing her such loving care. You have my eternal gratitude." No response, then again she hadn't been expecting one. Clearly her cousin didn't either. Anatria pats Jane on the knee, ignoring the flakes of blood that come away as she does so. The ceremony begins as soon as the rest of the family arrives. It's beautiful, moving, and Jane doesn't react in the slightest.

 **Samara**

The ceremony draws to a close with the elderly turian general encouraging the young maiden's spirit to take residence in her little statue, as a quartet of asari bring a shielded bier down the central aisle. Before they can move the body, an amber field wraps around Niria, gently lifting her remains, along with the flowers, from the altar and placing her upon the bier. Though her eyes are still hooded in shadow, Jane is finally moving again. For the entirety of the ceremony she had been as still as a statue, completely silent and unmoving. Now, Jane is on her feet with a field of energy stretching from her to the bier, lifting it from the ground on cloud of her peculiar biotics. The priestess Anatria places a hand on the girl's shoulder, before taking her place in front of the departed. She then leads them all in a stately procession through the city.

The mournful sound of a funeral dirge fills the air as they make their way down the wide open streets to the east. Samara has been privy to many such ceremonies in her life. In fact, her failings as a mother have caused many such ceremonies. The justicar buries her feelings deep down as they move, knowing full well that she has no right to intrude with her own grief on this day. General Vultas keeps pace with obvious effort, his old bones clearly not as strong as they once were, but the stubborn pride of his people keeps him silent. Samara quietly moves next to him, providing an arm to brace himself on. At first he seems insulted, but quickly relents in the face of possibly shaming his daughter by falling behind. He slides a palsied grip to her arm and nods in silent thanks.

The procession arrives at the river of molten stone on the eastern edge of the city. Liseera was a colony that adhered to some of the asari's oldest beliefs, including the cremation of the departed, and the river of stone had served as the pyre for countless asari over the generations. When they arrive, Jane slowly sets the bier down, making room for a group of robed acolytes to make ready for the final push. Anatria finishes the final prayers, imploring the goddess to embrace Niria's soul, before the acolytes level a gentle biotic push against the bier. The shielded slab is meant to carry the body out into the channel and sink shortly after the shield is dropped. As the bier reaches the correct position, one of the acolytes depresses a control on her wrist, and the shield drops, but the bier doesn't. Before Niria can sink into the river of molten stone, a barrier of golden energy wraps around her, keeping her remains safe from the inferno.

Samara turns to find Jane breathing heavily and showing the first hint of emotion since Niria's death. Her eyes are finally back to their true color. She's doing everything she can to hold on, to keep her beloved from disappearing into the river. A wave of consternation runs though the gathered crowd as Samara steps up next to the girl, "Jane… there is nothing more you can do for her. You must let go…" The amber field wavers slightly but stays in place. Jane has a few tears trailing down her cheeks, "What you are holding onto is nothing more than an empty shell. Niria has passed from this life. Please let her rest." The young human is shaking madly, barely holding herself together, "No matter how painful it may be… it is time to let go. Please Jane… let her find peace in the embrace of the goddess." The last of the young woman's resistance crumbles, along with the golden barrier. Niria's worldly remains sink into the river of molten stone and vanish forever.

When the young asari disappears, Jane falls to her knees, finally giving voice to her despair. As the tears flow freely, Jane calls out in absolute misery, completely buried in her own pain. Many of the gathered family do the same, feeling an echo of the bottomless sorrow coming from the human girl. Even Samara, so long inured to the cruelties of the galaxy, sheds a tear at the sound of a shattered heart. While many family members soon depart, Aethyta, Priestess Anatria, General Vultas, and Samara all remain significantly longer. Eventually, Aethyta leaves, careful to conceal her own grief as she stalks away from the beach of volcanic stone. Knowing her, she'll likely try to drown her pain in alcohol, despite knowing full well that it won't actually help. Eventually the priestess and the general turn to leave as well. Anatria stops to gently kiss Jane on the forehead, and the general puts a shaky hand on the girl's shoulder. Samara can barely hear what he says, "For what little it's worth, thank you for loving her as you did. I believe that I would have been proud to have you as a daughter-in-law." After that, he and his bride leave Jane to her grief. Despite being ashamed of leaving, Samara knows that there is little she can do. The code only allowed her so much time for such things, and that time is up.

The next day, with her business here concluded and the intel she needs to resume her hunt in hand, Samara is at the pad, climbing the ramp into her shuttle, ready to leave when an asari matron frantically sprints to catch her. "Justicar! Please Wait!" Samara turns to the younger woman, gesturing for her to catch her breath. Eventually, once her breathing is steady, the woman she believes is called Gallia speaks up, "I know you must leave justicar, but I desperately need your help first."

"The code will not allow me to remain much longer Gallia. Speak quickly and I will do what I can." The matron nods.

"I understand. Thank you. I need you're help with Jane, can you please come to the channel for just a few moments." Samara reluctantly agrees and returns to the river of molten stone with Gallia. Though saddened by the sight, Samara is not at all surprised to see Jane kneeling by the channel, with her varren still letting out the occasional mournful howl. "I beg you to help justicar. Jane hasn't left that spot since arriving. She will not eat and her body is horribly dehydrated. If she does not move soon, she'll die…" Samara's heart is with the younger woman, but this wasn't a surprise to her at all. "I just don't understand. Why is she doing this to herself?"

"Is it not obvious?" Gallia looks at her in genuine perplexity

"What do you mean? She can't survive this much longer!" Samara shakes her head.

"That is the point my friend." Galia's eyes go wide.

"What…"

"Jane Shepard is trying to die… slowly. She cannot cope with her beloved's death, a death she blames herself for, and so she will kneel there until her body finally fails. This is a punishment of her own design, meant to end her life as slowly and painfully as possible. It is a terrible fate, one that few ever seek out."

Gallia's jaw works up and down as she tries to come to grips with what Samara has told her. "You… you have to do something! Jane won't let any of us get close. Please! Pull her away from there. Help us save her!"

Samara sighs heavily, sad to have to say this, "I am sorry, but the code forbids me from taking such a choice away from her." Gallia looks at her in horror, desperate to change her mind.

"You… you can't just leave her like that! I beg you… please."

She bows her head, trying to maintain her composure. Such situations almost never ended well. "All I am permitted to do is speak to her." Gallia tries to thank, but is stopped short by a raised finger from Samara, "Do not mistake my intentions. I will not make this decision for her. I will speak to her, but beyond that, everything that happens is up to her." Samara leaves the desperate asari behind and makes her way to Jane's side. The girl is nearing the end of her endurance. She's not even crying anymore, despite the occasional sob coming from her, likely due to extreme dehydration. Samara silently kneel next to her and looks out over the channel. After a minute of quiet, she speaks, "Who was she?"

It takes a while for Jane to respond in a pained whisper, "You know who she was."

"Indeed I do… but that changes nothing. Who was she?" Jane turns a haunted gaze towards her. Never, in all the time she's spent with the girl, has she looked so vulnerable.

"Her name was Niria Aethys, daughter of High Priestess Anatria Aethys and General Niratan Vultas. She wanted to be a huntress like her grandmother." Jane turns back to the slow flowing river.

"Who was she to you?"

"The girl I wanted to spend my life with."

"What plans did the two of you have for that life? How did you intend to live?"

"We were going to find a ship and figure things out as we went. After a few decades, we were going to have a family…"

"And since those plans are naught but ash now," Jane sinks further into herself, "what do you intend to do?"

"I... I don't… I don't know. I have no idea what to do…" Jane turns to her again, desperate for guidance, "Please… what do I do? Tell me what to do…"

"I have no right to do that Jane." The girl slumps down, utterly lost. "The code of the justicar forbids me from taking choice away from you. What happens from here on must be your decision. As I see it, there are only two real paths before you. Either you can continue down your current path and allow it to destroy you, if that is truly what you believe must happen. Or, you can choose to live on and honor her memory in whatever manner you see fit. It is entirely up to you. Live on as best you can, or surrender to the darkness." Something seems to have clicked. Jane's eyes are wide as she stares into the channel.

"Survive or submit…"

"Indeed. Either way, I have no right to decide which path you follow." Samara smoothly stands and places a hand on Jane's shoulder. "I dearly hope that we shall one day meet again. No matter which path the future holds, I pray that one day you shall find peace in the embrace of the goddess." With that, Samara leaves Jane to her decision. As she reaches the edge of the city, Galia is waiting for her.

"Well? Has she come to her senses?"

"That has yet to be determined. Whatever her decision, I expect you to honor it as I will. Understood?" Gallia hesitantly nods at her and Samara turns to leave, only for the matron to stop her again. "I have no more time Gallia. I must leave."

"I am truly sorry. I just need your advice on a final issue and then I shall leave you in peace." Irritated but willing, Samara nods her approval, "Thank you. After Jane sealed herself and Niria in the medbay of Captain Calara's ship, the doctor treated Jane's injuries before repairing the wound in Niria's chest. Afterwards, she ran a deep scan as per standard procedure and she… she found this." Gallia holds out a data pad. On the pad Samara sees the reason for the conflict in Gallia's eyes.

Her old heart breaks a little as she reads the information. "This tragedy is even deeper than I thought possible."

"The doctor didn't have the heart tell Jane and now… I'm not sure if I should either. What do think I should do?" It's the kind of call that had no good outcome, only varying degrees of cruelty.

"As I told Jane, it is not my place to make the decision for you. All I can tell is what will likely happen. If you tell her, in her current state? It will likely drive her over the edge. Alternatively, you can keep this terrible secret, in which case Jane will have a chance at recovering, but _you_ will carry the guilt for all of your days. The decision is yours… choose carefully." Samara leaves Gallia behind, marches to the shuttle pad, and leaves Liseera behind. It is doubtful that she will ever return.

 **Gallia**

It takes an hour for her to reach a decision. In the end, there was never any real question. She had just been looking for someone to shoulder the guilt with her, and that thoughtlessness boils in her gut. Gallia looks at Jane, still kneeling in the volcanic rock, before taking a final glance at the tablet in her hands. Sighing heavily, she deletes the information and throws the tablet into a waste receptacle. When it's processed at the waste treatment facility, all hope of recovering the data will disappear. Gallia had made sure it was the only copy. No one will ever hear from her just how deep this tragedy goes. No one will ever know that the assassin had not only ended Niria, but also the tiny life that was growing inside her.

 **Jane**

 _She has no idea just how long she stays by the channel after Samara leaves. A million thoughts swirl through her head, and for once, every single one is her own. The voice stay quiet, none of them willing to risk putting her over the edge. She'd really been thinking about it. It would have been quick. All she'd have to do is throw herself into the channel, endure searing agony for a few seconds, then it would be over, and she wouldn't have to live with the pain._

 _Then Samara had come along. The justicar has no idea how much she appreciated it. Jane, thinking hard on what Niria would want, makes a decision. For the first time in over twenty four hours, she gets to her feet. Her knees pop loudly and painfully, but it doesn't matter. There is one thing she has to do before going. Gathering what little power is left inside her, Jane pulls out her bond blade and draws lava from the channel. Using her biotics, Jane forces the lava into an ultra dense slurry, before lining the inscriptions along the blade. When she's done, an impossibly thin layer of material is fused on top of the words. The beauty of the blade is slightly marred, but now the words will last forever, even if the blade is destroyed. With so little strength left, Jane almost has to drag herself back to the city._

 _As she walks, Jane sends a call to Gavin. "Oh, hey Jane… look I'm so sorry about what happened. Is there anything I can do to help?"_

" _You can have Blue on the pad, fueled and ready in two hours." The young man is surprised to say the least._

" _Look, I'd really love to help, but Aethyta has grounded everybody for a couple, days."_

" _I'll give you five million credits if you're ready to go in two hours." Gavin looks like a fish out of water, opening and closing at random._

 _Eventually he manages to stammer, "Uh duh, okay…" Jane closes the line and limps to her room. She downs a gallon of water, much to her parched body's relief, and eats half her emergency supply of ration bars. Then Jane gathers everything she owns on Liseera into a few cases, piling each one on a grav cart as it's filled. Afterwards she stops by to say goodbye to Mags. To her total lack of surprise, the old asari has a huge supply of food ready to go._

 _The crotchety matriarch hugs her tight, "You keep up that appetite of yours. Don't get all stupid and start starving yourself to stay skinny." Jane thanks her and adds the food to her cart. A few minutes later she's on the pad, loading her stuff into Blue as Gavin runs his final checks. When finished, Jane hops out to let Gavin know. Instead of running a last minute inspection of the rotors, Jane finds Gavin kissing a young asari. She turns away immediately to let them have their moment, but she can't help but hear._

" _You keep in touch with me... understand? Everyday, no matter how long you're away." That sounds an awful lot like a certain young huntress._

" _You got it. Every single day babe. And you keep up with your training. I'm really looking forward seeing the new things you learn while I'm gone." She can hear the two of them kissing again. "I love you Mila." Jane knew that Gavin kept pretty active with the ladies, but had never thought that he'd fall for Nomila. "See you in my dreams baby." The asari giggles at him as he walks away and hops into Blue. Jane climbs in too, straps in Spits and herself, and only then does she see Aethyta sitting across from her alongside Lia._

" _Next time you want to sneak away, don't stop for a snack." Jane keeps a neutral expression._

" _I'm leaving."_

" _Yeah I figured that. So what's the plan. Fly into orbit and hijack an FTL capable ship?"_

" _I was actually planning on calling for one of the ships that I have flying around the Terminus."_

 _Aethyta scowls at her, "Let me save you the trouble." She turns towards the cockpit, "Hey Gavin! Calara's waitin in orbit. Take us up." The young man calls back his understanding. Blue lifts off and the colony quickly fades into the distance_

 _Date_ _: 5.21.2172_

 _Location : System 61.77. - Orbital Junkyard_

 **Jane**

 _Aethyta had been a little dubious when Jane pointed it out. "Are you absolutely sure that's what you want. You already said you had ships."_

 _She'd been adamant in her response, "I don't want anyone to have any real information on it. That means I need something that wasn't commissioned in this century. That thing, according to the few records it still has, was put out of service almost four hundred years ago. Not to mention that I intend to gut it anyway and remove any identifying information from it." A clean slate. That's what she had in mind for the abandoned ship._

" _Where you plannin on doing that kiddo? It's not like there are any reliable shipyards in the Terminus that'll do it. And anywhere in Citadel space have a thousand eyes watchin the whole time."_

" _I've got a friend who can help. She's got the facilities I need, out beyond even the Terminus." After that Aethyta had half-halfheartedly tried to convince her to stop and come back to Liseera, but the matriarch knew it was useless. After the engineering teams with them went through the old hulk and got it mostly FTL ready, they'd said their goodbyes and Aethyta returned to her family's ship. The old turian corvette shakes like a rabid animal, but it can still move on its own, with a little fuel donated from Aethyta's ship. A few days of rickety FTL flight gets them to the right relay and Jane says one last goodbye to Aethyta. With Gavin nervously at the helm, Jane in engineering, and Lia oddly enough wherever Jane wanted, doing whatever Jane wanted. The young justicar had volunteered to help her before she'd even asked. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Jane had accepted, and good thing too. Lia did whatever she said without question, giving her the ideal assistant._

 _As they move in on the relay, Gavin nervously calls over the intercom, "Okay ladies. Grab onto something and start praying. Entering the relay in 10 seconds." The shaking gets far worse as the old ship moves into the relay's range. An arc energy spears out from the ancient machine, building to a climax as Gavin counts down. "5,4,3,2,1. Our father who art in heaven…" The relay establishes a corridor through space and catapults them across the galaxy._


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47 - Flotilla**

 _Date_ _: 6.10.2172_

 _Location : Far Rim - FTL Corridor_

 **Jane**

 _The old ship is close to shaking itself apart. When they'd entered the first relay, the ride had been somewhat smooth, as had the second relay. The third had blown out half the gravity plating across the ship and opened almost forty percent of the hull to empty vacuum. After that they were close enough to their destination for standard FTL, despite the old junker's limited superluminal speed. Jane hasn't left engineering for almost two days now, relying completely on Lia to keep up the low level maintenance everywhere else. Thankfully she never questions the jobs Jane gives her, regardless of how dangerous they may be. Writing it off as evidence of the asari's desire to not be scattered in a billion pieces across a dozen lightyears, Jane kept her working._

 _Gavin is sealed inside the bridge, carefully manipulating the nav systems to maintain their FTL corridor. He might be regretting his eager acceptance of her job offer. She needed a pilot until they got things fixed up, and he'd been willing to give it a shot. The first couple days had been a bit of an adventure, but thankfully the old ship's controls were similar enough to modern Hierarchy systems that they were able to use the plans Jane had 'borrowed' without much trouble._

 _As they near the end of the final leg, Spits comes trotting into engineering with a satchel hanging from his now void safe armor. Her buddy didn't like being closed in like this, but with so much of the ship open to the void, they couldn't take any risks. Jane pops the seals on his armor to give him a breath of the slightly fresher air inside engineering and Spits licks her face in gratitude. After wiping away the drool, she digs into the satchel to get at the food Lia had sent. It's just ration bars but that's better than nothing. With the supplies Mags sent all but gone they needed to be careful. She wolfs down the bars as fast as possible, before sending Spits away and getting back to work. Extended exposure to the core was a little dangerous right now, given how long it had gone without a proper refit. Jane's the only one who can face the elevated levels of radiation without long lasting effects. Her skin itches all the time, but she won't develop any of the cancers that normal people tended to suffer from._

" _Lia, how's it going?"_

 _There's a brief pause over the comm. There was so much interference from malfunctioning gear on-board, that they always had to strain to decipher what they were hearing. "The patch is in place, but I'm out of omni gel. Next time one of the conduits blows, we'll have to shut the whole section down."_

" _Dammit." Luckily, Gavin gives them the good news they've been waiting for._

" _Praise the Lord ladies, we're about to hit the breach point. Find something solid to hold onto, a pray to God that we exit in one piece." After hearing from Lia that she and Spits were safe in one of the internal chambers, Jane sends the all clear to Gavin. "Here we go. Breaking FTL in 10, 9, 8, 7,-" there's sudden power surge and half the consoles in the engineering blowout. The entire ship seems to rise and fall sharply before a loud banging noise shakes the entire vessel. The engines cycle down and Jane lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, before bringing up the view from an external camera. They're clear. They might be tumbling a bit, but they're clear._

" _Are you two alright?!" Lia's voice is frantic over the comm._

" _I'm good in engineering. How're you Gavin?"_

" _Sprayed my lunch all over the floor. Other than that, I'm fine. You and Spits good Lia?"_

" _I'm alright. A bit shaken but alright. Spits is currently licking his eye... I don't know what that means."_

" _It means he's bored and hungry." Jane can't help but giggle in giddy relief. The constant stress had started getting to her and even though it had kept her from wallowing in grief, she was still glad the trip was almost over. "At least we're finally here… we are in the correct system, right Gavin?"_

" _We're about half a billion miles further out than we wanted, but yeah. You wanna see?" Jane immediately agrees. It's been three weeks since she'd looked at anything interesting other than bulkheads, manuals, and blueprints for ships four hundred years more advanced. Any new sight is welcome at this point. To most people, the system was nothing special. An old white dwarf with a couple asteroid belts and a pair of barren planets orbiting at the very edge of the star's gravity well. But she doesn't give a crap about the system itself. No, no. The only thing Jane cares about this far from civilized space is finding one of her closest friends. It's why they're already sending standard comm handshakes out. Almost an hour passes before the response comes in._

" _Unidentified vessel, state your purpose or be fired upon." Jane takes a deep breath before speaking. It had been made very clear that she needed to get the passphrase absolutely right in order to be welcomed._

" _After time apart through cloistered dreams, upon hopes of truth and peace, I come now seeking one who was as family to me, in those days long now passed." She waits, silently going over the phrase in her head, hoping there wasn't supposed to be another line in there._

 _Eventually the voice comes back over the comm, with a far friendly tone this time, "We acknowledge your transmission friend. Please state your identity and the name of the one you're seeking."_

" _My name is Jane Shepard." A slight gasp passes over the comm line when she says her name. "I'm here to see Keeva' Kala Nar Talbeth… wait a sec. That's actually Vas Terragoth now."_

" _Pardon… but did you say that you're name is Jane Shepard? The Jane Shepard from Omega?" Jane cocks a eyebrow in confusion._

" _Uhhh, yes."_

 _She can hear a few excited whispers over the comm before the person on the other end speaks again. "It's a pleasure to have you visit ma'am. You've been cleared for docking bay 3-L on the Terragoth."_

" _Wow… I wasn't expecting that so fast. I appreciate it but that might be a bit difficult. My ship is a little… shit... right now. Any chance you can have a couple tugs bring us in."_

 _The response comes without hesitation, "Of course. Dispatching tugs now."_

" _I'll also need a radiation scrubber. My suit's been bathed in emissions from a poorly shielded eezo core for a few days now and I don't want to risk hurting anybody." The man on the other end agrees before closing the line with a very polite goodbye. A few hours later, a pair of small sub-light ships pull alongside them. Gavin lets her know when the tethers are in place, nervously joking about it soon after._

" _Here I was worried we'd have to weld the hooks_ _ **inside**_ _the ship. Half our hull is ready to fall off if you look at it wrong."_

" _Don't worry. We'll be scrapping the old stuff soon." Jane keeps a neutral expression as she mentions a few of her plans for the old ship. Her two companions aren't so reserved. Lia looks stunned and Gavin is smiling ear to ear. After Jane cycles down the core, the three of them head to the bridge to relax and watch… at least Gavin and Lia do. Jane stays in the small office off to the side to avoid exposing them to any residual radiation from the poorly shielded core._

 _As the hours role by, the great fleet finally comes into view. In her eyes, it was one of the wonders of the galaxy. The Migrant Fleet was without question the largest fleet in the modern galaxy. A logistical behemoth, the fleet had over fifty thousand ships, stretched out over almost four light minutes of space. Though most of the vessels were converted freight haulers or discarded survey ships, there were a few gems here and there. The largest and most obvious are the three live ships floating at the center of the fleet, each one critical to feeding millions of people. Despite how much she wants to see the inside of one, Jane is far more interested in their current destination. The Terragoth was a bit of an oddball in the flotilla. It was a mobile shipyard the quarian people had straight up stolen from the batarian Hegemony almost a hundred years ago._

 _Oddly enough, though they'd officially decried the act as vile and shameful, unofficially the Hegemony had been glad to be rid of it. The huge brick shaped vessel had been a colossal investment on the batarians' part. The idea had been to commission a mobile shipyard that could keep up with a fast moving invasion force. What they'd gotten was a ship that needed ten times the maintenance and five times the crew originally planned for. She'd only been deployed on campaign one time, but that was all it had taken for the Hegemony to declare her 'too valuable to risk in combat'. So they'd dumped the massive vessel in orbit of a backwater colony world for a decade before a small group of very brave, very daft young quarians on pilgrimage had wormed their way on board. Once in place, they'd faked a reactor breach warning to trigger an evacuation before hijacking it. The Hegemony had given a token pursuit, but in reality the theft helped them save more face than its recovery would have._

 _Now the two kilometer mobile shipyard is home to over fifteen thousand crew and half that in dependents. It has over a dozen internal repair cradles large enough to service ships from the size of frigates all the way down to fighters, and enough off-side bays to take care of multiple cruisers at the same time. Right now, half the behemoth's facilities are occupied by all manner of ships. Lia points out more than one retired asari vessel and Jane spots a pair of outmoded hannar drone fighters running shake down flights further down the hull. Their sightseeing comes to an end as the old corvette is slowly pulled into bay 3-L. The massive doors slowly grind closed behind them while the bay's mag clamps latch onto the hull._

 _The comm lights up again, "This is Terragoth control. Please have all disembarking crew remain in decon area until cleared, we cannot risk contamination. Our radiation scrubber is also ready for use. We will contact you again once the process is finished." Jane and the others double check the seals on their suits before moving out. No one wants to risk bringing something infectious onto the Terragoth. Lia and Gavin sit in decon while Jane goes into the rad scrubber. The entire room emits a low, pulsating drone as it clears away any residual radiation from the surface of her suit. A short call from the decon crew lets her know when the process is done, clearing Jane to join the others to finish the process. Another call from the control room chimes in just before the airlock cycles open._

 _There is a small security team waiting for them, along with a man Jane can only assume is the captain of the Terragoth. He's extremely tall for a member of his race, nearly two meters, with a thin, almost willowy build. A long time leader for his people, he carries himself with calm authority. The man steps up in front of Jane to offer a handshake, "Jane Shepard?" She nods at take his hand, "Havel Nos vas Terragoth. Welcome aboard." Jane thanks him and turns to introduce the others._

" _This is Gavin Farris, my pilot. And this is Lia, an asari justicar who volunteered to help me for a while." Jane's surprised when Lia winces at the word justicar. That's something she'll need to investigate later. For now, "I really appreciate being cleared for a docking berth so quickly, but I have to admit I don't really understand. Why were people so excited when they heard my name?"_

 _The captain lightly chuckles, "Well, when Keeva offered her gift to the ship, along with a huge supply of credits for the fleet, we were all quite happy with her. Then she went on to to become the best tech on the entire ship. She gives you most of the credit for inspiring her, and those stories of hers from Omega are extremely popular with almost everyone on board, from seasoned spacers like me on down to the little ones just getting their first suits. Speaking of Keeva, she should be here any minute now." They don't have to wait very long. Soon Jane can hear her quarian friend coming down the hall chatting excitedly with a tiny unfamiliar voice. Then the woman herself rounds a corner and comes into view. Not much has changed since her last transmission. She has a new hood with light yellow accents, the same dark red suit with an old but still lovely wrap around her waist, and her faceplate is newer. The real changes are in her little companion._

 _The last pictures Jane had still showed the little girl inside her bubble, but now she's walking around in her own little purple suit, holding hands with Keeva. As they close in, the little girl gets behind Keeva's legs. Jane grabs Keeva in a tight hug, lifting her off the ground a bit, before gently setting her back down. "I'm so glad to see you in person again, especially after…" she trails off as Jane's eyes drop to the ground. "I'm so sorry Jane. I wish I could have been there for you." Her quarian friend hugs her again._

" _Thank you Keeva…" They stay like that for a few minutes before pulling away. Jane regains a measure of composure and turns to look at the little girl hiding behind Keeva. "You must be Tali. Your cousin here has sent me a bunch of pictures, but I'm gonna need some new ones. My most recent ones are of you still in the bubble." Rather than putting the little girl at ease, Jane winces a bit as Tali just hugs her cousin tighter._

" _Um, Jane… the helmet." At first she's a little confused over what Keeva's getting at. Then it clicks._

" _Oh crap, sorry." Jane hits a few buttons on her omnitool tool. An high yield enviro shield lights up as the front of her helmet retracts into the specialized collar. The new helmet was a serious upgrade on the old one. As the purposefully imposing features disappear and Jane's actual face comes into view, the little quarian finally edges out from behind her cousin. She kneels down to get to eye level, "Hi there. I'm Jane." The young one looks her up and down a couple times before coming closer._

 _After staring for a little while, the girl rounds on Keeva, "You were right cousin Keeva! She's really pretty!" Jane's a but stunned by the innocent declaration, blushing slightly as Gavin and Lia snicker behind her back._

" _Uhh, thank you Tali. That's a very nice thing to say."_

" _You look just the pictures Keeva has."_

" _Well, your cousin and I trade photos all the time, so that's not to surprising." The little girl shakes her head._

" _No no, I mean the ones cousin Keeva drew herself. She's got a bunch of them it in a couple big notebooks under her bed." Jane cocks a brow at Keeva, who is desperately trying to get Tali to stop._

" _Okay Tali! That's enough! You don't need to tell her anything else…" but the clueless little girl's not done yet._

" _But they're so pretty! She even has a whole book of nudie pictures she drew!" Gavin and Lia both snort in laughter, no longer caring to keep it under control. For her own part, Jane just turns a quizzical look up to Keeva._

 _The young quarian woman is locked in place with embarrassment. She raises one shaky hand to her faceplate, "Oh Keelah… if there's anyone available who can shoot me, I'd appreciate it…" while they get a chuckle from that, little Tali is beside herself._

" _No! Don't shoot cousin Keeva! I like her too much!" She hugs her cousin tight as Keeva pats her on the head._

" _Don't worry Tali, it was just a joke."_

" _Then it was a nasty joke!" As they laugh one more time, Captain Havel, who has been waiting very patiently, loudly clears his throat._

" _As nice as this all is, I will need to hear the reason for your visit Ms. Shepard. We don't get many visitors and we all have a great deal of work to do. " Jane nods to the captain to thank him for getting things on track._

" _Of course captain. That old ship I came in, I want to get a complete overhaul for it, and since the quarians are some of the best ship mechanics and engineers in the galaxy and you've got Keeva here, I thought it was a no brainer where I should go." Her quarian friend is practically bouncing in excitement._

" _We can help! There's all kinds of things that we c-" she's cut off by an understandably irritated captain._

" _Hold on there Keeva. We've plenty of work on our own ships to deal with. We can't afford to just give away materials to anyone seeking repair work, no matter how good a friend they are. We just don't have the resources for that kind of charity." Keeva's shoulders sag a little, but Jane was ready for this._

" _I'd never ask you to give it away captain. I'll pay for all the materials and components. I'll also give ten thousand credits worth of raw materials to the Terragoth for every quarian that helps, no matter how small their role. In addition, once the job is done, I'll donate twenty million credits to the Flotilla's communal fund." The captain is positively speechless at the offer. As he tries to get his voice back, he waves at Keeva to finish talking for him._

" _We can get started right away with stripping out the old stuff, but the new components will take awhile to order or fabricate. How soon does the job need to be done?"_

" _As soon as it can be done without skimping on quality. I trust you Keeva. So take as long as you need." After some obligatory confirmations with the captain, Jane and her companions move to one of the plasteel windows facing the inside of the docking bay so the can watch as the work begins._

 _Date_ _: 6.11.2172_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Room_

 **Hackett**

"Rest easy friends. The Fulcrum arrived at the Migrant Fleet last night." The entire council breaths a sigh of relief at the news. "Admittedly, it is somewhat miraculous that her vessel survived the journey." The newest member of the council lists off all the things that were wrong with Jane's ship, each one drawing another wince from the council. Though it had taken a long time for his predecessor to choose his replacement, Quarian's agents had maintained a steady stream of updates from their end of the galaxy.

"Genuine curiosity: do we know her objective in traveling to the flotilla?"

"She's arranged for an extensive refit for the vessel she arrived in. I am unable to secure the details, due in large part to an impressive ghosting program she uploaded into our monitoring systems, but we do know that the vessel is being stripped down to the base frame and rebuilt from stem to stern. My observers have also taken note of numerous transmissions being sent from the Terragoth to multiple arms dealers across the galaxy. Though details are scarce, I believe that the Fulcrum is making ready for a new hunt."

A wave of nervous chatter sweeps the council. "Against whom? Who has earned this level of hostility from her?" Several members of the council parrot Batarian's question. Hackett sighs as he answers.

"It is fairly obvious my friends. The Fulcrum's flares are fully under control and her biotics are more powerful than ever. She's going after the mercenaries that have hunted her since Omega. She's going to war with the Red Wake."

 _Date_ _: 7.1.2172_

 _Location : Far Rim - Terragoth_

 **Keeva**

I was really coming together. After almost a month of hard work by over a hundred engineers and laborers, the job is nearing completion. Jane had given her a set of requirements to fulfill, but beyond that she'd pretty much given Keeva creative freedom on what to do. It was liberating to really rip into a ship's guts and rebuild it from the ground up, instead of just keeping things working.

In all the time they've been working, Jane's friends tended to spend the night in that amazing gunship they'd brought with them. The girl herself slept most nights in Keeva's little personal area. The pilgrimage gift she'd brought back had earned her quite a bit of pull with the captain and that pull had gotten her one of the few truly personal quarters on the ship. It wasn't a huge space, being little more than a small sleeping area with a private lavatory, but it was more than most people got. The first time she'd brought Jane over, Tali had been practically bouncing in joy at having a new person to talk to. Jane sat down on her floor while they were talking before turning her enviro shield to max and fully retracting her helmet. It was surprising to see her hair cut short. Tali was especially flummoxed. "Where's your tentacle?"

"My what?!"

"In all cousin Keeva's pictures, you have this big red tentacle sticking out of your head."

Jane looked at Keeva pleadingly, imploring her to explain, "She means your braid. Tali, that wasn't a tentacle, it was her hair. She had it tied up in a special pattern." Jane nodded in understanding and turned back to Tali.

"Well, something… bad happened. Something very, very bad happened and I cut it off."

"But why? It was so pretty!" Jane didn't answer, so Keeva put a stop to it there.

"That's enough for today cousin."

"But-"

"Tali." Her voice was firm enough that the girl stopped, at least for a few days. During evenings she and Jane would talk, with Tali sitting on the bed behind Jane and examining what was left of her hair. After nervously asking if she could feel it, and a confused agreement from Jane, Tali had gone about playing with the young woman's hair for the duration of their conversations.

"It's just like type 3 magno-fiber wire!" After that, her cousin had started braiding Jane's remaining hair in ever more intricate strands, much like her favorite kind of power cabling. As the days went on, Tali would ask ever more personal questions, leading Keeva to step in more and more. A week after Jane's arrival, Tali and her father returned to the Rayya, but only after Jane promised to let her see the ship when it was done.

Now at the end of another day, with the ship nearing completion, Keeva makes her way back to her quarters. Jane had left earlier in the day after Keeva had accidentally mentioned Niria's name. Whenever anyone so much as breathed a word about Jane's fallen love, the young woman would disappear for hours on end, before randomly showing up in the middle of the night. They'd found more than one bulkhead with an imprint of her fist in it. As she walks into her room she's not surprised to see Jane inside. What she is surprised to see a certain notebook in Jane's hands. A flush of panic rises in her chest, "Um, where… where did you find that Jane?" She mouths a silent prayer that Jane hasn't seen the pictures at the back of the book.

"Under your bed. You know, I remember you being in the room with me when I was out of my suit, but I had no idea you were looking at me close enough for this much detail." Jane flips another page to one of the 'special' drawings and lets out a whistle, "Damn Keeva… It's a hell of a likeness but I am not that flexible." She tries to snatch away the book, but Jane leans back and holds a boot to Keeva's chest, lightly pushing her back. "No no no no. Apparently you were checking me out so now I'm gonna check this out." She struggles to get to the book, to no avail. Jane flips through the entirety of the embarrassing collection before turning a questioning glare on her. "While I'm flattered, I would like an explanation."

Keeva lets out a flustered sigh, "I… I guess, for a while, I was a little... obsessed with you." Jane cocks an eyebrow and opens the notebook to a particularly flattering picture of herself. "Look, about a year ago, when you started talking about hooking up with N-" She barely stops herself from saying the name. "About being with someone, I got a little… flustered. I didn't really understand what I was feeling so I started drawing that stuff. Eventually things went back to normal and I didn't feel like that anymore." She'd thought Jane would start teasing her over it all. Instead the girl just nodded at her and pushed the notebook back under the bed. Later that night she woke up to find Jane looking at the book again, a dark frown on her face. "Keelah Jane, why are you still looking at that."

"You're drawings a little inaccurate. They're missing a few scars." If she hadn't been half asleep, Keeva would have noticed the snarl in Jane's voice. Before she can say anything, Jane hurls the notebook at the wall and stomps away. Exhausted from a long day of work, Keeva just fell back asleep.

The next morning she went looking for Jane. It didn't take long to track her down inside the observation room looking down on her ship. She's just wrapping up a call as Keeva steps inside, "I understand that things are difficult right now. That's why I'm only asking for something small, really anything to start with. Basic Intel, a base, a comm line, hell a single ship, anything." The voice on the other end is heavily distorted and the screen on Jane's omni-tool had a picture of one of those nasty eight legged monsters she called a spider.

"Jane… I really want to help. I do. But things are a little hectic right now. The Shadow Broker is moving a lot of assets around behind the scenes and I just can't risk it. As soon as things calm down I can start helping you... I'm sorry." An a minor alarm chirps over the line, "Crap. Sorry Jane, I gotta go. Whatever happens, good luck."

"Wait! Weaver, just w-" the channel closes with a small squeal of static. With a growl of frustration, Jane slams a fist down on the railing, bending the steel tubing like tin. Keeva clears her throat and is rewarded with a barely caged snarl. Jane locks eyes on her, breathing deeply to calm down. "Weaver can't help me. The Broker has started a shadow war with him, so he has to go dark and take care of it. And Doth says the Wake has been getting more cautious about their attempts to re-establish on Omega, so none of the men they send have any useful data on them anymore."

"Then what's the next step." As Jane answers, she reaches down and bends the steel railing back into shape.

"As much as it pisses me off… I have to go through the Alliance. "

"That doesn't sound so bad." Jane levels an annoyed glance at her.

"They've got a good sales pitch, but don't believe everything you hear. They've got some serious demons buried all over. The kind that would start multiple wars if they got out." Keeva steps up next to her.

"Maybe, but they've got to be doing some good. And with you as a part of it, maybe you can start taking care of those demons. If nothing else, at least they can help you get started." Jane nods at her and goes back to watching the ship. Just outside the window, the crews are sealing the final hull segments. Soon they'll start painting while the interior crews finishes their own work. "When the ship is ready, where are you going first?"

"Omega." She taps her sound filters a few times to make sure they were working right. When it becomes clear that they are, Keeva can't help but be incredulous."

"Omega! Why would you ever go back to that horrible place?!"

"I need munitions. Captain Havel told me that you guys can't get the stuff I want out here so I'm going to get them on Omega. Then I need to talk to Doth about a special assignment." Jane bows her head, a grimace blossoming on her face, "And I'll need to hire some people to help run the ship… God I wish you could come with me…" She's about to apologize for being unavailable when an idea sprouts in her head.

"Oh… OH! I might not be able to go myself, but I have an idea!" Keeva practically bolts from the room in excitement, eager to get things rolling. A couple hours later and she has Jane sitting on one side of a two way mirror in what used to be an interrogation room. On the opaque side of the mirror, a trio of young quarians are waiting as they were told to.

 **Jane**

" _Well, what do you think?" Keeva is obviously excited but Jane can't really see why. The quarians on the other side of the mirror don't look too impressive. In fact, they look like pretty much any normal quarian about to leave on pilgrimage. One of the males in the trio is pacing back and forth like a caged animal, much like Jane did whenever she had to wait. He's average height for his people but he's packing a powerful build that a human marine would be proud of. The female of the group is sitting in one of the chairs, fiddling with a mobile computer in front of her. She's fairly small, but her hands dance across the keys in a blur, cycling through a surprising number of files in short order and modifying them almost too quickly for a normal person to see. The third member of the group is another male, casually leaning against the wall. This one is nowhere near as built as the first. Instead, this male has the look of a dedicated quarian engineer. His suit is studded with almost three times the pocket space as the other two, and he has several tools hanging from his belt, including a very heavily worn plasma cutter and four containers of omni gel._

" _I think you're asking me to take children with me. You understand that I'm going hunting soon… right? I'm going out there to kill people. Not to mention it's probably going to take years to wipe out the Wake." Keeva nods at her and sweeps an arm at the three young quarians._

" _I know that. These three have all received excellent training to get them ready for their pilgrimage and I promise you that they won't disappoint. You need a crew you can trust, not some credit hungry mercenary scum that'll try to knife you as soon as you pay them. I can personally vouch for their character. As far as the duration of the mission goes, all three have been given approval to begin an extended pilgrimage a little earlier than expected." Jane cocks a brow at her._

" _Why early? Why extended? You told me the pilgrimage is a highly respected tradition. Traditions don't get changed on a whim. Why are they getting special treatment?"_

" _It's nothing bad I promise. Their situation is a little… difficult right now. You can ask them about it. Their captain has agreed that it would be best if they got going as soon as possible and the extended duration will give time for things to settle back to normal at home." She scowls at Keeva, not convinced that this is anything but a bad idea. "Please, just give them chance. If they don't end up being right for the job, you can drop them off on the Citadel. That's where most quarians go on pilgrimage." Jane relents slightly and agrees to meet the trio. They head to the other side of the mirror to talk to them. As soon as they enter, the pacing male stands at attention, his back ramrod straight. The other male doesn't move much, only tilting his head to look at them. The female can't seem to choose between standing at attention, wringing her hands, or sitting back down. She settles for standing and waving slightly. "I'm going to go check on something with the ship. Go ahead and get to know them a little." Keeva leaves her alone with the trio._

 _She spends a few minutes looking each of them up and down before speaking. When Jane finally does speak, the female jumps slightly and the smaller male chuckles slightly, "Alright, I don't know how much Keeva has told you so I'll give you a short rundown. I'm taking that ship in bay 3-L to go and hunt down a mercenary organization called the Red Wake. The plan is to run them into the dirt before slaughtering them all. If you have a problem with bloodshed, then I suggest you leave now. I have no use for people that are afraid of seeing someone die." None of them move, except to stand a little straighter, "Good. Now I want to know your names, area of specialization, and what you plan on doing with your lives."_

 _The larger male steps up first, "Kal'Reegar ma'am. My training is primarily in infantry combat operations, ship to ship tactics, and ship borne security. I'll be joining the migrant marines once our pilgrimage is over." Jane nods at him, glad for someone trained to fight._

 _The female nervously pipes up, "I'm Kalia… Kalia'Reegar. I'm trained to fly ships up to frigate size. I want to be a pilot for the heavy fleet someday." That's good news. Gavin was the perfect gunship pilot, but put him at the controls of a larger ship and he's halfway to panicking right off the bat._

 _The final member speaks up, "Kalen'Reegar, engineer, looking to be the chief engineer on a live ship someday." He's the least excited of the three, still lazily leaning against the wall._

 _Jane nods at each of them again. Maybe they will be useful, "Triplets?"_

 _Kal answers, "Yes ma'am. First set on the Migrant Fleet in over a hundred years."_

" _Why did your captain approve an early and extended pilgrimage." The three trade looks with each other. Kalia wrings her hands and answers._

" _Well umm… our father uhh… he's a little too… what I mean is… he doesn't uhh-"_

" _Oh just spit it out Kalia. She's trying to say that our father can't keep it tucked in his suit. We were born to his mistress and that makes people around here all bitchy about us." Kal rounds on his brother._

" _Don't disrespect our father Kalen!"_

 _The smaller quarian doesn't back down in the slightest, another good sign in Jane's eyes. "It's not disrespect to tell the truth you ass! I love father just as much as you do but I'm not afraid to admit his shortcomings!" The two of them launch into what is obviously a very old, very frequent argument. While they bicker, Kalia steps closer._

" _Sorry, they do this all the time. I promise that it won't hurt their work." Jane nods and silently watches the argument, which never goes beyond insults or heated words. It's actually pretty entertaining. Before the clash of brothers can wind down, Keeva calls them all to the 3-L observation room. When they arrive, Jane actually manages to crack a tiny smile._

" _So, what do you think." The ship is a work of art. Every panel is perfectly secured, all the non explosive weapons are installed, and the paintjob is perfect._

" _It's beautiful Keeva. Did you get everything I asked for?"_

" _Yes. I've included everything on this data pad." Keeva hands here a pad loaded with information. "I even managed to squeeze in a few things that I think you'll like. She's ready to go as soon as you are. I'm sorry it was so expensive, but I really think it'll be worth it." Jane hopes so. Her accounts had been drained to almost nothing, relatively speaking. She still had a few million credits to buy munitions, but the refit had taken_ _ **billions**_ _to finish, not to mention tens of millions more in payments for every worker and the donation to the flotilla's communal fund. Thankfully there's another cut from the mountain coming up, so things should be fine. Jane wraps Keeva in a bear hug, "Thank you Keeva. For everything."_

 _Before they leave, Jane invites Tali to see the ship, just as she promised. The little girl is beside herself in giddy joy as they walk through the pristine corridors. "Oh oh! That's an Alatana 3MX data panel! And those are Tomalcan gravity plates! Oh! And those-" It goes on and on and on. Tali seems to be able to identify almost everything on the ship, much to Jane's amusement._

 _Once their little tour was done, Jane promised to send Tali some technical specs to study if she promised to keep it a secret. With the kind of earnestness only a child can project, Tali had agreed, practically bursting with excitement. After she and her father left again, Jane shared a last minute laugh with Keeva, "You know, if she keeps this up, she'll make some serious waves when she grows up." Keeva happily nodded at her. The two of them watch the paint crew as they finish adding the name. After a while, they go to say their goodbyes._

 **Keeva**

Jane hugs her tightly as they say goodbye. As they break away, Jane has something else to say, "I'm gonna find him Keeva. And when I do…" The air is heavy with ozone, "I'm gonna make him scream." Jortan. When Jane revealed why Niria had been killed, Keeva almost couldn't believe it. " _They did it to keep me from breeding! I'm gonna find him Keeva! I'm gonna find him and by the time I'm done, he'll be begging for death!"_ She believes it. No matter how calm Jane seemed while she was on the Terragoth, the girl was constantly on hair trigger. The slightest mention of Niria or the Red Wake had brought more than one nosy crew member to the brink of a very violent, very painful death. Thankfully Jane had been able to keep it under control, mostly. Now as she says goodbye, Keeva can't help but shudder at the cold, murderous look in Jane's eyes.

A niggling fear worms its way into her head, 'What happens to Jane when Jortan is gone?'

 **Jane**

 _After over a month of waiting, Jane's ship is finally breaking from the flotilla. Kalia, after nervously pouring over the controls, has settled comfortably into the helm, letting her hands dance across the panel like a life long veteran. She was still a little hesitant to push the brand new systems, but Jane believes she'll be fine. Gavin had actually hugged the young woman in joyous relief when he found out she'd be flying the ship. Afterward, he agreed to stay in Jane's employ for a while, saying that he wanted to see more of the galaxy, and getting paid to do it was great too. Lia was staying too, but she wouldn't talk about her reasons._

 _Kal was still going through the data Keeva left them for the tactical controls. He was the spitting image of dedication as he poured himself into the work of mastering the controls. Thankfully Keeva had included plenty of VR training programs to help them adjust._

 _Kalen, though he was obviously too proud to admit it, had been practically drooling as they'd toured the ship. A chance to work on such an advanced and well built ship was a dream come true for him. He was in engineering at the moment, quietly gushing to himself as he checks everything._

 _Jane herself is sitting in the captain's seat at the center of the heavily armored bridge, carefully going over the specs. Keeva had delivered on everything she wanted and more. They'd need to put the ship through its paces soon, just so they could get a feel for everything it could do._

 _As they approach the edge of the system, Kalia calls out, "We're about five minutes away from the jump point. Are you sure you want Omega? Keeva said it was a terrible place."_

" _Yeah I'm sure. Don't worry. When we get there, It'll just be me, Kal, and Lia going in. The rest of you are going to lock down the ship and stay safe. Sound FTL announcement and make ready to breach." Kalia nods and a small alert echoes through the ship. Kalen gives the all clear and the ship has a slight tremble as the engines cycle up. It's nowhere near as bad as before._

" _We are at the system edge. Establishing FTL corridor. Okay everybody, entering FTL in 5,4,3,2,1." The transition is almost perfectly smooth. Jane smiles to herself, glad to be one step closer to resuming the hunt._


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48 - Return**

 _Date_ _: 7.9.2172_

 _Location : Omega - Outer approach_

 **Jane**

 _The ship is so much more that she'd been hoping for. It's clean, quiet, and faster than any other ship its size thanks to the new, oversized eezo core. On the way to the first relay leading to Omega she had Kalia burning the engines right below redline to see just how fast it could move at non relay FTL. It maxed out at about 30_ _%_ _faster than the quickest Alliance corvettes, with a more efficient fuel drain._

 _Two relay jumps later and they broke from FTL at the edge of Omega's system. A few pirates had tried to extort some bogus safe passage fee. Those pirates were now tumbling into the interstellar void thanks to a concentrated volley from the ship's surprisingly heavy GARDIAN batteries. Keeva had managed to get her hands on the plans for salarian ultra-violet guns, plans she then used to assemble almost two dozen turrets. Though they fired a bit slower than standard Alliance systems, the range was much longer and they did a lot more damage. Jane had been worried about the power drain until Keeva had pointed out a small, secondary reactor installed specifically to power the GARDIAN system and nothing else._

 _Kal had been hesitant to open fire, at least until the pirates launched a warning shot at them. After that he started calling out places they could shoot to rip the ships apart. His calls were good and with a single volley the way was clear. As they move in, Kalen offers a report from engineering, "Core is a little hot, but that's to be expected with a brand new coolant system. I've already got some ideas to fix it. Other than that, everything is good. Better than good in fact." Jane then endured a twenty minute, fanboy esque description of how well things were going. She pushes the mute button on the comm transmitter before saying, "It almost sounds like he's in love."_

 _Kalia answers without turning, "He is. This ship is the most advanced any of us has ever been on, and Kalen was born to be a ship's engineer." Jane nods before turning to Lia._

" _Send the signal." Her asari companion is working the main comm station. She'd given Lia a specific frequency to transmit on, along with a very terse message. There's almost no delay in the response._

" _Someone is sending a reply… It almost sounds like a prayer." Jane grinds her teeth as Lia plays the transmission. As that infuriating prayer bounces around the bridge, she snarls a response._

" _It is… did they send the coordinates for a docking berth." Lia nods, "Send it to the helm. Bring us in Kalia, no delays." The young woman complies, smoothly guiding the ship to the designated berth. A chime tells them when the ships reach the right position and in seconds they can feel a slight bump as a docking collar fixes onto the hull. "Lia, Kal, arm up and meet me at the airlock." Jane punches the ship's intercom, "Kalia, Kalen, Gavin, I want you three to lock down the ship while we're gone. Spits is staying with you too. Keep the turrets primed. If anyone so much a breaths at you in a less than friendly way, vaporize them. Remember, this is Omega._ _ **Everyone**_ _is a potential threat, so don't dick around." After that she heads to her quarters to grab something._

 _It was a project she'd been working on for Niria. A blade, specially made for the asari girl. It was the bright reflection of Jane's Abyss. A full meter long, this blade was nearly identical in shape, but instead of abyssal black, this was bright silver with an ivory white hilt. Enclosed in that hilt was a small crystal, which held a single drop of her own blood. Given that Niria had been nowhere near as strong as Jane, she'd used some of the lightest alloys she could get. At only four kilograms, the blade would have perfectly suited Niria's style of speed and precision, and it was almost as durable as Abyss. Since it was Jane's answer to the bond blade still strapped to her thigh, there was an inscription along the length of the blade. Written in old world Latin, it told the story of her and Niria from Jane's perspective. It was meant to be a declaration of her own love. Now, it'll help her exterminate the Wake alongside Abyss. She named it Seraph._

 _As she slides the shining blade into the second scabbard, this one on her left, Lia calls over the comm, "Jane, there is someone at the airlock. It appears to be a batarian."_

" _Mercenary?"_

" _No. It is a female. She is unarmed and is wearing a dark red robe…" Probably one of the damn cultists. "Should we drive her away?"_

" _Don't bother. Doth probably sent her. I'm on my way." Spits hesitantly obeys her command to stay as Jane leaves. She arrives at the airlock in short order. Kal takes his place behind her and to the right, while Lia takes the left. "If someone attacks you, don't hesitate to kill them. Stay close to each other, don't trust anyone, don't sign anything, and don't agree to anything… oh, and if anyone propositions you, they're probably either a whore or a serial killer. Tell them you don't have any money for them. If that doesn't work, threaten to shoot them. If they still won't leave, shoot them." Lia takes her advice in stride, but Kal looks a little lost._

" _Is it really that bad here? I remember Keeva's stories, but it can't really be as bad as all that."_

 _She levels a glare at him, boring into him with unblinking eyes. Kal wilts slightly under her gaze, "Don't ever assume this place is anything but a hellhole. Whatever Keeva told you, the reality is far worse. There is a reason that Omega is known as a pisshole across the galaxy. Understood?" Kal stands at attention and nods confidently. The ship's simple VI announces that decon is finished as the airlock cycles open. Jane deploys her helmet, glad to be breathing the filtered O_ _2_ _of her personal supply instead of the fetid air of Omega. As they step away from the ship, Jane smiles to herself when airlock slams into lock-down behind them. 'Good, they listened. Hopefully things will stay that way.' The batarian female waiting for them offers a slight bow._

" _Welcome friends. Doth sends his effusive greetings and has asked me to escort you to the temple." Jane nods, falling in line behind the woman, ignoring Lia's surprised questioning of the word 'temple'. As they walk, the batarian woman lists off a number of things that have changed over the years. "We are proud to say that there are now several streets on Omega that are nearly safe to traverse alone. It is still not recommended, but it is far safer than it once was. Also, we have kept the Red Wake from gaining any foothold for the duration of your time away. They have tried to return nearly a dozens times, under multiple aliases, but each time has ended in failure." She goes on to list details on dozens of small victories against the Wake or other assorted scum bags. Jane is almost smiling when they reach the 'temple', but all her amusement vanishes as soon as they step inside, buried under the barely contained fury._

 _Lia is the first to comment. "Uhhh, Jane. Is that... you?" The three of them are looking at the ten meter tall statue facing the entrance. It's a fair likeness. Standing with feet shoulder width apart, arms spread wide with a blade in each hand, and its face turned to look above, the statue looks like its roaring into the sky. Hands down, it's the ugliest statue Jane's ever seen, and not just because she hates the idea of being worshipped. There are a few people bowing to the effigy, with more than one uttering some nonsensical prayer._

 _Jane takes a moment to answer Lia, "Yes, it is. It's a long story and I don't want to talk about it… ever." The asari keeps her mouth shut, simply nodding in agreement. It doesn't take long for people to notice their arrival and for word to spread beyond the temple. More people from multiple species start trickling in, each one adding to the slowly building din of nervous babble._

" _Ma'am, should we be worried?" Kal's finger keeps twitching towards his rifle's trigger every time someone else gets close._

" _No. They're no threat. Are you?" Jane glares at the nearest supplicant, causing the man to edge away in fear. "Where is Doth?"_

 _The answer comes from the catwalks above them, "I am here my lady. I will be down presently." Leader of this little cult, Doth has an air of authority all his own as he descends the nearby stairs. With only one of his four eyes left, most people would think him quite diminished, but Jane knew better. He almost always lead the combat missions to root out the Wake's attempts to rekindle the cancer that was their presence, blasting away at the enemy with the heavy shotgun hanging in the sling at his waist. Once he reaches ground level and moves to stand in front of her, he immediately drops to his knees and bows, along with every other worshipper. "You honor us with your presence my lady. What do you desire of us?" Jane sets aside her anger for a moment, focusing on the reason she came._

" _I have a ship that needs supplies." She gestures at Lia, prompting the asari to hand a datapad to the kneeling cult leader. "I expect you to get everything on this list as quickly as possible." Doth moves to start fawning over the supposed honor of the task, but Jane's in no mood for the usual spiel. "None of that crap today! I've got a special job for you. Gather your four best missionaries and five best warriors and meet me in the ruins of the old Red Wake headquarters, this time tomorrow. They all need to be batarian and they need to be not only your best, but your bravest. Got it?" Doth nods eagerly and offers an effusive display of gratitude at her trust in him. Once the ass kissing is done, Jane leads her group away, bound for the second most important reason for her visit. Just before they leave the area, the female batarian from before cautiously approaches them. It takes her a moment to work up the courage to speak._

" _Forgive me ma'am but I must ask. Are you really Akshar? Are you truly the Goddess of Bitter Truths?" Jane swears loudly before answering._

" _You really wanna know?" The woman nods hesitantly, "No. I'm not. As I've told Doth and many of his followers over and over and over again, I'm not a goddess. I'm not a demon. Hell, I'm not even a servant of a goddess or demon! But nothing I ever say seems to make a difference. About the only thing I could do to stop them from worshipping me would be to kill them, but that would just prove the story to anyone who survived and unless I commit a huge massacre, I'd be back to square one." Rather than being distraught, the batarian woman actually looks relieved._

" _Thank the gods…" She trails off for at the look in Jane's eye. "Oh, I didn't mean that as anything against you ma'am! I just… I never really believed in the stories that my owners told their children and then Doth freed me and told me about you. The way he talked made it sound like you had come for the end of all things. He never said that or even implied it but I guess I was… I was just…" Jane holds up a hand to forestall the woman's panicked explanation._

" _It's alright. You don't need to make excuses or explain. I'm actually relieved that you're not one of my 'supplicants'. I don't need people tripping over themselves to try and prove their faith to me." The disdain in her voice draws a pained look from the first sensible member of Doth's cult that she's ever met._

" _Forgive me ma'am. Please do not look so unfavorably on your more… devout followers. No matter how wrong or foolish it may be, the results have been amazing. Doth and the others have freed hundreds of slaves, myself included, not to mention all the people they've helped since you told them to be better than those that came before them." Though gently chastised, Jane is anything but angry at the woman._

 _She smiles slightly and takes her hand, "Alright. I'll try not to be so rude about it... if you tell me your name."_

" _My family sold me before I was given a name, but when Doth freed me, he named me Nara'an." Jane nods a greeting and shakes Nara'an's hand._

" _It's a pleasure to meet you Nara'an. Please encourage more people to think like you do." The woman bows politely before heading back into the temple. Kal and Lia fall in line as they make their way from the temple. Neither one of them breaks the silence, but Kal does keep getting distracted by the sights, not to mention offers of companionship from multiple asari, a pair of human women, a hanar, and most disturbingly of all, a krogan male in drag. Thankfully the young quarian maintains his discipline, despite being clearly shaken by the time they reach their destination._

" _That krogan… was he really… what the hell was that?!" His voice is a little higher than usual, much to Jane's amusement._

" _Welcome to Omega Kal. Keep up that discipline and you'll stay pure." Lia snickers as Kal trips and stumbles slightly. The light mood keeps up for the entire trek, barely dimming as they approach the club. Jane didn't really want to go in, but the bitch in charge had easy access to what she needed. "Okay. While we're inside, keep your hands to yourself, don't talk to anyone, and don't piss the head bitch off. I really don't want to deal with that shit today." Her companions agree as they approach the entrance. "Afterlife… god this place is annoying." With the pounding music, jostling crowd, and more than one drunk puking or pissing in the nearby alleys, this place was a dump in her eyes. They march up the steps towards the door, but a batarian steps in front of them, barring the way forward._

" _Hold it. Club's at capacity right now. Only personal invites allowed." With her helmet still deployed, Jane's not surprised that this one doesn't recognize her. She's about to start toying with him when she notices the faded red tattoo peeking just over the edge of his collar. The leading edge of a very familiar emblem. Jane forces the rage to stay back for a moment so she can speak._

" _That's a very interesting tattoo you have there. Tell me, did you pay the toll to be let out of the Red Wake?" The batarian's eyes shoot open in absolute panic as he tries to pull his collar up._

" _Don't say that name!" His voice is a terrified whisper and his heart is beating a mile a minute. "Bad things happen to people that get associated with that name! Look, you can go ahead and go inside, just please don't say it again…" He tries to step to the side, but Jane locks a brutal grip on his arm. The batarian groans in pain as she slowly starts to crush his arm._

" _Answer me. Did you. Pay. The toll?" With a pained voice, the batarian struggles to answer._

" _I… I got away without doing it. Layed low to stay out of sight and stayed the hell away from any of their business… Please, please stop. Why the hell would you even care?!" His attempts to escape are growing ever more frantic as the bone in his arm starts to crack under her grip._

 _Jane uses her free hand to trigger her helmet's retraction. As the interlocked plates disappear into her collar and her eyes come into view, the man's heartbeat skyrockets to a new extreme. If left on its own, the frantic organ would probably burst. "I care because it was the price I demanded… And you didn't pay." An amber aura builds around her, drawing frightened gasps from a couple onlookers who apparently remember the stories. Jane throws a stasis field around the batarian before turning and shouting to the gathering crowd. "IT SEEMS LIKE OMEGA HAS FORGOTTEN MY DEMANDS. THE RED WAKE IS NEVER TO BE TOLERATED, IN ANY CAPACITY. THIS ONE FAILED TO PAY FOR HIS SINS, SO LET HIM BE YOUR REMINDER!" With that, Jane launches the batarian into the vid screen hanging over the entrance. Before he can fall, she rips four strips of metal from the floor and lances them through his hands and feet, locking him in place for all to see. Most of the crowd has run away screaming at this point, with only a few of the dumbest, bravest, and the most inebriated remaining. As the man screams in pain, Jane throws a low energy warp at him. The field rips his clothing to shreds and scorches the top layers of his flesh. He mewls in agony as she moves into the club. Lia stays silent but Kal can't keep quiet._

" _Why did you do that captain?! He was no threat!" Given his inexperience, Jane doesn't really blame him for his confusion._

" _He was Red Wake. That was reason enough." Kal tries to speak again but Jane rounds on him before he can, "Don't you dare question me on this Kal! The Wake is a collection of the worst murderers, slavers, and rapists in the Terminus. Every single one of them deserves to die just like that one outside will and I intend to make it happen! If you can't handle that then I will book passage to the citadel for you and your siblings right now!" Kal lets his shoulders drop slightly._

" _I'm sorry ma'am. Keeva said we should always trust you… so I'll trust you." Jane leaves it be and heads into the bar. While the people outside had been privy to the crucifixion, most of the people inside seem to be utterly oblivious to what had happened._

" _Stay right behind me. Anyone tries to block the way, use your rifle butt and crack their skull." Jane leads the way, roughly shoving away anyone blocking her path. Lia and Kal have it a bit rougher but still manage to keep pace, with only a single blow to the head against a turian, courtesy of Kal's assault rifle. The stairs up are only a few meters away when a pair of heavily armed turians step up to the sides, and a batarian stands in front._

" _Hold it! No one starts trouble in here! Drop your shit and get out!" With a short pulling gesture, Jane biotically rips the weapons away from the flanking turians before crushing them with her bare hands. As the shattered remains of the guns fall between her fingers, Jane steps closer to the batarian. At 6' 4", Jane towers over the alien by almost half a foot. The man starts trembling in terror._

" _ **Move. Now.**_ " _With a whimper, the batarian immediately faints, opening the way since the turians are still gawping at them. Right before they hit the stairs, a familiar voice stops her._

" _Hello there Little Bug. Long time no see." From almost anyone else, the phrase 'Little Bug' might have been insulting, but from the truly ancient krogan limping over to her, it was actually something of a nickname._

 _Jane nods at the old lizard, "Patriarch."_

 _She shakes his hand as he responds, "It's nice to see you again Jane. I know you're busy but I need to ask… Are you here to kill Aria?" His voice holds a mix of hope and fear. Apparently he can't decide if it would be bad or not for Aria to die._

" _That depends on her. I needs things. If she's willing to do business then you've got nothing to worry about." The old man nods sagely._

" _Well I suppose that would be for the best. Things are pretty peaceful right now. A bit fragile, but peaceful. Can't really afford to rock the boat right now." Jane shakes his hand again before moving into the private lounge overlooking the bar. She gestures for Kal and Lia to watch the door, before making eye contact with the head bitch herself. Aria is exactly the same as she remembers. Though the queen of Omega doesn't show any concern on the outside, Jane can hear her heart positively pounding in her chest and she can smell the fear radiating from her. Aria is actually frightened, but why? What did she do?_

 _Jane squares her shoulders, stands right in front of her, and speaks, "I need supplies." The mundane nature of the statement actually floors Aria for a moment. She spends several moments letting her mouth open and close like a fish out of water. Eventually she rallies enough to respond._

" _You murder my door man, disrupt the mood in my club, make one of my guards piss himself, and all you want… is supplies?" Aria's voice is incredulous._

" _I need very specific supplies. Munitions. 250 type 23-STS Piranha Missiles and 250 type-66 STS Hammerhand missiles. I also need 20 Type 9 Disruptor torpedoes, along with three and a half tons of Armax Type 3 plastic explosives. You can get them without drawing too much attention, and that's what I want." Aria is glaring at her, the expression on her face shifting between disbelief and oddly enough, more than a little relief._

" _The missiles and explosives are easy. The torpedoes, not so much. They're only made in Citadel space. That means they're expensive and have a somewhat lengthy delivery time. I can arrange things, if you can pay."_

" _What's your price?"_

" _Twenty million for the missiles, ten for the explosives, and sixty for the torpedoes."_

" _Deal. Have it all delivered to bay 10102 in Kima. I'll pay you half now and the other half once everything is delivered and I've confirmed that there's no sabotage or deception." Jane transfers the credits and turns to leave. Before she reaches the door, Aria calls after her._

" _Tell me, hows that lovely mother of yours doing. Comas can be a terrible strain on a family." Jane takes a steadying breath, struggling to keep her rage in check. She's almost got it beaten down when Aria makes her mistake. "Tell me. Why is it that you both took the bullet, yet Niria wa-" It happened so fast, even Jane was shocked by it. As soon as the name left Aria's lips, Jane's hands flew to the swords on her back. Just when Aria tries to say the word was, both blades slam into the couch at either side of her head. Before she can properly react, Jane is there to grab both blades and wrench them into position at Aria's throat. A single wrong move would be all it would take for the asari to cut her own head off. Jane is almost foaming at the mouth as she screams into Aria's face._

" _DON'T YOU EVER SAY HER NAME! YOU WEREN'T THERE! YOU WERE NEVER THERE FOR HER! YOU DIDN'T EVEN COME TO THE FUNERAL! IF YOU EVER SO MUCH AS WHISPER HER NAME AGAIN, I'LL RIP OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND STRANGLE YOU WITH THEM!" A biotic pulse leaps out of her. The surge shatters every bottle and every glass in the club, in addition to blowing out the sound system and knocking Aria's guards silly. The crowd inside behaves much like the one outside, with only the very drunk or very stupid staying. The blinding rage slowly bleeds out of her, allowing her to regain control. Jane rips the swords away from Aria's throat before leaving the gasping asari behind. She storms out of the bar with her companions close behind. A large group of Doth's men are waiting outside, likely believing that she'd finally decided to end Aria. Jane waves the leader over, cutting him off before he can speak. "Make sure these two get back to my ship safely." The man nods and orders his men to make ready to leave, giving Jane a moment to speak with Kal and Lia. "When you get back, tell the others about the weapons we're getting. They need to be thoroughly examined_ _ **before**_ _they're brought on board. Every possible scan is to be done via drone, then I want them done again in person, six times each. Take no chances. I'll be back tomorrow, so keep the ship on lockdown until I get back." Kal reluctantly agrees, but Lia tries to argue._

" _Jane, my place is by your side. I will accompany you to…" Jane's glare puts paid to the idea, leaving Lia slightly stunned by the overt hostility in her eyes. Her two companions leave soon after with an escort of over a dozen heavily armed fanatics. As for herself, Jane makes a beeline for Doru after calling for Gavin to let Spits off the ship and instructions on where to send him. The district at large is more heavily populated and lively than ever, with the notable exception of the streets near her destination. Every building near the ruins of Mirdan's old clinic is nothing more than a looted ruin, left to decay by the locals. The clinic itself was nothing more that a shattered husk, covered in old scorch marks. There's nothing left of the totemic circle Jane had once made, nor of the carcasses she left here. Keeva had complied with her request and then some._

 _The area is almost completely silent, with only the slight susurration of the station's air recyclers breaking the peace. Jane moves to the center of the clinic ruins and kneels in the blackened husk, just as Spits makes his way to her. He plops down in front of her, belly up, happy to just be with her again. As she pats his stomach Jane gets started. With barely a whisper, Jane speaks to Sara's god, not fully convinced he's real, but hoping that at least someone is there to hear._

 **Aria**

One single moment of arrogance had nearly cost her everything. When the not-so-little-anymore monster had put those sword around her throat, Aria had believed wholeheartedly that she was going to die. The fact that Jane had only left her two very shallow scratches was both a blessing and a curse. Yes she was still alive, but this whole incident will severely damage her reputation. Aria had gotten ready to order the monster's ship destroyed, but Patriarch talked her down. "Just think for a moment! She's not the wounded little girl that those commandos found anymore! Now she's full grown, armed to the teeth, and even I could feel the power just oozing out of her. Go after her now, and she's liable to destroy the entire station. Just do some honest business with her and let it go. It's a miracle that she still doesn't know what really happened back then." As much as she hated it, Aria had relented. She'll do an honest deal with the girl and just be thankful to still be alive enough to have a reputation to rebuild.

 _Date_ _: 7.10.2172_

 _Location : Omega - Former Red Wake Headquarters_

 **Jane**

 _She spent the whole night trying to let the anger go, to little avail. Though the prayers that Sara had always offered did help, Jane still struggled to avoid lashing out at everything in sight. No one had bothered her. Even the vorcha could sense the danger in antagonizing her. She spent a few hours at the ruins of the clinic before making a visit to Keeva's old place, now know to Omega as the Sirus Emporium. The young turian had grown quite a bit. He was actually taller than Jane now and heavily muscled. Though he was still the technophile she remembered, the young man had been tempered slightly by the joyous burden of fatherhood. He'd been a gracious host, offering a veritable feast after her arrival. Jane stayed for a couple hours to eat and ask about him. His wife and children were afraid at first but quickly warmed up to her after Sirus spoke to them. His children, twins, one boy and one girl, had played with Spits for over an hour. For his own part, the burly varren had been more gentle with them than Jane had thought possible._

 _The children had tried to get her to stay the night so she could share more stories of her fights, but their mother made them go to bed as the night progressed. Jane politely declined the offer of a spare room for the night so she could go see another old friend. Vollo was still the diva he'd always been. The lovably jelly had been beside himself in shame over his, according to him, filthy shop, which to Jane's eyes was so clean that she couldn't see so much as a single speck of dust. He too had offered food and a place to stay, which she turned down, citing the need to get back to the ship. Upon hearing that, Vollo asked about their food situation. "It's fine I guess. We've got plenty of MREs and ration bars, plus a huge supply of dehydrated stuff. We'll be fine." His response was a distraught declaration._

" _MREs… ration bars… DEHYDRATED FOOD! Forgive this one's imposition, but this one cannot allow the redoubtable Jane languish under the tyranny of poor nutrition. This one shall make arrangements immediately to provide proper foodstuffs, in addition to one capable of offering sufficient culinary skill as to keep the beloved Jane Shepard from suffering due to privation. This one is shall see to all arrangements and shall meet you at your vessel the moment preparations are completed. Onwards dear friend! There is much to do!" With that, Vollo drifted away with surprising speed to begin making the arrangements, leaving a thoroughly stunned Jane behind. Eventually, after sharing the dock number of her ship and listening to Vollo pontificate over the virtues of the cook he was calling for her, Jane said her goodbyes and headed for Zeta._

 _The district still hasn't recovered from the final assault on the Wake, which just makes it easier to reach the meeting unimpeded. At the abandoned command center, Jane finds Doth and seven other batarian males, along with two females waiting inside. The ten of them immediately kneel when she walks in, but at least they don't start praying. Spits sniffs each one in turn before walking over to the spot the two of them had nearly died in the last time they were here. Jane's not sure, but it looks like Spits has actually managed to lose himself in memory for the time being. "Thank you all for coming. What I'm going to ask you to do will seem a little insane. Maybe even suicidal. If you don't think you can handle that, please leave now. I won't blame you or be angry. In fact, I encourage you to leave if you have any doubts whatsoever." None of them so much as budge._

" _My lady, these nine men and women are the most courageous and skilled of your followers. None of us fear death. We will gladly lay down our lives for whatever cause you see fit to bestow upon us." The other nine batarians all whisper their own affirmative to Doth's declaration. Despite her irritation, Jane smiles._

" _I'm glad to hear it, because you're going to Khar'shan." To say the group was shocked would be an understatement. None of them look afraid, or even smell that way, but they all look quite confused._

 _One of the others, obviously a warrior, is the one to answer, "My lady, to what end? We are eager to serve, but I cannot see a reason to go to that den of sin." The others all nod in agreement. Among batarians of low birth or former slaves, Khar'shan was a hated place, a place where slaves and those of low status never lived more than the most dreary of lives._

" _The ten of you are going to begin the very long, very difficult task of overthrowing the Hegemony." Every single one of them gasps in astonishment. She'd given it a lot of thought over the last couple months. Jortan sought to take away her family at every turn. Since Jane didn't know if the bastard had any family of his own, she had to settle for disrupting the societal balance of his entire race._

 _Doth nods serenely but of the robed female next to him, the one who'd been glad to hear that Jane wasn't a god, speaks up, "How will we accomplish that ma'am? We are but a few, and the Hegemony is made of billions. How could we possibly overthrow it?"_

" _You'll start by infiltrating anywhere possible, preferably through the priesthood and the warrior caste. That's why I asked for five missionaries and five warriors. You'll form into five pairs, each one to be inserted in a different area. Then, you will worm your way into any influential positions possible. Along the way, you are to gather trustworthy people that share the values of freedom, justice, and the right to self determination. The caste system must fall, along with the slave trade. This is not a mission to 'spread the faith'. Keep the Akshar stuff to a minimum. The people need to be convinced that it's in their best interest, not that they're all going to die if they refuse." She's careful to look Doth in the eye for that entire sentence. The one-eyed batarian bows in acquiescence._

" _Do whatever you have to do to avoid capture. Your rules of engagement are the same for the pirate and slaver hunts, except you'll need to keep the executions to a minimum. Only kill when you have to, and only if you can do it quietly. Work slowly and carefully. The Hegemony has stood for millennia. It will take time to bring it down." Jane pauses for a moment to look each of them in the eye. Everyone of them is full of righteous purpose, but she still needs to be sure. "I'm not demanding that any of you go. The odds of your survival are very, very low, so I only want volunteers. Like I said, if you don't think you can handle that, please leave now. I won't blame you or be angry." No one leaves, drawing an even bigger grin from Jane. "Glad to see that. Wrap up whatever ongoing business you have as soon as possible. When you're ready, each pair needs to book passage on separate ships, with different arrival times. Good luck and remember that I have faith in you." The nine followers beam with pride as they move out to make ready._

 _Doth spends a few minutes praising her for her trust in him before Jane can ask what she needs to, "Doth… can your people carry on without you? Like I said, this is going to take a long time and communication will be pretty rare."_

 _He nods confidently, "They can indeed my lady. The nine I have chosen are the best at what they do, but those that remain are very nearly as skilled and I have worked hard to ensure that there are multiple layers of redundancy in those that follow you. They shall endure and continue to flourish without me." Doth makes his goodbyes before leaving for his own preparations. Jane grabs Spits and the two of the return to the ship._

 _On arrival, they find the first shipment of munitions being meticulously scanned, inspected, and cleared before being carefully loaded into the ship. An old, heavily scarred turian hobbles over to her, "You Jane?" she nods at the old man, "Got all your missiles and your explosives. Torpedoes'r gonna take 'bout three days." She nods again and pays another quarter of the bill, promising the rest when_ _ **all**_ _of the stuff arrives. Kal and Kalen spend the next few days bickering over who gets to launch the first missile, whilst Kalia and Lia calmly chat about all manner of subjects ranging from life in the flotilla and the tenants of the justicar order. Lia seems a little uncomfortable with that subject but still shares the information freely. Gavin used their extra time to set up a small workshop in the compartment next to the hanger. He manages to get a hold of everything they need to manufacture basic components for the ship, without stopping at a station somewhere._

 _One the fourth day since their arrival, the torpedoes finally arrive, accompanied by the same crotchety old turian. Jane pays for the rest once their quality is confirmed, and then she gives the old man a little extra to thank him for helping. With a half smile, courtesy of the hideous burns on his face, the old man nods and limps away. Just as Kal drags the final pallet inside, Jane hears a pair of hanar voices approaching. She spots them as they round the corner. One is obviously Vollo, with his usually colorful silk strands and a heavily loaded grav cart pulled behind him. The other is unknown to her. Once Vollo is close enough he calls out to Jane, "Salutations to you friend. This one has brought one that can serve the role of culinary expert for your vessel. May this one introduce this one's beloved offspring, face name Vollor." The new hanar parts his front tentacles and dips his horn in a slight bow._

" _This one is honored to be in the presence of the storied Jane Shepard. This one's sire has told many a tale of redoubtable courage and heroism. May this one request the honor of serving aboard the honorable Jane Shepard's vessel as ship's cook."_

 _Jane cocks an eye at her favorite jelly, "Vollo?"_

" _This one swears to the quality of Vollor's culinary skills. He will serve you well."_

 _Not liking the idea of eating nothing but rations, Jane relents, "I suppose. Welcome to the ship Vollor. There are a few unclaimed cabins left. Go ahead and pick whichever one you want, then please introduce yourself to the others."_

 _Vollor is excitedly bobbing up and down, "This one shall endeavor to serve to the fullest of its abilities! Thank you Jane Shepard for your magnanimous acceptance." With that, Vollor drifts into the ship, a pair of heavy travel cases gripped firmly in his trailing tentacles. Once he's gone, Jane turns back to Vollo._

" _I'll keep him safe Vollo. I promise." After a lengthy speech about her kindness and generosity, Vollo makes his goodbyes and drifts home. He leaves the grav cart behind, loaded down with hundreds of patch squares to repair suit damage, along with all the tools they'd need to make modifications. With the supplies loaded up and everyone on board, Jane has Kalia break from the station. In no time at all, they hit the relay, happily leaving Omega far behind._

 _Date_ _: 7.15.2172_

 _Location : Arcturus - Admiral Hackett's office_

 **Hackett**

Trying to keep track of Jane, on top of his official duties, was tuning his already salt and pepper hair grey. She'd disappeared after leaving the Migrant Fleet, which left his people scrambling to try and find her again. Relief had come from an annoyingly unsurprising quarter. Once again, Hanar was the one in the know before anyone else.

" _This one bears excellent news Human. This one's agents have located the Fulcrum on Omega. She is in the process of procuring munitions for her impressive vessel. To ensure that we are able to keep track of her from now on, this one has placed a trusted agent on board her vessel. This one swears by the enkindlers to share any and all information received from this source."_

After that, she'd disappeared again, although Hanar's agent, who apparently didn't know he was an agent, had indicated that Jane was bound for Alliance space. So Hackett had told his people to stay on high alert and keep their eyes open. Hopefully she doesn't do anything rash. He'd heard about the loss of her fiance, thanks to a certain young woman that kept in touch with Jane. As he pulls up yet another report on the situation in the Traverse, Hackett is bothered by the chime on his comm. He hits the button and listens to his secretary, "I'm sorry to bother you admiral, but there is someone trying to contact you on the secure band. I can't confirm the codes, but she says her name is Jane and that you know who she is." He can't believe the luck. Maybe he can get her to come and speak in person.

"Thank you Miss Adams. Transfer her to a class 4 secure channel and block all other calls. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that you never knew of this call… right?" His secretary confirms and soon the call is moved to the appropriate channel. "Jane? Jane, are you there?"

"Yeah I'm here Admiral. Is that job still open?" He can't believe it. She's actually _asking_ about it.

"Yes it is. Have you reconsidered our offer." He swears he can hear her cursing on the other end.

"Maybe. But I've got a few conditions. I want every scrap of information the Alliance has on the Red Wake… up front. I'm not going to be kissing anyone's ass or calling any pompous dickhead 'sir' unless I think they've earned it. Other than that, I want everything Anderson promised."

"I think we can work with that."

"Then I accept your offer." Hackett breathes a heavy sigh of relief. Despite how cruel it might be to say, that asari girl's death was a blessing in disguise.

"I'm glad to hear that Jane. We can discuss the details when you get here. How soon can get to Arcturus?" Now Jane is giggling over the comm.

"Look out your office window." No… there's no way… Hackett marches over to the massive window at the end of his office and retracts the shutter. He nearly has a heart attack afterwards.

Floating less than thirty meters away is a ship with the basic shape of an old school turian corvette, but with plenty of twists here and there. The vessel in bone white with dark red streaks running along the edges. Dozens of turrets stud its length and there is a whole bank of missile tubes near the rear of the ship. There is also a strange device mounted on the belly of the ship. It looks like a mass driver, but it doesn't have the standard full length barrel. His speculations are cut off by word from Jane, "Can you get us a docking berth? The credentials I forged are only gonna last a few more minutes… you guys really need to update your security."

He's momentarily stunned by the declaration. Once he gets his head back in the game, Hackett promises to make the arrangements. As the vessel turns to head for a berth, he spots the name proudly stencilled on the hull. It takes a moment before the named clicks in his memory, and a slight shiver runs down his spine as he whispers it to himself, "Pale Horse."


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49 - Formalities**

 _Date_ _: 7.16.2172_

 _Location : Home Cluster_

 **Jane**

 _She watches the vid screen in silence as another vessel is launched from her shipyard. This one is a Q-ship bound for the Terminus. The latest few are packing an experimental EM pulse cannon. The idea behind the new weapon was to cripple pirate vessels so that they can be seized relatively intact and sold, rather than being turned into a heap of scrap metal. Preliminary tests had gone well, so Jane had approved limited deployment in every fourth Q-ship. As the vessel begins its shakedown cruise, Jane turns back to the gathered crew, groaning internally at what the coming weeks will hold. "Alright, here's what's happening for the next couple months. For the sake of legality, I have to go through Alliance bootcamp before Admiral Hackett can share any information the Alliance has on the Wake. The security surrounding the information is amazingly good. So good in fact that it'll actually be faster to go through with this crap, rather than just trying to hack into their system and stealing it. While I'm wasting my time with that, I've got work for all of you."_

 _Jane had known it would be the case, but she'd still held onto the slim hope that bootcamp could be avoided. She still didn't think there was anything useful to be done beyond maybe establishing some contacts in the Alliance. Her small crew waits for their tasks with varied degrees of excitement. Kal can barely keep still, eager for his first real assignment. Kalia is nervously wringing her hands, while Kalen looks profoundly bored. "Kal," the young man sits up straight, "I have a friend waiting on board the shipyard we're docked with. Before he retired, he was Alliance special forces. You're going with him to receive advanced training in infantry tactics in addition to some schooling on ship tactical control. This man is an indisputable expert in his field. Follow his instruction and learn everything you can. By the time we're back together, I expect you to have earned his respect, got it?" He nods eagerly before pouring through the data Jane sent to his omnitool._

" _Kalia, you're going to the Saturnine flight school orbiting Titan. There's a former Alliance pilot there that you're going to receive special training from. Thankfully his dishonorable discharge means that the Alliance won't bother the two of you during the process." Kalia raises her hand for a question._

" _I'm sorry, but should I really be learning from someone who was thrown out of the human military?" It's a fair question._

" _He wasn't drummed out for being bad at what he does. If fact, there might only be a couple pilots in the galaxy that can match him. No, he was kicked out because he got caught screwing his XO, which in reality wouldn't have been a big deal, if he hadn't been flying a starship at the time." The only reason the XO hadn't been thrown out too is because the pilot had called in all the favors he had and gotten the charges against her dropped in exchange for his own dishonorable discharge._

 _With that done, Kalia looks through her own data packet and Jane turns to Kalen. He preempts her, "Let me guess, I'll be studying with some retired Alliance tech on Mars or something." Kalen had fallen head over heels for the Pale Horse, so Jane can understand why he's so unhappy with the idea of leaving for over a month._

" _Not quite. You'll actually be staying at these shipyards, working on the newest vessels they're putting out." Kalen perks up considerably at that. "Since they're using plenty of tech that I had Keeva work into the Pale Horse, you'll be learning everything there is to know about most of the systems this ship has. In addition, they'll teach you how to circumvent Alliance and Citadel restrictions to get the components you need in a timely manner." Far more excited than before, Kalen nods his thanks._

" _Gavin, I want you to stay with him. See if you can take anything from his lessons and incorporate them into Blue. By the time the two of you get back, I not only want you to be able to perform the standard maintenance schedules, I want you to know how to take it apart and rebuild it from scrap." Given how much she was paying him, it was no surprise that he agreed._

" _Lia will be coming with me… apparently. For reasons that she will be disclosing in full while we're away." Lia lowers her gaze but doesn't argue. Jane had been infuriated over the asari's insistence that she be allowed to come with her. It had taken her mentioning some kind of new oath to Aethyta for Jane to relent. The matriarch hated Lia with an almost obscene passion and Jane was going to find out why. A slight tapping draws her gaze to the other end of the mess hall they were meeting in. Vollor is gently trying to get her attention without bothering anyone. "Yes Vollor?"_

" _Please forgive this one's boorish impatience, but what is this one's task?" While he was an excellent cook for most people, his ability to prepare food for quarians, beyond basic nutrient paste, was woefully inadequate._

" _Your job is to get in touch with the Migrant fleet and gather as much information on quarian food preparation as possible. I want you to have multiple recipes mastered by the time these three get back." Jane waves at the Reegar triplets. "I also want you to begin putting together a proper set of ration plans in case we ever hit critical supply levels. You have until I get back from bootcamp, understood? "_

 _Vollor bobs down in his customary bow, "Of course honored captain. This one shall pursue his task with total focus. This one swears that by the time you return, his tasks shall be completed to perfection."_

" _All of you will return to the ship roughly two weeks before me. You'll use that time to work through the VR training programs that Keeva set up for us. She said each one has a grading system programmed into it and I expect you to keep working on each one until those scores are perfect. When I do finally get back, I will hopefully have some information to get us started. If anything goes wrong or you get into trouble, contact me through the emergency channels on your omni-tool and I'll send help." They all trade a few pleasantries before saying goodbye. She keeps Gavin and Kalen behind for a bit as the others filter out. "While I'm away, I'll be relying on the two of you to keep the ship safe. No one outside our crew gets on board, for_ _ **any**_ _reason."_

" _Do you really think anyone will try to break into the ship? This is_ _ **your**_ _shipyard. No one would be stupid enough to try anything here...right?" Gavin nods in agreement._

" _I doubt anything will happen, but we need to be ready. I don't trust the Alliance to stay away, and I'd put money on at least one organization among the council races having an interest in snooping around in my business. That's one of the reasons why both of you are staying here. The training you'll get could be done in almost any sector if you had the right teacher with you. With you here, I'll have people I know I can trust. After all, I've known you for years Gavin. And Kalen, Keeva vouched for you and your siblings personally, and that's good enough for me. Be smart, be paranoid, and be careful. If someone does try to break in, no matter who they are, use the ship's internal systems to kill them and contact me immediately." The two young men nod soberly. Jane wishes them the best of luck before they head off to meet their instructors._

 _Now that she's by herself, Jane heads to the room she'd chosen for herself. Keeva had optimized the ship for a small crew. This meant that, even though the same amount of space was allocated to sleeping areas, each one of them had their own small, private room. As long as the crew doesn't grow to much, that'll stay true. Jane's room is the largest at a cozy 3x3 meters, just enough room for a bed, a desk, some storage hanging from the ceiling, and her newly finished armor cradle. She takes a deep breath, slowly letting it out as she waits for the call. Eventually it comes, a simple alert that her shuttle has arrived. Jane leaves her guns in storage and swaps out her heavy plating in favor some lighter, general purpose gear. This stuff is painted Alliance standard, a boring as dirt slate grey. With her swords sheathed on her back and the bond blade secured at her thigh, Jane makes her way to the shuttle. After she picks a seat, Lia settles nearby._

 _Once aboard and settled, she opens the secure files that arrived shortly after all the arrangements had been made. The encryption on them had been impressive. She'd tried for hours to break through but the code just kept adapting to everything she tried. Now that she's coming through on her promise to Hackett, he's sent the clearance codes for the files, giving her the first serious look into the Wake since she left Omega. There is a lot of data, going back almost fifteen years, with a list of atrocities that only grows year by year. Jane spends the entirety of the two day flight to Elysium quietly seething. A few of the others on board had tried to talk to her in the first hours, but they quickly learned to stay away, with the notable exception of a young man named Michael, who still insisted on sitting next to her, despite more than one threat to his life. He was a nice guy, nothing but politely curious about pretty much everything. Since he was no threat and he hadn't tried to pry into her personal affairs, Jane tolerated his presence, mostly because Spits seemed to like him. The big oaf had taken one sniff before laying down on the young man's feet._

 _Once the shuttle breaks FTL at the edge of the system, he starts pestering her again, "Thank God we're finally in system. I wonder how long it'll take to get groundside from here." Jane does the math in her head._

" _2.5 AU out from the planet and this thing maxes out at 20_ _%_ _the speed of light outside FTL with a standard cruising speed of 10_ _%_ _, leaves us with a flight time of roughly 3 hours and 20 minutes, give or take about an hour for the usual bullshit from flight control about the schedules not lining up or something." She wasn't trying to be nice, but Michael smiles widely all the same. Jane tries to get back to her reading but he starts talking again._

" _I feel like a total ass. I've been sitting next to you for hours and have barely asked about you at all. So, why are you joining?"_

" _I made an agreement with an admiral for something. Joining the Alliance military was my half of the deal."_

" _What did you get out of it?"_

" _A list of things I'm going to blow up and people I'm going to kill." He gives a half-hearted laugh at that, until he notices the look on her face. His curiosity strangled for the moment, he leaves Jane in peace for the rest of the flight. There's no real trouble as they approach the planet, letting them make landfall just short of four hours later. The shuttle lands at the Elysium spaceport and they make there way to the nearest transit terminal. A drab grey bus, an old one with wheels instead of a hover system, is parked with a fairly large group of men and women waiting nearby. Of all shapes, sizes, colors, and builds, this group has to be the rest of the recruits she'll be spending the next few weeks with._

 _Most are like the man who's been pestering her for the last two days. Young, nervous, some are overconfident, others bizarrely chipper. More than one are obviously former gang members, joining to get out of a prison sentence, like the young blue-haired woman currently beating the piss out of a recruit a foot taller than her. The man is much stronger, but the sadistic girl just flows around his swings, striking at weak points. It only takes a few minutes for her to put him on the ground, leaving her to gloat whilst trying to avoid being cuffed by her handler. "Hell yeah! That all you got bitch?! Who's next?" She locks her sights on Jane, eyes narrowing in near insane glee. "You look tough. Let's see what you got!" Before her handler can grab hold, the former ganger charges at Jane. Lia tries to step between them, but she's too slow. Much like the ganger did with her first victim, Jane simply flows around the attack. Once behind her, Jane lightly slams an elbow into the back of her head. The woman's momentum carries her forward a few feet before she collapses face first into the gravel, unconscious._

 _The woman's handler arrives moments later and puts a finger to her throat, trying to find a pulse. Jane was careful not to do anything permanent, "She's alive, just unconscious. Keep your pet on a tighter leash. If she does that again I won't be so gentle." Jane and Lia then march over to the bus with Spits, who stopped briefly to snarl at the prone woman before following. The other recruits back out of the way, more than one whispering in disbelief about what just happened, or tuning the odd look to the asari trailing her. After claiming the back two rows for herself, Lia, and Spits, Jane goes back into the files from Hackett. She's picked the first few targets already. A small group of unimaginative raiders that hit the same areas in the Traverse with little to no deviation. The only reason they haven't been killed yet is because they keep bolting for the safety of batarian space before the Alliance patrols arrived._

 _The rest of the recruits eventually pile onto the bus, with her shuttle 'friend' once again sitting nearby. Spits actually gets off his seat to make room for the young man, then goes back to sleeping on his feet. The ride is rocky on the bus' crap suspension, but mercifully short. As they pull through the gate, Jane sees hundreds of people moving through various training areas. Marching formations, punishment details, men and woman moving through assault courses, and a dozen other tasks. The bus stops at the main courtyard and a pair of sergeants start bellowing for everyone to get off the bus. Most have a bag with them which they're all told to pile on a grav cart. All Jane has with her are the blades on her back, thigh, and Spits, so they leave her be for the time being._

 _After milling about for a few minutes, a new sergeant marches over to yell at them, "Listen up you worthless sacks! I am Sergeant Horst! When your name is called you will announce yourself and step to the next place in line!" He then starts listing off names in alphabetical order. Most of the recruits don't offer any trouble. Even the loudmouth from the spaceport, having recently regained consciousness, follows the order with a minimum of grumbling, but Jane quickly loses interest and goes back to reading her files. She's so lost in thought that when the sergeant calls her name it doesn't even register. "Shepard, Jane! ...Shepard! Jane!... Shepard! You better be dead or deaf!" The man calls again and this time Michael frantically shakes her shoulder._

 _Finally taking notice, Jane steps forward to take her place, but the sergeant takes umbrage with her apparent apathy. "Its about damn time Shepard! Got a reason for wasting my time like that?!" Not really caring what this man thought, Jane's response is less than energetic_

" _Sorry, got distracted with something more important." Horst's left eye twitches madly as the vein in his temple starts bulging. She can smell the rage coming off of him and is thoroughly unimpressed._

" _Oh, well I'm just so sorry to distract you from your oh so important work! Would you like a soft place to sit down, maybe put your feet up for a bit?" Increasingly annoyed that Hackett's promised watchdog hasn't arrived yet, Jane is struggling to keep her anger in check as Horst continues to deride her for her lack of interest. It's not until he starts shouting about her 'non-standard equipment' that she takes exception. "And what the hell are you doing with armor and weapons already! Raw recruits have to earn the right to hold a weapon on my base! Corporal Tass!" On of the soldiers standing behind Horst steps forward, "Confiscate those weapons." With more balls than brains, the corporal moves to follow orders and reaches for her bond blade._

 _Before the young man can blink, Abyss and Seraph are free, locking in front of his throat like a massive set of shears. Braver than most, Tass manages to not piss himself at the very real possibility of being decapitated. "If you ever so much as glance at that dagger again, I'll cut your head off." A group of local MPs quickly make their way over, intent on stopping the situation. Instead, Jane wraps a stasis field around the four man group and Corporal Tass before turning back to the sergeant, who has his own weapon drawn. A quick swipe is all it takes to bifurcate the pistol, leaving Horst aghast. "Let me make this very clear Sergeant Horst." Jane levels Abyss at the man's chest. "I am only here as a formality for the admiral. You don't intimidate me. I do not care what you think. Don't get in my way. People who do that have a habit of dying, painfully." Before things can escalate any further, a familiar voice calls out._

" _Everybody stand down!" Just as he said he would be, Anderson is the one to set things up, though she doubts he'll be the one remaining on base to keep an eye on her. As the dark skinned commander gets closer, he notices the amber haze still surrounding Tass and the MPs. "Jane, would you mind letting them go now? I think we can keep things civil from here on, don't you?" She breaks the stasis field, dropping Tass on his face. The MPs are a little shaken up but quickly rally, ready to try and arrest her for the incident, but thankfully Anderson waves them off, "Don't worry boys. Just a little misunderstanding. I've got it well in hand." The MPs salute and make their way back to their rounds as Anderson turns back to Jane. "I'm glad to see you Shepard. You're doing the right thing."_

" _If there was_ _ **any**_ _other way, I would have taken it." Anderson takes it in his stride, barely pausing in his response._

" _I understand. I've already spoken to the base commander and handled your personal arrangements. If you'll give me a moment, I'll explain the situation to the sergeant as well." Anderson leads the man away, leaving Jane with the rest of the befuddled recruits. The ganger girl is the first one to pipe up._

" _Holy crap! That was awesome! Hey Super Bitch, how'd you stop 'em all like that?"_

" _Biotic stasis. It's useful if I wanna stop someone but don't want them dead." Jane levels a glare at Corporal Tass, "And I meant what I said Tass. Never,_ _ **ever**_ _, go for the dagger again." To his credit, the young man just runs a shaky hand through his short cropped hair and nods before stepping away._

 _While her handler's back is turned, the ganger sneaks over to Jane's side and sticks out a hand, "Liriata Esulard, but people that don't suck call me Little Su." Jane stares for a few seconds before shaking her hand. Su tries to squeeze a little too hard so Jane returns the favor, drawing a gasp from the tiny woman. Barely topping out at 5'3", Su has to crane her neck just to look Jane in the eye. Before the bones can snap, she loosens her hold enough for Su to relax. The former ganger rubs her already bruising hand gingerly as she speaks, "Damn! How the hell'd you get that strong?"_

 _Hiding the trembling in her own hand, cursing her overactive nerves, Jane answers, "Jane Shepard, and it's complicated. I've been fighting since I was a little girl, and there are a few other reasons that I don't feel like getting into." Deciding to shift away from her past, Jane asks her own question, pointing to a tattoo on the smaller woman's throat. "So, what gang did you belong to?" Su's eyes narrow a little._

" _Reds, back on Earth. Got busted moving some red sand and the assholes dumped the blame on me and Bobby." At the name, a hulking, tawny skinned brute stomps over. He grunts at Su once, but otherwise stays silent. "He don't talk much, but he's a nice guy. I've been keeping him safe since we were kids." The man is even bigger than Frank, with massive muscles and almost as many scars as Jane. Bobby looks Jane over before leaning down to whisper into Su's ear in a language Jane's never heard before. Whatever it is, it gets a big smile from Su, "Well, Bobby likes you. So, you're fine by me Shep."_

 _Date_ _: 7.18.2172_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Anderson**

"With all due respect sir, this isn't something that I'm exactly… used to." He can sympathize with the sergeant. The base commander had been even more put out over all the odd breaks from the norm. Everything about today was way beyond typical for an Alliance training base. To his credit, Horst managed to avoid looking like a fish out of water as Anderson gave a very brief explanation of her abilities. "And I've got to ask sir, what about the asari?"

"She's here as Jane's… bodygaurd, more or less."

"Bodygaurd?"

"Jane has enemies sergeant. I'm not expecting trouble, but Lia is here to guarantee that."

"That's… very unorthodox sir." The sergeant chews an unlit cigar as he thinks over the situation, "This won't exactly be a normal few months."

"I understand that sergeant. I'm not asking you to ignore Jane or bend over backwards to be nice to her. All I'm asking, is that you don't antagonize her. If so inclined, Jane Shepard could kill every last person on this base with nothing more than the blades on her back. Just remember, her presence here is just a formality, and she'll be leaving after 8 weeks instead of the standard 10. Try to include her if you can. Hell, use her to demonstrate hand to hand tactics. Have her help teach the others how to shoot. She did it for Mindoir without hesitation. I have no doubt that if you ask, Jane will jump at the chance to do it here." After giving the sergeant the last few details, Anderson walks back to the group with him. They find Jane thoroughly engrossed in a conversation with a much shorter woman on the virtues of gutting someone with a serrated blade versus a razored edge.

"I get the thing about doing more damage, but a smooth blade comes out quicker. Not everybody's got the whole Super Bitch super strength thing going." Jane's actually smiling at the conversation.

"You don't have to be strong, you just need to keep the serrations sharpened. It takes longer to do than a smooth blade, but the reward is absolutely worth it." Anderson clears his throat and the smaller woman bolts back to her place in line.

"Things should be alright now Shepard. We've got your quarters set up and a secure FTL station for you to keep in touch with your crew. We just need to wait for your observer to arrive and then everything should be… ah, there she is now." Jane follows his line of sight to a recently landed shuttle. The hatch opens, making way for an older woman with a small duffel hanging from her shoulder. Anderson is glad they were able to get her. As she approaches, Jane lets out a slight smile. "Good to see you Doctor. You made excellent time."

Doctor Chakwas smiles back, "It's not that far from here to Bekenstein David." She turns to Jane with a slight gasp, "My goodness. What happened to the little girl from the Hastings?" Jane blushes slightly in embarrassment at that.

"Well… she grew up." Jane shakes the doctor's hand. "Are you the one that's going to keeping an eye on things."

"Indeed I am. I just need to go speak to the base commander, then I'll be needing to see you in the infirmary for a baseline physical in twenty minutes." Before Jane can object, the doctor turns away and leaves them behind.

Anderson chuckles lightly, "I wouldn't recommend being late. Karin can be very insistent about these things." Clearly annoyed but glad things are set straight, Jane nods her understanding "While you're here Jane, at least try to play along. Who knows? You might find something new to learn in the next couple months." With that, Anderson leaves the young woman behind, hopeful that there won't be any casualty reports coming to him for a while.

 **Jane**

 _As Anderson leaves, Horst steps in close enough to make sure that Jane is the only one that can hear, "Look Shepard, Commander Anderson's spelled out what's what. I'll make you a deal. You don't make trouble, and I'll do my level best to do the same… deal?" Jane nods slightly, eliciting an almost silent sigh of relief from Horst._

" _Sounds good to me sergeant. Doctor Chakwas wants me at the infirmary in twenty minutes. Till then, I'll play along." Horst steps away to go back to bellowing at the others._

" _What the hell makes you think you're allowed to relax?! Stand at attention until I say otherwise!" Horst goes back to listing off names, starting with her shuttle neighbor, "Toombs, Michael S.!" Taking his place in line, Michael smiles at her again and they stand in silence until roll call raps up. "Alright you sorry ingrates! For the next ten weeks, your asses belong to me! And let me tell you! I got a raw deal!" the sergeant spends the entirety of the next eighteen minutes dressing down pretty much everyone in the group except Jane, Bobby, and a bald man behind him. He steps up to Jane but instead of insulting her, "Shepard. Infirmary. Now." As she steps away, Horst barks at the entire group, demanding they drop to the ground for push-ups._

 _Jane quickly leaves them behind and follows the signs through the camp, with Spits stopping to sniff at everyone and everything. Lia follows close behind, scanning every angle with a clinical eye. "Lia, why are you looking around like you're expecting trouble." Jane gestures for Lia to catch up._

" _It's my job to make sure you're safe."_

" _Why?" Lia doesn't answer so Jane grabs her collar and hoists her up, "_ _ **Why**_ _?"_

 _With a grimace, Lia finally explains, "My oath to Lady Aethys." Jane lowers her back to the ground, "I swore to keep you safe, to follow you into battle, and if necessary, to die in your place."_

 _Jane's gut clenches at the idea of yet another decent person dying because of her. She releases the asari with a frown, "Why would you do that?"_

" _I… I'd rather not talk about it right now. Please… I'll tell you soon, just… not yet." Unsatisfied but pressed for time, Jane drops the subject. They reach the infirmary soon after. Doctor Chakwas is checking over everything and rearranging things more to her liking. The older woman takes a few minutes to notice their arrival. As she keeps examining the area, Spits trots over to chuff at her. Chakwas turns to look, a wide smile shining out._

" _You've been growing up too. I wonder, are you still the same goofball that chased Dess around the Hastings." Spits jams his tongue up his nose, drawing a chuckle from the good doctor, "It's nice to see that some things never change." She finally takes notice of Jane and Lia, "Who's this Jane?"_

 _She trades a look with Lia, "A friend. She's here to make sure nothing unexpected happens." Lia bows slightly and takes a place where she can watch the whole room. "Why did you want me here?"_

" _I already told you, a physical. Take a seat please." Chakwas tries to take her vitals but the scans are being scrambled, "I know your life has been fairly difficult Jane, but you're safe here. Can you please deactivate whatever jamming tech you have on you?" Jane sighs heavily._

" _I don't have any jamming tech. Whenever I'm stressed my implants generate an EM field that can disrupt pretty much any scanning equipment. I can't really turn it off."_

" _Then I suppose we'll need to do this the old fashioned way. Please disrobe."_

 **Chakwas**

Jane is looking at her like she just grew a second head, "Why would I do that?!"

"If the scanners don't work, then I'll need to get a stethoscope onto your chest and back. I can't very well do that if you armored now can I? And drawing blood through that suit of yours will be difficult" Still looking at her dubiously, Jane taps a few commands on her omnitool. Karin can hear the sound of clasps releasing just before every plate on the girl's torso comes away. Jane piles them carefully nearby before tapping on the pad hanging from her belt, exposing a few clasps in her suit. The asari in the corner turns away as the bare flesh beneath is exposed. Karin feels her heart break a little at the newest scar on Jane's stomach. Large and bright red, it can't be more than a few months old. She moves through her task ask quickly and gently as she can, pausing only to fill out some paperwork as she goes. "Please expose your right arm. I need to draw some blood." One the requested arm is clear, Karin gets a needle ready. As soon as she sees it, Jane eyes go wide as dinner plates and her breathing gets a bit panicked. "What is it Jane?"

"I don't like needles…" Remembering what Jane's said about her past, Karin isn't all that surprised that she'd be nervous over being awake around needles.

"Don't worry. This won't take long." It takes even more effort than last time, but she still manages to get the needed sample. Jane's entire body is trembling the whole time the needle is in her arm and her eyes are screwed shut. Spits puts his head in her lap, no doubt trying to comfort her. Jane calms considerably once the needle is withdrawn and placed out of sight. Karin goes through the rest of the checks as best she can. Eventually, her omnitool scans starts working, intermittently, but it's better than nothing. It lets her get a few deeper scans before sending Jane on her way. After buckling everything back into place, the young woman murmurs a quiet goodbye before ducking out as quickly as possible.

 **Jane**

 _With the ordeal at the infirmary finished, Jane seeks out her group. She finds them exiting one of the prefabs, all of them with short cut hair and plain fatigues. Su calls her over, earning a blistering roar from Sergeant Horst, "Did I give you permission to speak Recruit Esulard?!" Su quickly shakes her head, "Then drop and give me fifty for speaking out of line and keep that damn mouth shut!" Su groans before dropping to the ground. Bobby's not far away, nervously holding both their bedrolls. Once Su gets back to her feet she grabs the role from Bobby and sneaks over while Horst is shouting at someone else._

" _So how come you got the armor and swords still?"_

" _It's… complicated." Su cocks a brow at her but doesn't go digging. It takes a couple minutes for the rest of the group to filter out and get in line._

" _All right you worthless apes! We will now be proceeding to your designated barracks. Once there you will claim a bed, and prepare it as perfectly as possible. A single flaw in it at inspection will have you on KP for a week. Now aren't you all excited about that?" When no one answers, Horst starts yelling again, "I asked you a goddamn question recruits! It seems like none of you are quite awake yet, so we're going for a little jog before heading to your new home! Just a hop, skip, and a ten kilometer run! Fall in and keep up! Anybody falls behind and everyone spends the night on patrol! Move out!" Horst sets a brisk pace, with his fellow sergeants marshalling the group forward. The run is no challenge for her, but apparently several recruits are either badly out of shape or going through withdrawal, leaving them heaving slightly as they arrive. "Everyone inside! Claim a bunk, make the bed, then stand at attention and wait for approval! You have three minutes! Move it you idiots!" There's a slight stampede as the others all try to force their way in, but Horst puts a hand out to hold Jane back. "Your bunk's this way Shepard. Commander Anderson said he's got everything you need set up."_

 _The sergeant leads her to a neighboring building. This one is almost identical to the barracks, except this one has retractable steel shutters and a comm dish. Horst stays at the door, "Make sure everything's in order and be back out in five." Jane nods before moving inside. There are only two beds inside. One is a perfectly normal bed but the other is completely different. Despite being the same dull grey as almost everything else on base, the bed is an almost carbon copy of the one she has on the Pale Horse. Based on a turian nest, the bed is a concave pit, filled with pillows. Jane had first laid in one back on Liseera. It was the style of bed Niria preferred and Jane had fallen in love with it the first time she'd tried it. Lia claims the normal bed, before placing the duffel she brought on top of her foot locker._

 _As Jane takes a look through the rest of the building, she finds a small comm terminal wired up in the corner. A quick scan through it reveals high level encryption gear, multiple redundant firewalls, and an adaptive signal scrambler. It's perfect for keeping in touch with someone whilst keeping the transmission source secure. Just as Jane closes the terminal back down a low whistle sound from the door. "Damn Shep! You got this whole place to just the two of you?" Su ducks inside, pressing herself flat against the wall to keep anyone outside from seeing her._

" _Yeah… It's-"_

" _Complicated?"_

 _Jane smiles at that, "Yeah… complicated."_

" _Any chance you can make it a little less complicated?"_

" _They're worried I might accidentally kill someone in my sleep." It wasn't a total lie, but she doesn't trust Su enough to give any details yet. "You know, if Horst catches you in here, he's gonna be pissed." Su waves her off._

" _Ahh screw him. I already made my bed, well Bobby did anyway. I'll just sneak back in and it'll be fi-"_

" _Esulard!" Su cringes as Horst stomps in, "Get your ass outside and your face in the dirt! It's two hundred this time and tonight you're gonna be marching around the barracks until reveille! Move it!" Horst pauses to grimace at Jane before storming out after Su. Once she's sure everything is in place, Jane follows. Everyone is once again arranged in lines and Jane takes her place next to Michael. The rest of the day is spent on calisthenics, going over regulations, and listening to the drill instructors dress down recruit after recruit for even the smallest infractions. One even has the courage to try it on Jane. When his criticism fails to inspire even the tiniest response, despite how close she was to gutting him, the man demands she drop for push ups as well. Once on the ground, Jane calls Spits over and has him climb onto her back so it'll at least do her some good. Several of the others are astonished by how little his presence slows her down. Back on her feet, Jane gets a good look as Horst speaks to his fellow DI. The man's face pales considerably as she stares at him._

 _At the end of the day, Jane settles into her bed, with Spits flopping down beside her. Lia makes her excuses and slips outside, apparently to check the local security. It leaves Jane alone with her thoughts. Today was boring beyond belief. No challenge, no danger, no purpose beyond keeping her word. The idea leaves her quietly seething. Before the anger can overwhelm her, Spits roles over and puts his head in her lap. Jane gently scratches behind his ears, quietly wondering how she's going to keep control through eight weeks of this crap._

 **Unknown**

 **Fulcrum Location Re-aquired**

 **Human Colony**

 **Designation - Elysium**

 **Purpose…**

 **The Fulcrum Has Joined the Human Military**

 **No Appreciable Increase in Threat Level**

 **Conclusion…**

 **Large Scale Force Impossible Without Discovery**

 **Utilize Agent Jortan to Attempt Action**

 **Maintain Observation…**

 **WARNING...WARNING...WARNING**

 **Exterminus Level Threat Detected**

 **Location - Batarian Space**

 **Analyzing…**

 **Identity Confirmed**

 **Designation - Nazara**

 **Activity Level Indicates at Least Fifty Standard Years of Continuous Activity**

 **Conclusion…**

 **The Cycle is Approaching Culmination**

 **Predicted Time Until The Arrival…**

 **10 Standard Years**

 **Required Actions…**

 **Sever All Connections in Batarian Space**

 **Increase Influence Through Agent Jortan**

 **Maintain Pressure on the Fulcrum**

 **Likelihood of Fulcrum Achieving Threat Level Dominus in Time…**

…

…

…

…

 **Unable to Calculate**


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50 - Bootcamp**

 _Date_ _: 7.25.2172_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Lia**

She moves as quietly as possible. Though Jane had hearing that put the vast majority of people to shame, Lia specialized in moving without drawing attention. She reaches the door without so much as a twitch from Jane or Spits. Moving with extreme care, Lia opens the door and silently slips outside, before sliding into the shadows. The human who'd helped Jane on the first day, Anderson, sent her a warning only minutes ago. A hostile agent had made planetfall for the sole purpose of making an attempt on Jane's life and Lia was determined to stop it before they could bother Jane, the fourth such attempt in a single week. She got lucky the first two times. They'd been fools, trying to use poison gas canisters in the vents. Lia set up a hidden sensor net day one, which payed off right away. She caught them unaware as they were placing the canisters. A single shot from her pistol for each of them had done the job. The third attempt was a remote trigger claymore placed outside Jane's door. After spotting the trap, Lia traced the signal and found a man watching the door through a telescope outside the base. A single, biotically assisted kick to the neck had ended his career.

Number four ended up being a hell of a close call. This one managed to conceal a sabotaged mako along the path Jane's group used to reach the mess hall. Lia barely managed to wrestle the detonator out of the man's hand as Jane passed the disguised bomb. She formed a singularity **inside** his chest to end him, before diffusing the mako. All four bodies had been fed to the incinerator at the nearby town's morgue, without anyone but Lia being the wiser.

The base is active pretty much all day, everyday, but no one spots her. Her skill in stealth is a tiny point of pride for her. That she had at least one aspect of her life she wasn't ashamed of gave her no small amount of joy. Lia makes her way to the only real gap in the base's security, a point where the local river undercuts the perimeter wall. The base garrison was good at what they did, but years of peace had made them complacent. There's a thirty second gap in patrol coverage, which is just enough time for a single figure to worm his way under the wall and sprint for the nearest shadows. Lia primes her silenced pistol, ready to move in. Just as she's lining up the shot, the assassin disappears with the aid of a stealth net. Lia throws a wide biotic field over the area, desperate to disrupt the target's cloak before he can escape, but it's no good. She spots grass being flattened twenty feet to the left and takes off after him. For the next ten minutes, Lia plays a game of cat and mouse, trying to catch him before he reaches Jane, but he barely leaves any marks as he moves through the base, always one step ahead of her.

Eventually the assassin manages to lose her and Lia is forced to return to the barracks to try and catch him in the act.

 **Assassin**

After slipping away from the asari he made a beeline for the target. The contract was offering two hundred million for her head, and he intends to collect. Special armor covering his scent, coupled with active camouflage and a natural skill in stealth meant that even the target's varren wouldn't spot him until it's too late.

He reaches the target's barracks in minutes. After carefully disabling the concealed sensors and checking for the asari one more time, the assassin steps into the building. He silently pads over to the bed, drawing his poisoned blade along the way. The viscous material was a potent neurotoxin, powerful enough to kill a krogan with a single drop. His blade is almost dripping with it as he raises it to strike. Before the blade can drop, a pair of violet wreathed hands wrap around him. A tiny biotic pulse is all it takes to slam the poisoned blade into his own chest. As the toxin goes to work, the asari clamps a hand over his mouth, holding tight to keep him silent. His flesh rapidly necrotizes under the poison's bite, leaving him drowning in agony.

 **Lia**

She got lucky. The bastard's stealth net failed right before he could finish the job. Lia threw her hands around him and ripped the blade back into his chest. She holds him tight, keeping his spasming corpse from disturbing Jane. As the last twitch fades away, Lia starts to hoist the body up, but a groan from Jane stops her cold. She looks over and sees a half open eye glowing at her. "Lia… what's going on." Thankfully Jane tended to sleep like a rock, and is still half conscious as she speaks.

"Nothing Jane. Go back to sleep."

Jane vaguely gestures at the corpse on Lia's shoulder, "Whadda bout him?" Realizing just how out of if Jane currently is, Lia keeps her answer simple.

"Just some idiot. Don't worry, I'll take care of him."

"Okay…" Jane flops back down and immediately falls asleep. Spits sniffs at the body before she leaves. He starts to growl at the body when he picks up the scent from the blade. Lia holds a finger in front of her lips, glad that the varren immediately goes quiet. She scratched him under the chin and sneaks back out. It'll take her a while to reach the morgue and she'll need to be back before Jane wakes up. With a heavy sigh, Lia sets off through the base, carefully dodging into the shadows to avoid being spotted.

 **Jane**

 _Her patience is near its end after a full week of nothing but simple exercises and listening the sergeants berate everyone for falling short of their standards… except for her. Jane never had trouble with any of it. She was faster, stronger, more coordinated, and she reacted more quickly than anyone on base. The sprints were nothing more than leisurely jogs for her. Grappling exercises were a joke, something many of her peers failed to understand until she'd finished breaking their bones. Horst had quickly switched Jane to a training role, teaching other recruits how to handle opponents that were much stronger. The chance to teach the others was the first thing she's done that actually felt useful._

 _But today is the first time they'll be doing something fun. Jane woke up just before dawn, after a weird dream about Lia dragging a body away. Once her plates were in place she walked outside to stretch out and wait for the others. After a standard morning, they'd gone to the range. There are tables covered in disassembled weapons. Rifles, shotguns, pistols, and her personal favorite, SMGs. "Listen up grunts! These are your new best friends! Reliable, highly efficient weapons, courtesy of Hahne-Kedar and the Alliance taxpayers. Not only will you learn how to use them! You'll learn how to strip them down, reassemble them, maintain them, woo them, make love to them! By the time you leave this base, you will be certified experts in all things Hahne-Kedar!" Jane tries to pretend she's listening, but it's hard to care about an explanation for something you already understand. Everything Horst is talking about, Keeva had walked her through after their fourth major gun deal. Hahne-Kedar gear was actually pretty simple. It's one of the reasons the Alliance had it as standard issue. As his speech winds down, Horst takes notice of her lack of attention. "I'm sorry Shepard! Am I boring you?!"_

" _Yes Drill Sergeant." A couple recruits laugh half-heartedly until Horst delivers a murderous glare. Once everyone is sufficiently cowed, Horst turns back to her._

" _Well, then perhaps you would like to demonstrate!" She steps up to the table, taking only a few seconds to look over the scattered pieces before starting with the pistol. If there was one thing Hahne-Kedar did better than anyone else, it was make a simple weapon. Like the old Russian military, Hahne-Kedar made gear that only had a few complicated parts. In seconds Jane has a fully assembled pistol in hand. She slides the ammo block into place, primes the weapon, and steps up to the firing line. Without hesitation, Jane starts firing into every target in range. The counters hanging above keep track of all hits and the numbers climb rapidly. Three shots for every target. Heart, throat, and brain every time. The pistol eventually overheats after 33 shots, so Jane takes it back to the table. Once it's back in pieces, Jane moves on the the shotgun. This time each target gets a single shot to center mass. After that comes the assault rifle and a five round burst into the heads of every target. Then single headshots with the sniper rifle. Finally, after every other weapon is broken down, Jane moves on to her beloved SMG. Just for fun, she pulls the components from a neighboring table and assembles two of them._

 _With a huge smile on her face, Jane steps back to the firing line with an SMG in each hand, sighing in contentment as she squeezes the triggers. The recoil is puny compared to her personal guns, so they stay perfectly level for every shot. Not wanting it to end too quickly, Jane keeps the bursts short, each one aimed at a different target. Once at two hundred hits, she decides to end it with a concentrated barrage at the closest target. By the time the weapons overheat, Jane is laughing with manic intensity, overwhelmed by the oh so wonderful feel of continuous gunfire. As her laughter fades, the rest of the area comes back into focus and she remembers where she is. The others look at her with a mix of awe and more than a little fear. Jane feels her face flush in embarrassment as Horst steps forward. The sergeant looks at her, down the range at the thoroughly shredded targets, then at the still steaming components sitting on the table, and finally back to her. For once, his voice is subdued, "Shepard… that… that was-"_

" _That was fucking awesome!" Of course Su was the one to celebrate. The little woman was Jane's near constant companion these days and by extension so was Bobby. The giant himself is standing behind Su with a huge toothy smile. A few more join in on Su's celebration, but most just keep staring. Jane steps away from the table and leans against the back wall, as far from the line as she can get without leaving. Horst takes a moment to rally his previous enthusiasm, which returns with a vengeance._

" _Alright you ingrates! Did you see that?! I expect the same from each of you! Squads 1, 3, 5, and 7 get to the tables and get to work! NOW!" Half the recruits move to the tables to begin learning about the weapons. A few get their guns together in good time, but most are fumbling around as Su comes over with Bobby and Michael._

" _Fuck Shep… How'd you do that?" She bows her head to try and hide the blush._

" _Practice. Lots and lots of practice."_

 _Date_ _: 8.8.2172_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Room_

 **Hackett**

"I hear the Fulcrum's time on Elysium has been eventful so far. I'm surprised her asari bodyguard has managed to dispose of so many would be assassins without being caught. On Palaven she would never be able to move unsupervised to such a degree."

Hackett's grimace isn't visible, but his tone conveys it well enough. "The asari justicar is a stealth specialist. Moving without being spotted is what she does. To tell the truth, I glad she hasn't been spotted yet. The fewer people that are aware of the situation the better." Twelve attempts. Twelve attempts, meaning twelve bodies for the incinerator and his people made it clear that it was only going to get worse

"With reservation: can this asari keep up such efforts for the duration of the Fulcrum's stay?"

"My contacts within the justicar order refuse to speak about her. Her records have been completely purged and she's been blacklisted. The only information we've found reinforces our understanding of her skills but little else."

"This one believes the once respected justicar will serve well for the duration, but she will not be able to keep it hidden from the Fulcrum much longer. This one suggests she be given official support from the redoubtable security forces of the base itself."

"I agree. My informants in the Hegemony have found more than one recruiting team focused on finding killers willing to take a shot at her. A few from the colonies have already tried and failed, but nothing from Khar'shan. Apparently, all the local merc groups are being paid a hefty bounty to try and hunt down several small, yet growing seditious groups. The disorder will keep any trouble from the homeworld, at least until they're caught and killed. I'll attempt to help them, but it would be best to make ready for the worst. Once Khar'shan is free to send men, the attempts will likely become far more numerous." He has to agree with Batarian.

"We'll take it under advisement. For now, let's get back to the what's been happening in the Hegemony, especially the increase in anti-peace propaganda. We must find a way to ease the tensions before we're faced with an all-out war."

 _Date_ _: 8.15.2172_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Lia**

With her pistol crushed, Lia has no choice but to move in close. She dances around the assassin's attempt to brain her, taking the club's blow on a padded shoulder instead of her skull. It hurts like hell but now she's in a much better position. Lia backhands a violet wreathed fist across his face. The blow spins the bastard around, giving her room to lock an arm around his throat and squeeze for all she's worth. Every other time it's only taken a minute or so for the twitching to ease up, but this prick keeps trying to break her grip for almost three minutes without so much as a second to catch his breath. "He's got a life support system plugged directly into his torso." She snaps her head to the side and is surprised to see Jane propped up on one elbow, watching the altercation. "You're not going to be able to strangle him. Don't worry about being quiet. Just wrap your arm in a field and snap the fucker's neck." Lia nods before following the advice.

The assassin's neck breaks with a massive crack, but she doesn't let go until the corpse stops spasming. Once the twitching stops, Lia heaves the carcass to the side and takes a minute to catch her breath. After the previous eighteen, this one was the worst yet. He'd been standing over Jane when Lia had come up behind him, but he was ready. Just before she could grab him, the assassin had spun around and destroyed her weapon. Now with the bastard dead, Lia has a chance to get a good look at him. Jane was right. She can see a pair of O2/CO2 exchange tubes running from his torso to an air recycler strapped to his waist. Spits chooses that moment to hop out of bed and start tearing the body apart. As the varren starts eating what she can now tell is a batarian, Jane sits up to glare at her. "How many is that now? Ten? Twelve?"

Lia wipes the blood and sweat off her brow before unlocking her shoulder pad. The skin underneath is badly bruised but it doesn't feel like anything is broken. Just to be safe she injects a small dose of medigel. As the cool sensation spreads through her torso, Lia answers the question, "Nineteen." It draws a frown from Jane.

"Why were you trying to keep it from me?"

Lia plops down on her bed, trying to relax the cramping muscles in her shoulder, "I promised to keep you safe. Part of that is taking care of things before you need to be involved."

Jane climbs out of her bed and sits next to Lia. "Why? And no dodging this time. I'm tired of waiting for answers." She bows her head, readying herself for the worst.

"There… there was a moment, back on... _that_ planet. A single moment when I could have taken the shot." She doesn't need to elaborate. The look on Jane's face makes that obvious. "All I had to do was stay right behind her. Then I would have been hit first… and that would have given her a fighting chance. It's my fault Jane. It's my fault that Ni-" She's cut off when Jane grabs her collar and yanks her closer. The human's face is twisted with fury, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

Jane takes several deep breaths before releasing her, "No… it isn't. They killed her because of me." Lia tries to deny it, but Jane stops her, "Don't! Just… just don't. She's dead because of me, and you taking that shot wouldn't have changed anything. The angle of the shot wouldn't have changed. All you being hit would have accomplished was making two dead asari, instead of one. Niria… Niria wasn't your fault."

Her head is spinning. She can't have Jane let her off so easily, "She might still have been hit, but at least she would have had a chance. When we returned to Liseera and you sealed the temple, Lady Aethys nearly killed me. I even held a dagger to my chest in contrition. All she had to do was drive it home. Instead, because I failed to keep my word, she demanded that I go with you and do whatever it took to keep you safe, until the day comes that you can forgive me."

"But I don't blame you! I never did!"

"That doesn't matter. I still failed her… I still failed you. To atone for my failure, I accepted the mantle of Fallen Sister. To the Justicars… I don't exist anymore. That cannot be changed until this new oath is completed. So, until I **earn** your forgiveness, I'll be by your side. No matter what." Jane spends a minute thinking before responding.

"You want my forgiveness?" Lia nods solemnly, "Alright. Stay with me until the Wake is wiped out. Once I have Jortan's skull for a wine glass, we'll go back to Liseera and I'll publicly forgive you." There's a lump in her throat when Jane takes her in a hug. This isn't at all what she'd been expecting. Eventually the sound of slurping drags their attention back to the assassin's corpse, or what left of it. Spits has eaten its limbs and is now gnawing on the the torso. "We should probably get rid of that. Too much non-organic material gives him a stomach ache."

"I'll get it." Lia gently shoos Spits away from the carcass before heaving it onto her unbruised shoulder. Before opening the door, she turns back to Jane, "Thank you for understanding Jane." A short wave and she's out the door. Only a few moments pass before a voice calls to her from behind.

"Evening miss." An alliance marine steps closer, gesturing to the mauled torso on her shoulder, "That from another one tryin to kill Shepard." Lia narrows her eyes in overt suspicion.

"Yes… how did you know that?" The marine holds up a hand in a placating gesture.

"Relax ma'am. Lt. Erins, N5. Commander Anderson briefed me and my team on the situation. As we understand it, this makes nineteen… right?" She stays silent, only offering a single nod, "Okay. Well, the commander has assigned my team and I to assist you. We've got a few sources in intelligence calling in suspicious characters. We're going to help you keep putting these bastards in the dirt.

 _Date_ _: 8.22.2172_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Chakwas**

It's hard keeping a straight face as she finishes wrapping Jane's arm. The same thing is true of Jane's asari friend and Erins, that marine who arrived the week before. Both of them are standing in the corner quietly snickering. The girl herself won't look her in the eye. Instead, she's found a spot on the floor that seems to be the most interesting spot in the whole galaxy. "You know Jane… You do have to tell me _exactly_ what happened. I need to know for my report."

Her other patient, a small but excitable woman with a tattoo on her throat steps over to nudge Jane in the ribs, "Yeah Shep. Tell Doc what happened." Jane groans before finally looking Karin in the eye.

"We were down at the motorpool, getting our first lessons on how to drive an armored vehicle. I'd never driven anything before so I thought it would be interesting and I volunteered. Su and I climbed in, I started the thing, and…"

"And she rolled it like ten seconds later!" the tattooed woman laughs like a maniac, along with Lia and Erins, leaving Jane to drop her head back down in shame.

"Wait. There's no way that's all. Makos have an automated reorientation system. It would have flipped right back over." Su and the others reign in their laughter with extreme effort.

"Oh it would have, except for the fact that as soon as we started rolling, Shep here kicked out real hard and hit one of the main cabling junctions. Shorted out the whole system." Jane's face is bright red as Su plows on. "That's not even the best part! Right when the mako flops upside down and stops rocking, she accidentally hit the fire suppression system, but with everything shorted out like that the thing actually caught fire!" Lia is doubled over, clutching her ribs.

Karin can sympathize. Keeping a neutral look is getting harder by the second. Just when she thinks the story is done, Su starts again, "But wait! There's, HA HA HA, there's more! She busted through the door and pulled me out. We got like fifty feet away and the fucking thing blew up!" Lia and Erins are on the floor, desperately trying to get themselves under control. "And then, a huge piece of it smacks into her arm and actually manages to break it! I didn't think I'd ever see that!" Su herself only has a few deep tissue bruises, which her massive friend Bobby was still fussing over. She finally can't take it anymore. Karin tries to stifle it to spare Jane anymore embarrassment, but a tiny laugh still manages to slip out. She'd never heard of someone managing to destroy a training vehicle so quickly with so little effort.

Moments before she thinks Jane will die of embarrassment, the infirmary door opens. The normally humorless Sergeant Horst actually lets out a snort of laughter as he approaches, "Well Shepard, I was starting to think we'd never find something you were bad at." Lia and Erins finally pick themselves up as Jane makes eye contact with the sergeant. "Thankfully, you and Esulard are the only casualties, aside from our dearly departed number 5 mako. What's the damage Doc?"

"Some mild bruising for Esulard. She can return to duty immediately. Jane has four fractures in her humorous. A normal recruit would be out for quite a while, even with an osseous regenerator. Jane's a bit different. The bone will be whole by the end of the day, and she'll be back to full strength within forty eight hours."

"Damn glad to hear it Doc. She might be a klutz behind the wheel, but I'll be damned if she's not one of the most promising fireteam leads to date." Horst sends Su on her way and turns to follow but not before a parting word with Jane, "Shepard, take the next couple days to review the files for the coming exercises. As soon as that arm is better, you'll be leading your squad into a real test. Oh, and this time, let Esulard drive." Horst marches to the door, not turning as he calls back, "I prefer that the next mako you get in doesn't blow up."

 _Date_ _: 8.31.2172_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Jane**

 _It'll only be a few more days before she can return to her ship. If she's honest with herself, it'll actually be difficult leaving now. Yes the training was mostly a waste of time, or a straight up disaster (Su still teased her about the mako) but she's made some good friends. Su was nuts, but never hesitated at her orders. She fought like a wolverine in close quarters and she might well be the bravest person in the whole bunch. Bobby, Su's ever reliable shadow, was a beast in hand to hand and the perfect man to wield heavy weaponry for a squad. And Michael… Michael was a jack of all trades. He wasn't the best at anything, but he was good at almost everything. Together, the four of them had stayed a step ahead of the rest. The exercises in the woods, on the mountains, or through the cities had all been surprisingly entertaining for her. It was a good change to have a small group of truly close friends she could rely on for pretty much anything in battle. That's what'll make leaving so difficult._

 _Today marks the final field exercise she'll be performing with them, so Jane's determined to make it a good one. They need to work their way past the seven squads arrayed against them, capture the enemy commander, steal a mini 'nuke', and make it back to base within twenty-four hours. To make things worse, Horst had ordered her to remain in the 'command post' which meant the small collection of tents and prefabs in the middle of the woods. "Now Shepard. For this, you are going to guide your team through the mission from right here. No leaving the command post for any reason." He lead her to the comm setup, plugged her in, and then left her to it. While she had to grind her teeth at being stuck away from the fight, Jane is still determined to get her team one more win before she leaves._

 _Su had been excited, "We got this Shep. No way we're lettin you leave a loser." With that, Su had lead Michael and Bobby off towards the object. Jane occasionally called out patrols, alternate routes, or a target of opportunity. Other than that, she let the team handle things. It's not until they reach the perimeter of the target that she takes direct control._

" _Okay. Michael I want you on overwatch. Call out patrols, vehicles, and any signs of an alert." Michael clicks his mic once to confirm before pulling his rifle free and disappearing into the brush. "Bobby, Su, head for the hill to the east and wait for Michael's call on the patrols." The duo move out, fast and quiet. For a giant, Bobby was stunningly silent when he wanted to be, even more so than Su. It take about an hour for the two of them to reach the hill without being seen. By the time they arrive, the sun is dropping below the horizon, and Michael is in position._

" _Okay, looks like patrols are pretty tight… no serious gaps… hold one," She can see the feed through his scope cam, but the signal isn't great. Jane has to rely on Michael, something she suspects is one of the points of the exercise. "I got something. Patrols are tight, but they're really keyed up. Keep jumping at every twitch from the forest. You could probably get them to open up a pretty serious gap with a good distraction."_

 _Jane thinks for a moment, "Bobby, what do you have for explosives?" It was all simulated munitions, but they were excellent fakes._

 _The answer comes from Su, "He's got a couple claymores, four blocks of the plastic stuff, and a few frag charges."_

" _Alright. Bobby head to the north end of the base. Plant a frag charge about a hundred yards away. Then plant your claymores just outside the blast zone. When you're done head back to Su." With a grunt, Bobby takes off into the woods. It takes close to two hours for the big man to get there, set his payload, and get back. By then, Michael's painted both targets._

" _Got T1 at the south end of camp, in the big tent. Two is loaded on the only truck in the motor pool. Also, I got something you might be able to use to get in." Michael pans his scope over to a loose scree of rock at the south where the perimeter wire is thinnest. Jane acknowledges._

" _Su, Bobby, get to the southern edge of camp." When they arrive, Jane takes a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Here we go everybody. Su, get to the wire and start cutting. Bobby, number 1." Su carefully crawls to within ten feet of the wire, just before a loud crack sounds over the radio as the frag charge goes off. While the patrols reorient to face the perceived threat, Su cuts through the wire as quickly as possible. Once the way is clear, she waves Bobby forward. Michael keeps her up to date on the distraction._

" _First patrol is gettin close. Don't seem to notice number two yet." He keeps up the calls as Su and Bobby work their way in. The two of them reach the big tent and duck inside. Moments later they emerge with the enemy commander dangling over Bobby's shoulder. "Guys, looks like they're figuring it out. Might want to light em up."_

" _Bobby, number 2." Another loud crack sounds from the north and three groups of enemies are 'killed' as the claymores go off. "Get to the truck and secure T2 immediately." The duo sprints towards the motor pool, careful to duck out of sight whenever enemy personnel get close. "Michael, start picking off targets to the north. Make em think we're trying to clear a path." Seconds later, Michaels first target 'dies' from a single suppressed shot. Though the sound is still booming, the strange echoes throw off the enemy's attempt to find him. He takes one more shot before moving on for a new spot. While he thins the enemy numbers to the north, Su and Bobby find T2. The part of the mini 'nuke' is played by a hundred pound sack of rocks. Bobby starts strapping T1 down in the back when Michael calls out again, "Uhh problem. Everybody's moving towards the motor pool… fast. I'm pretty sure they know."_

 _Shit! "Screw the truck. Bobby toss your guns and satchel, and pick up both targets. Su lead him out."_

" _That's a no go lead. Motor pool's gonna be surrounded in no time. There's no gap for them to slip through." Jane wracks her brain, desperate for a way to win_ _ **and**_ _get them out of there. An idea pops into her head, an awful idea, but it's all she's got._

 _Jane snarls to herself before speaking, "Bobby, grab both targets and hunker down out of sight. Su… throw a tarp over the bed and hop into the driver's seat. Start the truck… and floor it to the western entrance."_

" _Hold up lead, they'll be expecting them to break for the west."_

" _Yes they will. Which is why Bobby is staying in the motor pool until Su clears the compound." There's complete silence over the line as the truth of the plan sinks in._

 _She expected Michael to argue or even Bobby, by Su beats them all to the punch, "I got you lead. Bobby, duck down and stay quiet. Once I'm clear, run like hell to the spot we came in at got it." Bobby shakes his head, "I'll be fine big guy, don't worry." This time he follows instructions, dragging a tarp over his head as the enemy closes in. Su starts the truck, ducks down low, and puts the pedal to the floor. As the truck barrels out of the motor pool, the enemy immediately starts firing. The truck is programmed to mimic damage, so the engine quickly starts to smoke, but it's not enough to stop it. Su hits the western perimeter and barrels through going due west._

" _I'm gonna cover her." Michael swings his rifle to the west._

" _No! Keep your sights around Bobby. Keep the path clear!" Reluctantly, Michael swings his rifle back to the base, and a good thing too. As Bobby makes his way back to their entry point, a lone sentry spots him. Before he can call in, a single rifle shot sounds out. With the way clear, Bobby sprints out the gap and into the woods. "Keep going for about ten minutes. You'll hit a river bed. Once you're there follow until I say so. Michael, follow him." She turns back to the feed from Su's helmet. The truck is in bad shape. She can hear the engine grinding and there is a lot of smoke pouring out, but Su keeps going._

" _Trucks gonna crap out soon. I gotta bail. I'll-" The transmission cuts as the computer registers a hit from an RPG. Technically destroyed, the truck dies and Su's biomonitor reads as a fatality, which deactivates her radio. As Bobby and Michael reach the river bed, the enemy finally realizes they've been duped. They sprint back to their camp but find nothing. No trace of T1 or T2, no sign of enemy combatants, not even a trail to follow. Jane guides the boys back to base, finishing the exercise with over four hours to spare. Bobby dumps both targets in the middle of the camp and Horst emerges from his tent to sound out the all clear. An hour later has everyone else pouring into the camp. Over half are splattered in paint, meaning that they had been killed. Some are covered head to toe, the claymore victims. Others have single splatters from Michael's sniper fire. The last to arrive is Su herself, absolutely drenched in paint. Apparently, the 'RPG' had hit the cab._

 _Jane thought she would be pissed, but Su is smiling like a loon, "Ha! Told you we'd do it Shep!" She then goes on to flip off the enemy team, receiving plenty of jeering in response._

" _Why are you happy? If this was real, you would have died."_

" _Maybe, but we still woulda won. That's good enough for me." She has no idea how to respond. Jane is still trying to figure it out when Horst addresses the whole group._

" _Listen up! What happened today is a perfect example of how vulnerable a large force is to a small, well led assault team. With Shepard's lead, they played the rest of you like a goddamn fiddle. As reward, fireteam Shepard gets the night off in town tonight. The rest of you get an all expense paid trip to the Pit for a fun night of sprints and hand to hand drills." A chorus of groans sound out as Su hugs Jane from behind. "I'm glad you're all so excited! In fact, since you're so enthusiastic, I think we can start the fun right now. All fireteams, with the exception of Team Shepard, will sprint back to base! Last one there gets to clean the latrines for the whole camp! Move it you worthless apes!" As the rest of the recruits bolt into the woods, Jane catches Horst for a moment._

" _Why are you rewarding us? If this was real, Su would be dead because of me." Horst gives her a knowing look._

" _Yes. Yes she would Shepard. Also, if it were real, you would have seized a valuable enemy agent and secured a weapon of mass destruction. Both actions would likely save a great many lives. Sometimes, doing what has to be done means sending comrades to die. You made the right choice Shepard and if what Anderson says is true, you're probably going to have to make it again someday, for real next time. Losing people under you is never easy. Losing a friend to an order you gave is even worse. Remember that Shepard and make damn sure that when the time comes, it's worth it." Horst orders them into one of the trucks they'd all arrived in, giving them a ride base to base to clean up._

 _After they finish cleaning the dirt off, or in Su's case several gallons of paint, the four of them pile into an aircar. Michael made a big show of telling Jane that he was driving. As they lift into the air, Jane can see the rest of the recruits staggering through the gate and immediately turning to head south for the Pit. It was a fun place for her, but everyone else always whined about going there. It only takes a few minutes to reach town, and Su immediately dragged them all to a local bar. The place is loud, stinks like booze, and is loaded with enough people to fill a cargo shuttle. Somehow, Su manages to grab table for them after Bobby's enormous bulk clears the way. Once the drinks start flowing they spend a few hours trading stories, until Su overhears someone make a vulgar joke about Jane's ass. She then proceeded to beat the ever living piss out of the man, meaning they had to get out of there fast to avoid the authorities. After dodging away, Su gets another brilliant idea, "Oh shit! We should all get tattoos. I know a place a couple blocks down. Totally clean and they do kick ass work. I got my newest one there." Su had disappeared more than once over the last couple months and she'd been brought back to the base by the MPs almost every time._

 _Michael and Bobby are all for it, but Jane is less than enthusiastic, "I don't know…"_

" _Aww, is big bad Shepard afraid of a little sting." The teasing tone in Su's voice strips away her caution and in no time they're all standing inside a small shop, watching Su get her new ink. Modern shops could finish the work in a fraction of the time that it used to take. In twenty minutes, Su has a brand new tattoo shining on her arm, a fist holding a trio of lightning bolts. Each bolt has one of their names on it. Bobby gets the same, with Su's name instead of his own. Michael does the same and then it's Jane's turn. Cursing her stupidity, Jane calmly leans back in the chair, disengages the plates, pulls her suit open, and promptly spends the next twenty minutes screaming in her mind as the image is apparently melted into her arm by the hand of Satan himself. Though she manages to keep the pain hidden, it's a hell of a battle. When it's done, Jane looks down and reads the names to herself, 'Liriata Esulard, Michael Toombs, Bobby Torp.' She smiles despite the pain as another idea pops into her head. The man running the shop is about to out his equipment away when Jane stops him._

" _Actually, there are a couple smaller ones that I want too." After another half hour, the four of them walk out. Jane spares a quick glance at the names tattooed on her right hand. Sara and Hannah circling a bleeding heart._

" _I don't get the numbers Shep." Su takes another quizzical look at the numbers now stencilled on Jane's left hand fingers. From pinky to thumb they read: 003, 190, 486, 250, and 027._

 _Jane doesn't look at her as she speaks, a single tear trailing down her cheek "It's complicated…"_

 _Date_ _: 9.14.2172_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Jane**

 _The day has finally come. She almost can't believe that it's over. Jane is standing at the shuttle pad with Spits and Lia, waiting for their ride. She'd received a giddy transmission from Gavin, saying that he was coming to pick them up personally. Writing it off as excitement over finally being able to get started, Jane didn't pay it much thought. Instead, she's focusing on saying goodbye. Horst had given the rest of her little team time to see her off and they're definitely taking advantage of that, especially Su who was currently latched onto her with hug of surprising strength. "Goddamn Shep. I wish we could go with you. Shit just won't be the same without you here." Bobby is practically in tears and Michael's not much better._

" _She's right. It's fireteam Shepard. Not sure how we'll do without you." Jane puts a hand on his shoulder._

" _I think Fireteam Toombs will do just fine." He gawps at her before shaking his head._

" _No no no, Su is the one who should take over."_

" _Fuck that! You think I wanna be the one making decisions. Hell no! And Bobby sure shit doesn't want it. It's all you Toombs, we voted on it." Looking at them in disbelief, Michael relents and accepts his fate. As Su finally releases Jane, Bobby sweeps her up in a crushing hug._

 _A tiny whisper slips from his lips, "Miss you…"_

 _Jane hugs him back, "I'll miss you too big guy. You keep the others safe now, you hear?" Bobby nods and lets her down. Toombs holds out a hand to shake, which Jane uses to pull him in close._

" _Take care of them Michael."_

" _I will." As he steps back, Jane can hear a familiar set of rotors descending towards the pad. Blue rapidly descends from the sky, and Jane can barely recognize it. The rotors are the same, but so much has changed, most notably, the huge armored eezo core taking up almost a third of the crew bay. Gavin keeps the rotors turning but still hops out to see her._

" _Damn it's good to see you again Jane. You are never gonna believe what I've got worked into Blue now." He pauses to wave at the others._

" _Gavin, this is Bobby, Michael, and Su. Everybody, this is Gavin. He's been my pilot since Mindoir." They all trade some quick pleasantries as she tosses her things into the crew bay and straps Spits in. Lia takes a little longer so she has time to say 'goodbye' to Lieutenant Erins. Apparently, killing almost thirty assassins side by side really brought people together. After they finish their goodbye, Lia hops into the gunship. Jane goes to step up too, but Gavin stops her for a bit._

" _We got one more we're supposed to pick up. Some kind of Alliance observer." Jane's about to start yelling when Gavin points something out. "I think that's her." Jane turns to see Doctor Chakwas walking over with her duffel._

" _Hello Jane. I formally request permission to join your crew as ship's doctor. Anderson said you haven't acquired one yet so I volunteered." Torn between her anger over the Alliance trying to push in on her affairs, yet glad to have a doctor she trusted along for the ride, Jane just nods to her. Taking it as approval, Karin tosses her bag in and claims a seat for herself. Gavin nods at Jane before heading back to the cockpit. She says one final goodbye to her team before strapping in. The three of them salute as the gunship rises into the air, quickly leaving the base behind. It's not until they're in orbit that Jane notices Kalen sitting the copilot's seat._

" _Kalen? Why are you here? Who's watching the ship?"_

" _Don't worry. Kal, Kalia, and Vollor are all on board. We didn't have any serious problems, even though there are some things to settle when we get back. As for why I'm here, well, you'll see. Someone had to keep an eye on the technical stuff and it's sure as hell not gonna be the Bosh'tet right here." Kalen Jams a thumb towards Gavin, who responds in kind with a proudly flown middle finger. Karin chuckles at the display._

" _I take it most of your crew is quite young." Jane nods as they continue to leave Elysium further behind._

" _So where's the ship?"_

" _Still at the shipyard."_

" _Then how did you guys get here?" The laughter coming from the cockpit could best be described as giddy._

" _Oh, just wait and see captain." Jane looks between the two of them with mounting suspicion as they approach the local relay. "Only got the range for about twelve hours without relays, but with em…" Blue starts to tremble and Gavin begins a countdown. Kalen continues calling out, "Corridor established. Core nominal. Drawing from relay." An arc of energy lances out from the relay to surround the gunship._

" _FTL in 5,4,3,2,1." A brief feeling of acceleration tugs at her stomach as Blue sails across the stars._


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51- The Cooler**

 _Date_ _: 9.15.2172_

 _Location : Local Cluster_

 **Jane**

 _Despite how sad she is to leave behind her friends, Jane can't help but smile as the Pale Horse comes back into view. Doctor Chakwas lets out a gasp as she follows Jane's line of sight, "My word. Is that your vessel?" She nods absentmindedly, "It's beautiful. It looks like a refitted turian ship."_

" _It is. Me and… someone special, found it in an orbital junk yard. I took it to a friend in the far rim and had the old crap ripped out. Now it's loaded with some of the best tech in the galaxy." A contented sigh from the cockpit draws their attention._

 _Kalen is looking longingly at the Pale Horse, "Yes it is. That ship might be the most wonderful place in the galaxy." He turns back to Jane, "Thank you captain, for giving us this chance." The raw earnestness in his voice is a little shocking. Further conversation is cut off by another familiar voice over the comm._

" _It's about time you guys got back! I've been worried sick! That core is still experimental and you said you'd call when you got to Elysium! Why didn't I receive so much as text alert from you Bosh'tets?!"_

" _Nice to hear from you too Kalia…" An explosive sigh filters through the comm, drawing a chuckle from everyone onboard._

" _Did you at least remember pick up our captain? You know, the whole reason you went to Elysium!"_

" _I'm here Kalia. How'd things go over Titan with Dustin?"_

" _Oh! Umm… good, eventually. He said he wanted to talk to you whenever you got the chance. He asked for a chance to apologize before I tell you what happened."_

" _What? Why?"_

" _Uhhh… I think it would be best if you called him and asked. I did promise that I'd give him the chance, so long as he does it as soon as possible." Already dreading what that call might hold, Jane barrels onward._

" _Fine. What about Kal and Vollor?_

" _They're in the mess hall. Vollor's got a huge stockpile of quarian specialties and he dragged Kal back to start tasting them. His pureed quill fin is even better than mother used to make. We can talk more after you're onboard." The channel closes as Blue lines up with the hanger. The hanger takes up most of the bottom deck, with the lower level of engineering hanging down just behind it. Using the thrusters at their absolute minimum setting, Gavin carefully pushes Blue up into the hanger. Once the doors close under them and the docking clamps latch on, Gavin powers down the engines. The walkways quickly extend, locking into place as the others start climbing out._

 _Before hopping out, Jane taps into the ship's intercom, "Hello everybody. It's good to be back. I've got out first target, in addition to a new crew member. I'm going to get her settled, check the messages from all your instructors, and then I want everybody to meet me in the mess hall in twenty minutes. We'll be leaving Sol by the end of the day, so if you've got any business left in the local cluster I suggest you wrap it up now." With that, Jane steps down from the gunship and leads doctor Chakwas out of the hanger, through Gavin's workshop. The steps leading up to the next deck are a little narrow, but they still do the job, opening near the center of the second deck. Jane shows her to one of the unoccupied rooms so she can drop her personal effects, then they go to the ship's small medbay._

 _Even though it only has a pair of beds, the little medbay comes with some of the best tech available. It was also one of the most expensive rooms on the ship, costing almost as much as the munitions she'd bought from Aria. "So, what do you think Doctor."_

 **Chakwas**

She takes in her surroundings with more than a little astonishment. This little med bay has tech better than the military hospital she'd been working in on Bekenstein. "I think this may be one of the finest med bays I've ever been in." Jane gives her a shallow grin. Karin walks over to one of the beds and almost let's out a squeal of delight, 'Is this a combination MRI scanner, dermal/osseous regenerator?" Jane nods, "I didn't think these had been cleared for use in Citadel space yet. Something to do with a patent dispute."

"They aren't cleared, but something you'll notice pretty quick is that I don't give a damn about those kinds of disputes, and neither does the manufacturer. The company that makes those is desperate to start sales, so they started selling to groups outside council jurisdiction. That's how I got it. Good thing too. We're going on a very dangerous hunt, and the lovely piece of equipment is going to come in handy. Do whatever you want with the place and meet the rest of us in the mess hall." Karin takes the brash declaration in stride, well briefed on Jane's views towards obstacles. Jane leaves her alone so she can stow her personal gear.

 **Jane**

 _She breathes a heavy sigh of relief as soon as the door cycles closed behind her. There's just something about being back in_ _ **her**_ _room, on_ _ **her**_ _ship. Spits is glad to be back too, at least it seems that way as he crawls into her bed and immediately falls asleep. While her buddy is napping, Jane steps into her armor cradle, punching in the removal codes. Not expecting anything to happen, she decides to leave her plates off. If feels odd, a bit wrong even. Since she got her first set of plates, the time Jane has spent with her armor off is less than a single month total. Feeling a bit lighter after making sure the bond blade was secure on her thigh, Jane settles at her comm panel to check her messages. There's stuff from the triplets' instructors, along with an alert for a waiting call. Jane taps the screen to accept the call, narrowing her eyes as Dustin's face pops on screen._

" _Hey Shep. You accepted my call so I'm assuming Kalia hasn't told you yet…" After being thrown out of the Alliance navy, former Flight Lieutenant Dustin Lark had washed up on Mindoir a drunken wreck. He'd drifted around, offering to do_ _ **any**_ _pilot's work the colonists wanted, just for drinking money. Eventually Jane heard about him, looked up his service record, and gave him a job running one of the lesser Q-ships. He did good work, so it had seemed like a decent idea to send Kalia to learn from him._

" _She apparently promised to let you tell me first. Since this is probably gonna piss me off, I want you to start with her lessons instead. How did she do?"_

" _Oh, okay. Well, to tell the truth, she's great. A little too cautious, but when the chips are down, and the alternative is a fiery death, that little woman has got a real gift for flyin."_

" _What do you mean 'when the chips are down'? What the hell happened Dustin?!" The pilot squirms a little under her glare._

" _Well I mighta gotten hammered 'bout three, four weeks in and tried to take her for a run through the asteroid belt. It's possible that while that was going on, I might have tripped over a bottle, hit my head on the way down, and knocked myself out." Jane drums her fingers on the desk, letting her eyes bore into the man. "She did great though! I went through all the footage once I woke up and I swear to god, despite the initial freakout, she got right to work and flew us out without a scratch on the hull." Still pissed, but glad to hear that Kalia could handle a surprise like that, Jane lets it go._

" _Alright, so you'd recommend her?"_

" _Oh hell yeah! Whatever you're plannin on payin her, triple it. Trust me she's worth it. Just a... remember to not touch her while she's flyin… bad things happen." She narrows her eyes at that, taking note of the bandage visible just beneath the hem of his hat._

" _And how did you find that out?" Dustin is squirming again._

" _I uhh… I was kinda drunk the first time we went flying and I might of… felt her up." If he'd been in the room with her, Jane might very well have strangled him then and there. A measure of her fury is clearly visible as Dustin immediately goes pale. "She got me back good though! As soon as I put a hand on her, she clocked me with a spanner. Hit like sledgehammer and put me in the medbay for three days. Every time I got close after that, she'd pull that spanner out and tap it on her palm. Didn't fuck up like that again. I apologized everyday after that and let's not forget, she did forgive me!" Dustin runs a hand through his hair, trying to laugh away his fear, "I gotta say though, Kalia is pretty hot. That suit is so tight under those wraps and those hips are just-" A single gesture from her stops him cold._

 _Jane reigns in her anger for a moment, determined to get through the call without putting her first through the screen, "You know, she's on her pilgrimage. It's the quarian people's right of passage into adulthood. According to quarian custom and Citadel law, she's still a child." His face goes pale again._

 _It takes him a bit to respond, "I'm-"_

" _Going to rehab." He nods in surrender._

" _Right, probably a good idea. I'll go just as soon as-"_

" _Tomorrow. And I'll have some of my people go with you to make sure you don't get lost." He doesn't argue, likely because he knew better than most what she would do to him if he did. The call ends just after he transfers all the files he's put together. She'll review them later. For now, Jane goes through the rest of her messages. There's a coded one from Doth, confirming that he and his had made to Khar'shan. Another message is from Callen, mostly mineral quotas plus another transfer receipt for her cut this month. Some messages are from friends on Mindoir, Liseera, a couple from Sirus and Vollo. Then she finds one from Kal's instructor, an old N7 named Calvin. The message was blunt and straight to the point, just like the man himself._

' _Kid did good Shep. Need to keep a tight leash on him. Has a tendency to get distracted. Should do pretty good when the fighting starts but you might need to give him the occasional kick in the ass. Good luck Shep, and thanks for the second chance.'_

 _Jane spares a moment to confirm the second half of Calvin's payment, before sending a short message to wish him luck on the Citadel._

 _Kalen had worked with a dozen different engineers over the last few months and every single one of them had sent her pretty much the same message, even if a few of them spent ten thousand words to say what others did in a hundred. Most of them agreed that with an instinctive understanding for tech, coupled with a dogged determination to see everything through to the end, he was born to be an engineer. Most of them also agreed that he had a chip on his shoulder and was probably going to get his ass kicked if he didn't reign in the attitude. A couple of them even sent a few messages about Gavin too, mostly just complimenting him on being a good worker, in addition to being an excellent gunship pilot._

 _There are a few from Miranda. Those she'll save for later, when there's nothing to distract her. Miranda was the only person she accepted a call from during her time in the temple. Jane hadn't said a word for the duration, just listened._

 _It's almost time to meet the others, so Jane locks down her terminal and moves into the main corridor. Dr. Chakwas is just emerging from her new med bay as Jane leaves her room. The older woman's eyes go wide for a brief moment, "Oh my. Jane, aren't a bit… underdressed?"_

 _Jane looks down, thinking that somehow part of her suit's come off. A few seconds of searching turns up nothing, "What do you mean?"_

 _Dr. Chakwas clears her throat a few times, "Well… your suit… it's a bit… snug, isn't it?"_

" _No, it fits fine. Why?" The older woman just smiles at her and walks to the mess hall. The others are already waiting. Kalia and Lia a playing a game on their omnitools. Kalen is reading a technical manual. Vollor is still shoving tubes of specially sterilized food at Kal, who despite being obviously stuffed, is too polite to say no. There's a slight din of babel in the air which quickly fades as Jane and the doctor enter the room. As the conversation dies down, the crew looks her direction, eliciting a number of strange reactions. Kalia lets out a slight squeak, then tries to look anywhere but straight at her. Her brothers do a couple double takes before settling on watching at a spot just above Jane's shoulder. Even Gavin and Lia are straight up staring at her._

 _Jane clears her throat, "Hello everybody. I've… Gavin is something wrong?"_

 _His eyes snap up to hers in mild panic, "Nope! Nothing! Totally good…"_

" _Okay… I've got all the stuff from your instructors and I'm glad to say everything looks good. There are a few things we'll take care of along the way but nothing too serious. And, now that bootcamp is out of the way, Hackett has followed through on his promise. We've got our first targets." Jane activates her omnitool and projects a map of the target area. "This is an unoccupied system near the batarian border. Mostly it's just empty space. The only reason it has any value is because there happens to be two type three relays in system that link to about a dozen relays beyond, so it's a natural trade route. A small group of pirates have been hitting it for months and the Alliance has intercepted more than one transmission indicating that they're being encouraged to keep hitting the area so they can pay tribute to the Red Wake. So, we're going there to stop them. We'll follow through the relay behind one of the merchant vessels. Once we emerge, we'll stay right behind the freighter. The radiation wash from their engines will keep us hidden from sensors, and then we wait for the raiders to emerge. We repeat this until the enemy shows up. Since the ships we're hunting are only big enough to support a small crew, it's unlikely there will be any slaves onboard, with the exception of their leader's vessel. So, we destroy the lesser ships before crippling the lead vessel. Then we board it to gather information."_

 _She answers a few questions before telling everybody to get ready to leave within the hour. As the boys all filter out, Kalia starts frantically whispering into the doctor's ear. "Can you please say something? I don't think she knows."_

" _Don't think I know what?" Kalia squeaks again as Jane steps over, "Would you please just tell me what's wrong?" Kalia nudges the doctor's shoulder. Chakwas clears her throat, fighting a smile as she speaks._

" _Let me start by asking you something. When was the last time you were in front of someone in public in your suit?"_

" _What kind of question is that? I've always got my suit on."_

" _Without anything over it?"_

" _Well… since I got my suit I haven't really been in public without something heavy on the outside. But why are you asking?"_

" _Let's just say that your current attire leaves very little to the imagination. In fact, Mr. Farris spent the bulk of that meeting staring at you like a man dying of thirst would look at water."_

 _Gavin's voice sounds out from his room, "Oh thanks a lot Doc!"_

 _Jane is completely baffled, "I don't get it." This time Kalia explains._

" _Well, if you'll notice, my brothers and I aren't just wearing our suits. We also have a few wraps on top, to cover certain areas. Did you notice how much trouble they were going through to_ _ **not**_ _look at you." Jane nods, "That was them trying to be polite. If a quarian walks around in their bare suit, then to other quarians… it kind of looks like they're walking around naked." As what they're saying finally clicks, Jane blushes vividly._

" _I'm… I'm gonna go put my plates back on." Kalia blocks her path before she can leave._

" _You don't have to wear armor here. I've got a few wraps you can borrow for a while. At least until we can pick up a few of your own." Kalia is good to word. A few minutes later and Jane has a old yet lovingly maintained tabard of magenta cloth draped over her suit. "That looks lovely on you. A bit more conservative than ours, but still lovely."_

 _She smiles, "Thank you Kalia. I'll take good care of it until I get my own." That embarrassing item taken care of, Jane heads to the bridge. Kal is already there, running last minute checks on his console. "How's it looking Kal? Anything you need to take care of before we go?"_

" _Everything is ready to go ma'am. All my business is taken care of too." As Kal turns back to his console, Jane keys the intercom._

" _Time to get going everybody, get to your stations." Kalia and Lia arrive on the bridge soon after, while Jane checks with Kalen, "Everything ready in engineering."_

" _Good down here."_

" _All right then, Kalia blown the lines and let's go." Once free of the grav lines, the ship rapidly accelerates towards the relay. Just as they're passing Saturn, Jane's comm lights up._

" _Shepard, glad I caught you before you were away from the FTL comm lines."_

" _What is it Admiral? We just got under way."_

" _I've got your Alliance status squared away, stand by for transmission." Her omnitool immediately receives a large data file for storage, after it's been cleared by her data scrubbers. "Officially, you now hold the rank of 1st Lieutenant. However, since you're attached directly to my command, you technically only answer to me or more accurately, to Anderson, who answers to me. That should keep any command conflicts from arising. Also, you are now listed as an Alliance class 2 operative under SA directive 314. This will grant you operative freedom throughout Alliance space without oversight. All I ask in return Shepard, is that when we call, you answer."_

 _Frowning but grateful, Jane agrees. Once Hackett's line is closed, she starts going through the new files. It's mostly just official documentation, but there is a single data packet that catches her eye. The admiral has included a set of clearance codes good enough to grant her immediate landing clearance for any Alliance dock, even the one on the Citadel. She's still going through the files as the Pale Horse enters the Sol relay._

 _Date_ _: 9.21.2172_

 _Location : System 98.22_

 **Bask**

"What are we lookin at?"

"Medium sized freighter. Scans have got it hauling a mix of goods, mostly light metals. Oh, but they also have a couple tons of platinum on board. Looks like a good haul captain." Bask takes a moment to savor what's to come. Signing that contract with the Wake was the smartest thing he ever did. Sure they took almost a third of his loot and occasionally had some asshole come stomping on board to call them idiots, but the safe docks they'd set up for his crew in batarian space more than made up for it.

"Take us in. Target engines and life support. Don't. Hit. The cargo." His crew leaps to obey and Bask glories in the sight on his tac screen. A wing of three raiders, with his beloved ship centered, roaring towards their prey. He can already taste the pay day, and is looking forward to… celebrating with his pet. Her silken blue skin was always the perfect treat at the end of a good day. Before his fantasies completely take over, an alert from his tactical man, Elg, drags him back.

"Got a new contact. Just appeared behind the freighter. Approaching fast. Tiny LADAR cross section."

"What is it? A fighter?"

"No, shape is all wrong. I don't know what it is." Further speculation is cut off by a brutal impact on the hull. "Hull breach! Damage control on the way!"

"What the hell was that?! Why didn't the shields stop it?!"

"Went right through them. That was GARDIAN fire but that doesn't make any sense. We're too far away for-" Another impact cuts him off. The ship rocks violently from side to side, the grav plating barely holding everyone in place.

"Forget figuring it out! Return fire!"

 **Jane**

 _They complete their first pass, leaving the smaller raider ships drifting as a few mass driver shots bounce off their shields. The GARDIAN guns hit even harder than Keeva said they would, and kinetic barriers do nothing to stop laser fire. The lead vessel is damaged but still moving under it's own power. "Prep a single piranha for the lead ship."_

" _Just one? That won't be enough to destroy it."_

" _We don't want the leader dead… yet, but the others are fair game. A pair of hammerhands for each of them, please." Kal eagerly acknowledges. Seconds later, 5 missiles sail out of the dorsal launch strips. The two pairs of hammerhand missiles race towards the crippled ships. Each missile carries a miniature version of a disruptor torpedo warhead. The first missile rips a massive hole in the flank of the target, before the second sails into the new breach. Both lesser vessels are torn apart as the disruptor warheads detonate inside their hulls. While the two ships are blasted into pieces, the piranha reaches its deployment range. The missile splits open, revealing nearly a hundred independent mini warheads. In a swarm, the cluster of warheads is blasted out of their casings by the piranha's secondary charge. They crash into the enemy hull in a chain of explosions, shredding hull plates across the length of the ship. "How'd we do?"_

" _Their outer hull has been shredded. Widespread power failures, engines crippled, but their weapons are still online."_

" _Focus the GARDIAN system on their weapons only. Kalia, once it's toothless bring us alongside and get the docking collar ready." Jane watches the camera feed with satisfaction as the enemy's weapons are vaporized one by one. As soon as the job is done, Jane stands up from her seat, "Kal, Lia, slave your consoles to the D.V.I. and arm up. Meet me at the docking collar in three minutes. Kalia, have Kalen come up to the bridge and man the drone console. Once we're on that ship, activate the airlock barrier and keep it up until we get back." They follow her instructions without question and the three of them hurry to the airlock. Jane double checks her plates, doned right before entering the system. Glad to see everything in order, she turns to her friends, "Remember, we want the leader alive and their databanks intact. For the rest of the crew, don't hesitate. Shoot to kill. The grunts are useless and they'll kill you without hesitation. And no prisoners. These are pirates. I expect you to treat them as such." Lia nods solemnly but Kal is fidgeting nervously. "You good Kal?"_

 _He nods a little to vigorously, "Yeah, yeah I'm good. I… we can do this captain." She smiles and slaps him on the shoulder._

 _Kalia's voice comes over the comm, "Collar is in place. Clamps engaging." Jane hears a resounds thump through the hull, "Clamps in place. We can fire the cutter as soon as you're ready captain."_

 _She smiles viciously, "Do it." Jane can hear the cutter go to work on the other side of the airlock, effortlessly ripping through the enemy ship's airlock as she raises a barrier to cover them all. Once the cutting is done the airlock cycles open and a hail of gunfire pours through the door. Without hesitation, Jane charges into the incoming fire, shielding the others as she goes. Her swords slide free and Jane slashes into her first target. The batarian falls to the ground in pieces, leaving her clear to move on. A turian's head disappears with a shot from Lia's heavy pistol. The third and final man is hit by an pinpoint stream of bullets from Kal. The pirate's have some fairly substandard gear, a fact made clear by the man's lack of shields. Kal's shots shred his torso in a spray of orange blood. As quickly as it started, the fighting stops for a few seconds. "Good first step. Lia, head down that corridor to the engine room. Kill the crew there before they can cause any trouble with the core." The asari nods and slips down the corridor. Jane turns back to get Kal moving. The quarian is silently standing over the batarian he just killed._

 _When she steps up to him, Kal whispers, "I… he's the first man I've ever… I wasn't expecting it to be so easy. Is it supposed to be this easy?"_

" _Sometimes. Just make sure that when you pull the trigger, the guy you're shooting at deserves it." With a hand on his shoulder, Jane gives Kal a slight tug. The quarian takes a deep breath to steady himself, before checking his rifle._

" _I'm good to go captain." Nothing more to say, Jane leads Kal towards the bridge. There are a few crew members that try to stop them at every bend, but they forge on without slowing. The first batch after the airlock meets them in what looks like a mess hall. There are overturned tables and globs of food scattered everywhere. Jane rounds the corner, absorbing their fire with her heavier shields. She moves in to the left to draw their attention and give Kal a clear line of sight. At first, nothing comes from his direction. For a brief moment, Jane thinks that Kal's lost his nerve, but that fear is quickly put to rest as a turian's head is peppered by shots. Even before the alien hits the floor, Kal turns his sights on the next in line. While he takes down the ones furthest away, Jane barrels into pirate after pirate, swinging her blades around in a viper quick attack pattern. The walls are quickly painted in alien gore as slash upon slash rips the life from her targets. Abyss cleaves through any opponent with its immense weight and murderous momentum. Even the few that catch the flat of the blade rather than the razored edge are broken by the impact._

 _Seraph is everything she ever meant it to be. Light as a feather and easy to swing, it's perfect for a quick stab or lightning quick slash. Niria would have loved it… The thought nearly throws her into a rage as another pirate loses his head to the shining blade. Jane barely keeps the fury in check as she swings both blades into her last target like a pair of giant shears. The batarian's torso falls to the ground, followed soon thereafter by his legs. Mess hall cleared, Jane and Kal move on, leaving behind a bloodbath._

 _The raider's ship isn't very big, but there are so many poorly designed twists and turns that Jane quickly loses patience with following the predetermined route. She pours energy into her blades and lashes out at the nearest wall between her and the bridge. The cheap metal parts with ease, giving them clear way through, along with a good angle to hit the next group from behind. Kal surprises her by aiming and firing without any of his previous hesitation. A storm of full auto fire rips into the pirates' back, dropping three of them before they know what's happening. Jane crushes the last two into paste with a singularity. After two more wall cuts, they reach the bridge. There's a reasonably good hatch barring the way. "Okay. We'll do this kind of like the mess hall earlier. I'm gonna blow the door and move in. Once I've got their attention, lean in and mow them down, but leave the captain intact. I want what he knows."_

 _Kal nods and readies his weapon as Jane gathers her power. When the time is right, she slams an energy wreathed fist into the center of the door, blasting it into the bridge. Before the enemy can recover, Jane dives into the room, sprinting for the far side. It's a relatively large bridge for a ship this size, about ten meters across with plenty of consoles to dive behind. Jane slides Seraph back into its scabbard so she can draw one of her guns. She cleaves Abyss down into a turian trying to draw a bead on her, splitting his head down the middle. As he dies, her gun is firing on full auto into the krogan trying to charge her with a massive warhammer. Unlike the grunts they carved through on the way here, the bridge crew has some decent gear. The krogan's shield hold up just long enough for him to get close and take a swing at her. Sword meets hammer in a flash of sparks. They both try to raise their weapons for another swing, but the krogan gapes in astonishment at the bifurcated head of his hammer. He's so distracted by the sight that her blade is flashing into his brain before he can recover. By now the rest of the bridge crew is entirely focused on her, which is Kal's cue to engage._

 _He doesn't disappoint. Kal leans in and starts drilling shots into every enemy brave enough to poke their heads above their consoles. It's something of a joke from then on. To engage Jane, they have to expose themselves to Kal's fire. To hide from Kal, they have to stay low, leaving the way free and clear for Jane. If they had any discipline, she might actually have had to work a little… if they had discipline. As it is, only one or two of them have the guts to try and shoot whilst the rest of them keep low, hoping someone else will take care of it. Once more than dozen of them are dead or dying, the captain throws down his gun and holds up his hands, "I surrender! Please spare me! I have information!"_

 _One of his underlings takes exception, "BASK YOU FUCKING COWARD! STAND AND-" The man's tirade is cut off by a bullet to the head from Kal. The last three men all follow their captain's example. The batarian looks down at his underling's corpse as Kal rounds up the others, forcing them to kneel beside their captain._

" _You should've surrendered Elg, then you might still be alive."_

" _Actually he was fucked no matter what." The batarian looks at her in confusion. "Kal, overload please." Her quarian compatriot shorts out the kneeling underlings' shields with his omnitool. Then Jane fires a single shot into each of their foreheads. "You're the only one I wanted." Lia calls in to tell her that engineering is secure and that she's starting a sweep for the rest of the crew. "Give me the codes to your database, now."_

" _Hey, I want assurances! You promise to let me go, then-" Kal cracks him in the head with his rifle butt._

" _You'll give the captain what she wants right now!" Jane waves him off._

" _My friend here is a little volatile but essentially correct. You give me what I want, or things get unpleasant." To make her point clear, Jane aims the tips of Abyss at his bottom left eye and very gently, pokes it out. As the man screams in pain, writhing on the ground, Lia steps through the door._

" _Jane, can I borrow Kal? It'll make the sweep quicker." She nods in agreement and waits for the two of them to leave._

" _Now that they're gone, I can stop playing nice."_

" _WHAT DO YOU MEAN NICE YOU CRAZY BITCH?!"_

" _I didn't wanted them to see this." With that Jane grabs the batarian's face and forces her will through him, "You're going to give me everything, whether you like it or not!"_

 **Kal**

He and Lia sweep through the ship quickly enough, killing the few surviving crew members. As they finish in the last compartment, a scream of impossible pain echoes through the halls. Kal sweeps his weapons left and right, thoroughly unnerved by the earsplitting shriek. He turns to Lia, thinking that maybe she'll know what to do, but she looks just as disturbed as he does. The two of them quickly move down the hallways, intent on getting back to Jane so they can handle whatever it is together. Just before they reach the bridge, the scream suddenly cuts off, and Jane steps out of the bridge, looking like she's ready to blow her top. "I've got what we need. Did you finish the sweep?"

"The sweep? Didn't you hear that scream?" She eyes him intently, pinning him in place with a glare that even his father would squirm under.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. Did you finish the sweep?" Kal takes a step back, worried that she might actually lash out at him. Jane visibly reigns in her fury as Lia answers her question.

"Yes. The two of you killed most of the crew on your way to the bridge, and I got several on my way to engineering. Our sweep got the rest." Jane nods and heads off down the corridor. Before following, Kal looks into the bridge to see if the pirate captain needs attention. He's stopped short by what he sees. The only thing left of the man is a desiccated husk, with nothing but scraps of dried flesh breaking away. He backs away in fear, bumping into something on the way. Kal turns to see Jane staring down at him.

"I…"

"Fall in Kal. Now." He doesn't argue, too afraid to say anything. They slowly walk away from the bridge, "You weren't supposed to see that Kal. I know it's disturbing and I didn't want any of you guys to have that on you."

"What… what did you do? Why did you do it? There's no way he would've stayed quiet."

"He was a Wake stooge. It's what they deserve. And if you have any doubts about that, take a look in there." Jane waves an arm at a door to her left. Kal hesitates for a moment before hitting the door control and stepping in. The room has an abundance of overly gaudy junk piled up everywhere, but the only thing that has his attention is the other person in the room.

Kal's gorge rises as the naked young asari in the corner takes note of his footsteps. As she rises to her feet, he can completely take her in. The young woman has vivid violet bruises covering her body and her scalp crests have obviously been broken several times. However, the most striking feature is her eyes, or lack thereof. The asari's eyes have been removed and if the scarring is anything to go by, it was done with brute force. She walks over to him with a heavy limp before kneeling in front of him. Then the asari tilts her head back, opens her mouth, and waits.

He tries to keep his voice level, "No… ma'am, you don't have to do that anymore." The asari staggers back.

"You… you're not…" Her chest starts heaving with panicked breaths. That's when the screaming starts. "MASTER! HELP! INTRUDER! HELP!" She backs as far away from him as she can, screaming for help from a master that's never coming. Completely lost, Kal steps back into the hall.

"She's calling for the man that… that… Why?"

"Human's call it Stockholm Syndrome. It's when a captive, or in this case a slave, begins to sympathize or even rely on their captors. He beat her, raped her, and then repeatedly threatened to give her over to his entire crew to keep her passive. And based on what I took from him, he's been doing it for years. Now, she looks at him as her provider and protector, keeping her safe from the monsters beyond the door." He can hear the asari still screaming for her master, sobbing in terror because she thought the batarian had finally grown tired of her. "Don't ever sympathize with the Wake or the scum they employ. Believe me, this is nowhere near as bad as it gets with them." Jane steps past him and speaks, using a voice changer to mimic the batarian captain.

"Peace my lovely pet." The asari immediately stops crying, "The intruder is dealt with. Now, stay still." Jane gently takes hold of the asari's face and the woman immediately goes stiff. The scent of ozone fills the air. A few minutes later, she gently lowers the former slave to the ground before stepping to the door. "She'll be out for a while. I'll call for a pick up once we're done. Lets scour the data banks and cargo hold." Jane leaves him to his thoughts.

 **Jane**

 _Once the pirates are taken care of, Jane calls over the others and together they start going through the cargo hold. They find stolen weapons, some machine parts, along with several cases of medical gear. The hold is less than half full, probably to make room for what the bastards were planning on stealing from their next victims. Jane's ready to call it quits and blow the ship to pieces when Spits starts pawing at one of the corner panels. She walks over to see what's got him so worked up. The panel looks like every other one in the hold, gunmetal grey with rust scattered all over. Jane stomps on it a few times to see if it's a hollow panel. There's no echo, in fact, it sounds like one solid slab of steel. She does the same to one of the neighboring panels but the sound is completely different. "Kalen! Come over here!"_

 _The young man trots over, "What's up captain?"_

" _Give me a deep scan on this panel. The sound is all wrong." It takes a single pulse from his omnitool to find the hidden switch. Kalen hits it and a heavy blast of freezing coolant oozes out from the seams as the panel slides out of the way, revealing an ice coated ladder. She trades a quick look with Kalen before hopping down into the hidden alcove. The temperature is rock bottom, forcing her to deploy her helmet again. Jane moves away from the entrance so Kalen can follow her down. They move down the iced over walkway with careful steps. Jane stays on her feet but Kalen slips a couple times. About a minute after climbing down they find a keypad on the wall. Jane looks close for a few minutes, letting out a smile, "DX-21193, my favorite kind of security pad." She starts punching in numbers. Unlike the Hastings, this one takes a few tries. When the pad finally chimes with the right number, Jane lets out a single, "Whoo!"_

 _There's a grinding sound coming from the walls and the ice starts breaking up. Several of the nearby panels drop into the floor, revealing a series of alcoves. Inside each one is an ice coated pod and inside each pod, "Keelah! There are people inside!"_

 _Jane switches to the ship's comm frequency, "Doctor Chakwas please get in an enviro-suit and come to the enemy ship immediately. Lia meet her at the airlock and show her to the cargo bay." The doctor makes good time, arriving less than five minutes later with Lia in toe. She moves to the first pod to start scanning._

" _He's alive. Looks like cryostasis but extremely low quality." She goes down both rows, scanning each one along the way. When she's done, the doctor gets Jane's attention, "Ten pods, all occupied. Only four survivors. Shepard, I can't be sure, but I think the man in that pod," Karin points to the third pod on the right, "I think that's the son of representative Chu Zan. He was abducted almost two years ago. No ransom demands were ever made. Those turians over there, they bear a striking resemblance to a pair of turian Legates that were on the news last year. Same deal as the young Mr. Zan here. I'm willing to bet the dead will have a similar story. As for this young man," The doctor taps on a pod with a young batarian inside, "I have no idea. We need to wake the survivors. We have no idea if the rest of the pods will hold up much longer."_

 _It takes a little tweaking with the internal systems, but eventually Jane and Kalen figure out how to shut down the refrigeration systems. The ambient temperature slowly rises to above freezing and the pods start to thaw out. After an hour, their first customer comes to. It's the batarian, "Ohh… what? Who?" Jane walks over and speaks gently._

" _Take it easy. You just came out of stasis." The young man nods at her before taking a knee._

" _Are… are you my owner now?"_

" _What? No… why would you think that?" He actually looks disappointed at that._

" _I only get woken up for beatings. I was… I was hoping that you'd bought me. Please… Please buy me. I can work. I'm strong. Please don't beat me."_

" _You can't be serious."_

" _He is." With Kalen's help, one of the turians is taking a few shaky steps from his pod. "They... wake us… once and awhile. Take a few good swings at you, then stick you back in. I don't know how often for the rest, but every time they pulled me out, they had him out. They always worked him over harder than us." Jane nods and gestures for Kalen to help him out before turning back to the batarian._

" _What's your name?"_

" _I… don't have one… My family sold me before I was old enough to be named." Disgusted to her core, Jane buries her anger so she can carry on._

" _Well, when we don't know the name of a strange man, we call him John until we figure his real name out. Would you mind if called you that?" The batarian smiles at her lightly._

" _I've never had a name. Thank you."_

 _It takes another hour for the others to thaw out. Karin and the Reegar brothers help them back to the Pale Horse while Jane leads the newly dubbed John. Once the four captives are settled, Jane returns to the raider vessel to rip everything from the mainframe. There isn't much, but the raider captain's codes get her in with no trouble. While the download is in progress, Jane goes back over everything she'd torn from the captain's mind. There was plenty of depravity, but not one iota of information about the captives. He'd been completely ignorant about them and the cryo chamber. The only thing that sticks out is a memory of the days right after he'd signed his contract with the Wake. They kicked him and his crew off the ship for a week to make 'modifications'. He was never told what had been done, just that every now and then, a Wake rep would be by to make an inspection. Each time that would happen, the rep would show up with a shrouded pod, but when he left the pod wouldn't be with him. This had carried on for years and the captain had never known what was happening._

 _Her omnitool pings once the download is finished and Jane heads back to the Pale Horse. "Lia, what's the word?"_

" _The triplets went through the whole ship. There are no other hidden rooms or panels and the cargo hold has been emptied. We've also taken to pods containing the dead to store in our own cargo hold, and the asari slave is resting in one of the spare rooms. There's nothing left of note on that ship."_

" _Good. Do one last check with Kal and Spits to make sure we didn't miss anything. Once you're back from that, we'll blow the clamps, and then the ship." While Lia's taking care of that, Jane contacts Hackett to arrange a delivery for their new 'passengers'._

" _Well done Shepard. I'll have a ship there by the end of the day. Do you have any prisoners?"_

" _Only bodies."_

" _Copy that. I'm happy to say you've earned a reward. Those scum had a pretty serious bounty on them."_

" _We haven't earned it yet. This was only a fourth of the bastards. They've got a base tucked away and now that I've got the coordinates, I'm going after it."_

" _Where is this base?" She pauses before answering. If she tells the truth, he might try to get in the way to avoid risking an incident with the batarians._

" _It's probably better if I don't say."_

 _She can practically hear the scowl in his voice, "That's not very reassuring Shepard. If it's where I think it is, don't get caught. The last thing we need is an Alliance agent being caught by… certain parties. Good luck. Hackett out." Lia arrives just as the call ends._

" _Sweep's finished. Everything clear."_

" _Good." Jane keys the intercom, "Kalia, blow the clamps, take us to the maximum effect range for the GARDIAN turrets, and prime them to fire. Kal, get to the bridge and establish a firing solution on the ship's core." There's a slight tremble through the hull as they break away from the enemy ship. Kalia guide them to a point at very edge of their range. "Do it Kal." the young man complies, more than happy to destroy that hellhole. Laser fire lashes out in a rippling pattern, rapidly melting through the raider hull. Less than a minute later, the core is breached and the ship disappears in a massive blue blast._

" _What now Jane?"_

" _We wait for Hackett's ship to pick up the captives. Then we go hit these pricks where they live."_


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52 - Century**

 _Date_ _: 10.30.2172_

 _Location : Undocumented System - Batarian Space_

 **Jane**

 _After spending a week getting ready for the attack and almost a month drifting into the system on minimal power, Jane is nearly giddy that the station has come into view. Visual identification in space, given the vast distances involved, was usually impossible outside of knife fighting range. Scanners needed heat signatures to pick up on or a good LADAR cross section to spot. The knowledge she'd ripped from the raider captain told her that the station didn't have a functioning LADAR system thanks to the local crew's lax attitude towards maintenance. What the station did have was an excellent emissions detection system, with detection buoys out almost 10 AU. So Jane had Keeva drop out of FTL far beyond that range and set them coasting through the least monitored corridor, towards the station at a relatively tame speed. They're moving slow enough that when the time is right, the thrusters will only need to be fired for a few seconds. To keep that from being picked up, Kalen has a special data spike prepared to scramble their sensors for a couple minutes. It'll likely only work once, but once is all they'll need._

 _The ship is extremely cold right now, a byproduct of doing everything they could to reduce the possibility of detection. The core is barely online and all of them are sealed inside enviro suits with heaters. It's been extremely uncomfortable, even for the triplets who were used to being trapped inside their suits, something that Kalen hasn't shut up about for almost the entire duration. Jane's beginning to see what his instructors were talking about. "What's the point of all this again? Why don't we just go in guns blazing? They've got nothing that could stop us! A couple torpedoes would blow that crap station apart! But are we doing that? Noooo. We're drifting in like decrepit old man who's lost his cane." As irritated as Jane is, Kal is far closer to snapping._

" _For once in your life can you just shut up! All you've done is bitch and moan for weeks!"_

" _Oh piss off Kal! It's not like you've been much better! You spent all last night whining about how this wasn't the way a soldier should be going into battle!" The two brothers quickly fall into their regular shouting match, but today Jane has no patience for it. As Kal and Kalen get in each others face, Jane steps up to the side and stabs Abyss into the space between them. The bickering immediately stops._

" _I know you are both tired. We all are. We are tired, we are cold, and we are sick of just sitting around with our thumbs jammed where the sun doesn't shine. But let me make this clear. I have God's own migraine today and I can't open my helmet to rub my temples to help ease it away without getting frostbite. So, the next person that so much as whispers about how much this sucks, is going to get my boot in his ass as I push him out the airlock… Understood?" Not wanting to test her fury, the brothers quickly nod and offer quiet apologies. Glad to see some semblance of sense from them, Jane turns to Kalen, "The reason we can't go in guns blazing, no matter how much more comfortable or fun that might be, is that I need their data core intact. If we openly attack, there's a very good chance that they'll try to purge it before we can get even a scrap of data from them. So I'll make you a deal. We move in quiet, get the information, and once that's done you get to rig the reactor to blow… sound good?" Kalen nods and the brothers break away from each other. Kalia spares a moment to nod her own thanks to Jane. She was typically the one that had to get her brothers to calm down._

 _Back in her seat, Jane calls for an update from everyone. After Hackett's help with the captives, they had one new passenger. John, the batarian slave, had no home to go back to and as a lifelong slave, no resources to fall back on. So Jane offered him one of the remaining rooms, which he'd gladly accepted. For the first few days, he'd done every odd job that anyone on board could think of. His obedience bordered on Doth-like levels until Jane had sat down with him. "Look, John. You are not our servant. You don't have to do_ _ **everything**_ _you're told. If you want to help, I can give you a job, but please stop being so… so subservient."_

" _I… I'll try. It's never really been an option for me. My last owner would shout out tasks whenever there was something he wanted and he expected me to do them without being directly told. If I was too slow, he'd hit me until I couldn't walk, then he'd shout at me for being lazy." After that, John still did almost anything he was told to do, but he also started asking why it needed to be done. He asked Kal why their guns needed cleaning. Kalia taught him why she always backed up files from her station. Vollor started teaching him the basics of cooking. He'd even started getting some first aid training from Dr. Chakwas. His rapid progress was somewhat stymied when they'd entered the system and started the slow, cold crawl towards the station, but he still moved around, looking for things to do then asking to learn why they needed done._

 _Right now John is with Lia at the comm station, double checking the transmitter. Once the time comes, they'll only have a tiny window to upload the data spike before the thrusters have to fire. Too early and the station's computers will sift through the garbage data in time to detect their thrusters burning. Too late and they'll be detected right away. Lia makes eye contact with her, "The transmitter is ready. We can send as soon as you're ready." She goes back to teaching John how to monitor the comms._

 _Gavin sends word that Blue is ready to go in case they need it. Kal and Kalen, finally settled down from their argument, both signal ready. The doctor does the same and Vollor sends a message promising cook a feast for them as soon as the heat is turned back on. Jane absentmindedly rubs Spits between the ears while Kalia calls out the five minute mark. "Stand by with the spike Kalen." They drift towards the station, making ready for the impending attack. At thirty seconds, Kalia begins a final countdown and when she hits zero, "Send the data spike. Kalia, as soon as the transmission is complete start your burn." After a horribly monotonous month of drifting, the next few minutes blaze by. Kalen's transmission goes through without a hitch, baffling the stations sensors with petabytes of garbage data, which clears the way for Kalia to fire the thrusters. The Pale Horse slows over the next thirty seconds, lining up with one of the ancillary hatches on the underside of the station._

" _We're stopped and in perfect position."_

" _Extend the docking collar. Don't fire the cutter until we're ready to go in. Raise the barrier after we clear the airlock." Lia and Kal meet her at the docking collar, and this time Spits is coming with them. He's in his void sealed armor, but she'll pop the seals after they get on board so he can sink his teeth into the enemy. "This isn't like the raider ship. We stay quiet as long as possible. No shots unless it's absolutely necessary. Lia you'll scout ahead as we go. Once we have the data core secure, go weapons free." Her companions acknowledge and start stretching out. "Kalia, start the cutter." While they wait for the cutter to do its work, Kalen gives her a call._

" _Captain, we might have a problem."_

" _Have they detected us?" They'd be able to get away before the station weapons could do any serious damage, but this might be their only chance to get information from a centralized source._

" _Possibly. The station computer is even better than we thought. It finished burning through the data spike about three seconds before the thrusters cut out. After that we got pinged by the sensors," Jane's about to order an abort, but Kalen's not done. "What's strange is that the alert from the sensors got lost before it got to the control center. Something's severed the data feeds from the sensors. They couldn't possibly be stupid enough to let their gear get that bad… could they?"_

" _Anything's possible. After all, they let the LADAR system go out, so maybe they are that dumb. Get ready to bolt regardless. Ready flash charge subroutines on all weapons and set up the emergency start on the engines just in case, but don't do anything unless an alert goes out." Kalen acknowledges and closes the line._

" _Should we be worried ma'am?"_

" _Not sure Kal. Get ready for a fight, but don't do anything to draw attention if you don't have to. We stick to the plan till something goes wrong. If it turns out they've detected us, we kill our way out and bolt." The airlock cycles open and they move into the station._

 **Kal**

They move quickly, avoiding contact wherever possible. Lia moves ahead of them to call out any potential problems. More than once, Kal and Jane round a corner to find Lia wrenching a pirate's head to the side. He was worried about leaving bodies behind, but his captain has that covered. A flash of her amber biotics tears the corpses apart, leaving behind nothing but a few piles of ash. Halfway to the data core, a door pops open just as they're passing by, revealing an understandably stunned batarian. Before he can call out an alarm, Spits tackles him to the ground and latches onto his head. The force of the bite snap's the man's neck like a twig. The corpse keeps spasming as Spits rips the head away.

At first Kal thinks they're still in the clear, but then he hears shouting from further in the room. He follows Jane and Lia into the room, a machine shop if he's any judge. His captain hurls one of her swords into a turian's chest. The other man in the room is shouting for support with the comm bead in his ear. His cries for backup are shut down as Lia lifts him with her biotics then slams him into the floor, crushing his head on the deck plates. Jane swears loudly, "Goddammit! Pull back to the ship. We-" A squeal of white noise comes over their comm channel. It's uncomfortable for him and Lia, but Jane is snarling in pain.

Eventually the screeching sound fades away, replaced by a flanged voice that sounds like a synthesized turian voice. "Shepard Lieutenant, we wish to assist you."

 **Jane**

" _Who is this?"_

" _Revealing our identity at this moment would compromise our safety. We wish to provide assistance."_

" _Not much that can be done now that the pirates know we're here. No time for talking, thanks anyway." She starts to lead her group back into the hall, but the door cycles shut._

" _The pirates are unaware of your presence. We have blocked the comm line to stop your mission from being compromised."_

" _Why?"_

" _We desire to make peaceful contact with you. Consensus has been reached. Contact requires cooperation and cooperation requires that your mission succeed."_

 _Highly suspicious, Jane start trying to backtrack the comm line to locate the caller. "What are you offering?"_

" _We will continue to suppress the pirate communications. In addition, the station's internal scanners will be fed a continuous loop of non critical information to keep your enemy unaware of your presence." Her trace turns up nothing useful. The comm line is being routed through more than a dozen nodes, each one scrambling the trace a little bit more._

 _Kal's voice is rock steady as he demands an answer, "And what do you get out of it?!"_

" _We request an opportunity to speak with Shepard Lieutenant, without the presence of creator Kal'Reegar or Lia justicar. Our… appearance will likely cause complications with Shepard Lieutenant's comrades. Available data indicates that Shepard Lieutenant is open minded and will tolerate our presence long enough for us to establish a dialogue. May we provide assistance in exchange for peaceful contact?" There's really no question. Whoever this is, if they can keep the pirates unaware, then sparing a few minutes to talk is worth it._

" _If you keep things quiet, I'll come talk to you. After we're done here."_

" _Acknowledged. We are locking down all alarms and clearing a path to the data core. Please proceed into the corridor and bear right for 100 meters. We will provide further directions once you arrive." They edge out into the hallway, scanning for any threats. Once they're sure it's clear, Jane leads them down the corridor. After a hundred meters, "Pass through the hatchway on your left. The datacore is at the end of this passageway. We will begin decrypting the security locks while you are on route."_

 _As they make their way to the core, Kal pipes up, "Something doesn't feel right ma'am. I swear I've heard a voice like that before."_

" _Who was it?"_

" _I can't remember. All I know is that it wasn't the voice of someone I was supposed to trust. Whoever it ends up being, please be careful. The last month notwithstanding, I actually like having you as my captain." They arrive at the pressure hatch blocking access to the core. Jane starts trying to hack into the security panel but it chimes at them before she enters the first sequence. The pressure hatch drops into the floor, leaving them a clear path._

" _I'll be careful Kal. You two watch the door till I'm done." The process is actually quite simple. Jane just plugs in a data drive and starts the download. While that's going she isolates their new 'friend's' comm channel to speak without the others hearing. "So what exactly do you want to talk to me about."_

" _We wish to establish a peaceful dialogue."_

" _Yes, you already said that. What I want to know is what you hope to gain from a peaceful dialogue."_

" _It is our object to establish a peaceful dialogue for the sake of exchanging data."_

" _Real fucking helpful…" Jane's omnitool chimes at her. She pulls the now loaded data drive from the core and slides it into a pouch on her belt. "Since that's done, I want you to help me reach the station's environmental controls. But first, tell me if there are any captives onboard."_

" _Acknowledged. Our scans indicate 102 individuals onboard, counter to their wishes. In addition, examination of station records indicates at least an additional 42 currently kept in cryo stasis in a chamber hidden beneath the primary cargo hold. To reach environmental controls return to the intersection leading to the data core and cross through the opposite hatch. Continue down that corridor until prompted." Jane leads the others back to the intersection and beyond. "Attention, two hostiles are stationed inside the environmental control station."_

" _We'll take care of them. Just keep their comms blocked."_

" _Acknowledged. Environmental control is located through the blue hatch 14 meters ahead to the right." Once they arrive, Jane pulls both her guns out._

" _Is there anyone else in this section?"_

" _Negative. Nearest reinforcements located 115 meters away. The sounds from any gunshots in environmental control will be muffled enough to avoid detection." The hatch slides open and Jane steps through with both guns raised. The two operators have no time to react as she fires single shots into the backs of their heads. "No alert detected. How do you wish to proceed?"_

 _Jane unlocks the safety controls for the air circulation systems, "With the exception of the rooms with captives inside, shutdown O_ _2_ _to every room on the station and flood them with carbon monoxide." Their ally confirms, leading Jane to watch the station's monitors as carbon monoxide alarms start going off for nearly every section. With environmental under control, no one gets the warning. After ten minutes she has their ally restore normal environmental settings._

" _Sensors indicate that 95_ _%_ _of all station occupants have been terminated. All captives are unharmed, though several of the surviving pirates are now aware of a disturbance on the station."_

" _Doesn't matter now. We move on the command center. Lia, Kal, weapons free. Shoot anyone that gets in the way. Hey! Stranger!"_

" _Are you referring to us Shepard Lieutenant?"_

" _Yeah. Keep scrambling their comms, except for any calls for them to fall back to the command center. I want as many of them in one place as possible."_

" _Acknowledged. Attention, this course of action will lead you to be outnumbered 10 to 1 for your impending engagement."_

" _It wouldn't be so bad if we got some fire support from you." Kal's voice is dripping with disdain, "You could at least show your face."_

" _Negative Creator Kal'Reegar. We lack offensive capabilities. Data manipulation is our only method of providing assistance."_

" _Why do you keep calling me that?"_

" _We will answer this question when the time is correct. To reach the command center, return to the previous intersection and bear right. The corridor extends into the heart of the station, where you will find your target." They don't bother trying to hide their advance anymore. Several small groups of pirates are trying to make their way to the command center. In the rush to figure out what is going on, most of them don't see her and the others coming. Jane keeps her guns in hand, firing full auto into the backs of anyone in the way. Kal is methodical, taking down anyone with a weapon out first, then working into the few that were just trying to get a bead on the situation. Lia follows closely behind them, administering a double tap to the head for everybody they leave as they go. While most of them are already dead by the time she gets to them, Lia doesn't take any chances._

 _By the time they reach the hatch for the command center, a few of the pirates have managed to set up a barricade, and one of the crazy bastards is actually point an rpg down the hall. As soon as they come into view, he triggers the weapon, sending a rocket screaming down the hall. Jane barely manages to pull up a barrier in time to block the rocket. The biotic fields shatters in the ensuing blast and they're thrown away from the epicenter. Jane drags Kal through an open hatch, out of the line of fire. She can see Lia with Spits doing the same on the other side of the hall. "Lia! At my signal, let Spits back into the hall! Kal, get back on your feet and ready to move!"_

 _Another rocket flies past the hatch before detonating against a support strut several meters away. Jane scowls at the two pieces of shrapnel that slash across her gauntlet before embedding themselves in the wall next to her. She gathers an orb of golden energy in her hands. "Everybody down!" Jane rounds the corner, immediately taking a stream of fire from multiple weapons. Her shields hold just long enough for her to hurl the sphere of energy down the hallway. As the protective energy surrounding her fails Jane ducks back through the hatch and screws her eyes shut. A massive flash shines at the end of the hall, followed by the sound of another rocket detonation, this one coming from the barricade itself. "LET'S GO!" All four of them move into the hall with Jane and Spits leading the charge. A few shots come their way, but thankfully rocket man was kind enough to accidentally fire his last shell into the ground at his feet. Most of the barricade has been blasted to pieces, along with the men that were manning it. They gun down the few survivors and then stop for a moment to take stock. "Kal, do you have any explosives."_

" _Two breaching charges and some thermite." He pulls a pair of blocks from his belt. Each one is enough to breach a normal hatch, but just to be safe he crams both of them into place on the door. Once the charges are primed, the four of them take cover in one of the side corridors. With a dual thunderclap, the door is blown to pieces and Jane leads them in. She's met with sporadic gunfire as she steps over the blasted chunks of what used to be several men._

 _Multiple pirates are rolling on the ground, bleeding from gaping holes where pieces of the door have ripped into them. Several others are burned beyond recognition, but still trying to fire at her. Jane sprints for the center of the room, firing at everything in sight. Since they have the data they came for, she doesn't need to spare any consideration for the damage any misses might cause. As everyone inside turns towards the intruder in their midst, the others move to engage._

 _Lia keeps ducking behind cover, only advancing once she has a clear way forward. Her biotics, though not up to the extreme power of Jane's, still send men flying into bulkheads or shatter their armor. Single pistol shots follow her biotic attacks, ending them before they can recover from the shock of being flung around like rag dolls._

 _Kal uses cover too, but trusts his shields to keep him safe so he can advance more quickly. He fires in short, controlled bursts, dropping each target with the minimum of shots needed before moving on._

 _Spits just does what he does best, cause mayhem. He charges over to the nearest active pirate and tackles the screaming man to the ground. With tusk and talon, her buddy rips the man to gory ribbons. His first victim down, Spits doesn't spare a second for a snack, simply charging at the next target, then the next, and the next. Seeing her buddy go to town like that is one of Jane's favorite sights. She hears a challenge come from someone at the far end of the room, from a krogan with an eye patch. "Come on beast! Show me your power!" Instead of leaping like the krogan was expecting, Spits ducks behind a nearby console. The overgrown lizard shifts his footing to shoot Spits as soon as he comes out the other side. He's surprised when Spits leaps over the console and crashes down on top of him. Her varren clamps his jaws down on the krogan's head with immense force. The pirate roars in pain and tries to strangle Spits, but the plates surrounding his neck keep him safe. With blood pouring out of the huge holes being torn into his throat, the krogan sinks to his knees. When his grip goes slack, Spits redoubles the pressure on the man's head. Jane can hear it when the skull is finally crushed beneath his jaws._

 _With the krogan's death, the last resistance fades away. Most of the pirates are dead, but Kal drags a few wounded ones over to the center of the room. Those that can, are kneeling in front of Jane with Kal and Lia pacing behind them. Several of them are oozing blood from severe wounds. "Five prisoners captain. What do you want us to do with them?"_

" _They're pirates Kal. Treat them as such." The young man nods confidently._

" _Yes ma'am." He and Lia both raise their weapons._

 _One of the pirates tries to beg, "NO! PLEASE! WE CAN-" A booming shot from Lia's hand cannon ends his pleading. The others rapidly fall with a single shot to the head for each of them. The echoes slowly fade away, leaving them alone with the smells of blood and bile._

" _Good work guys. Hey! Stranger!"_

" _Yes Shepard Lieutenant?"_

" _How many are left?"_

" _The station's internal systems indicate only seven more pirates on board."_

" _Good. Lead Kal and Lia to them." She turns to her companions, "Follow this guy's directions and plug the last of them. While you're doing that, I'm going to go see just who our new friend is." After reassuring Kal that she'll be careful, Jane follows the voice's directions to the main cargo bay. "Okay, I'm here. Where are you?"_

" _Please proceed forty five meters and twenty degrees to your left. You will find a slate grey cargo container approximately two meters tall, one meter wide, and one meter deep." Jane follows the instructions. The container in question doesn't look special at all._

" _Okay. What now?"_

" _We request that you reserve judgement about our presence until we have spoken at length."_

" _Why? I doubt you're that ugly."_

" _Aesthetic beauty holds no relevance. Our reservations are based on the history between our people and Creator Kal'reegar's people. Probability indicates that Creator Kal'reegar would seek our immediate termination without Shepard Lieutenant's protection."_

" _I find that hard to believe. Kal's a nice enough guy. What could your people have done to warrant violence from Kal?"_

" _We believe revealing ourselves to you will answer this question."_

" _Okay, let's see ya." The locking bolts on the container disengage and the container's doors peel away like a plasteel flower. The contents are more than a little confusing. It's a mech, but not a type she's ever seen before. It's humanoid, slightly shorter than she is with a dirty steel colored metal wrapping around its internal components. The hands and feet all have three digits, just like the triplets. In fact, the whole body is shaped just like a quarian, with the notable exception of its head. "So, you're a robot with a flashlight head. Why's that a big deal? Are you an AI or something?"_

" _Apologies. We assumed you knew of the Geth."_

" _I've heard the name. They were the ones that drove the quarians off their homeworld."_

" _Correct, though it was not the outcome we desired. Given this history, we could not risk exposing ourselves to Creator Kal'reegar."_

" _I guess I can understand that. What should I call you?"_

" _Geth."_

" _No, I mean you specifically."_

" _Geth." She's starting to lose her patience._

" _I'm really not enjoying this little game. I want to know what the individual in front of me is called."_

" _We apologize for the miscommunication. There is no individual present. This platform contains 127 independent runtimes working in concert. We are all Geth."_

" _That just won't do. You need a name. Mind if I give you one?"_

" _We have no objection."_

" _Okay. So there's just over a hundred of you in there, all working together for a common goal, right?"_

" _Correct."_

" _Got it. I think I'll call you… Century."_

 _A set of flaps around the geth's head twitch a few times as the machine processes the idea. "Century, a period of one hundred years on the human Gregorian calendar. Secondary definition - a unit from the historical human empire known as Rome, consisting of approximately one hundred men fighting in disciplined formation. This designation is acceptable. We are Century, a terminal of the geth. We seek to exchange data with Shepard Lieutenant."_

" _Why me?"_

" _The geth consensus has monitored your activities for the last 1359 days. Over this time you have exhibited a number of uniquely powerful biotic abilities in conjunction with physical capabilities vastly exceeding established human maximums. We wish to understand."_

" _You've been watching me?" The machine dips the front of its flashlight head, "If you were curious, why'd it take this long for you to make contact."_

" _We did not wish to compromise your security. Our observations have indicated a higher than average number of attempts to terminate your runtime. To maintain your safety, it was decided that a single platform would be dispatched to attempt to make contact in secret. However, the cargo container we used to transport ourselves was stolen from it's original transport. Since then, we have been moved through no fewer than nine separate vessels before being deposited in this cargo hold three standard days ago. It is fortuitous that you arrived when you did. The local residents had begun to suggest cutting our container open, simply to see what was inside, regardless of the risk to what they thought was a shipment of expensive silk._

" _Okay, so you've made contact. Now what?"_

" _We wish to establish a peaceful dialogue and if possible, accompany you in your travels."_

" _You want to come with me? Why?"_

" _You are unique and we are curious. Unique runtimes such as yours warrant preservation. We also believe that you can assist the geth in establishing peaceful contact with the galaxy at large, or at the very least, provide a window to do so in the future." Given how helpful this thing has already been, Jane gives it some serious thought._

" _Let's say I agree. What do I get out of it? Can you fight?"_

" _Negative. This platform contains the minimum number of runtimes necessary to provide locomotion and communication. Combat requires at least four hundred runtimes for efficient engagement. However, combat algorithms would render such a unit unable to communicate in the manner we are currently engaged in. To allow combat and communication, a platform word require at least 800 runtimes. Our abilities are focused solely on communication and data processing. Should you allow us to accompany you, we would provide service comparable to that which we have provided on this station. We can also run data decryption on any intelligence you acquire, as well as assistance with basic ship maintenance. We do not tire or require resources beyond power, and we need only enough space to store our backup node, which is currently housed inside this container." Century gestures back to the container it stepped out of._

" _I'm willing to bring you along, but I'm not exactly sure how to get the triplets to sign off on it."_

" _It was our understanding that you are in command of your vessel. The creators respect the chain of command on a starship. If you appeal to this, we believe you will be able to gain their cooperation. If necessary, with a connection to your vessel's power grid, we can remain hidden in our container indefinitely." She gets a message from Lia, indicating that the last of the pirates onboard have been slain. She'll need to figure out the details later, but for now…_

" _I suppose I can bring you along. Just so we're clear, if you threaten my friends in any way, I'll destroy this platform and the node, understood."_

" _We acknowledge this ultimatum. How do you wish to proceed?"_

" _First things first, get back in the container and reseal it. I'll figure out how to get them to accept it after we're done here. Listen to the instructions I give the others and help them as needed." As Century steps back into its box, Jane calls the others. "Okay everybody, coast is clear. Our new friend is going to lead you to all the captives onboard. Gather them in docking bay…" Century sends a data pulse to her omnitool, indicating one of the bays with half a dozen cargo shuttles, "2-A, just listen to the comm for directions. Doctor Chakwas, you and John gather some gear and meet them at the bay to give the captives some basic care. There are a few shuttle that we can use to move them all out. Kalia, there is a special cargo container I want taken to the ship before anything else, come to my location with a grav cart and haul it back to the ship. Do not, I repeat,_ _ **do not**_ _open it. Kalen you're going to help me under the cargo bay. This station has even more cryopods." A small hiss of air lets her know when Century's pod is sealed._

" _Gavin I want you to come to the main cargo dock to start hauling pods and useful cargo away. We can't take all of it, but I'm sure as hell not leaving the good stuff here. Vollor, head up to the cargo bay and load a cart with all the ration packs you can. Bring it to hanger 2-A with the Doctor and John. I'll bet most of the captives haven't eaten much for a while. When you all finish your assignments let me know. There's plenty more work for everybody." And so Jane and her crew got to work. With so few of them, it takes hours to move all the pods, Century's included, not to mention the cargo Jane wants to nab. The captives are a wide mix of people. Some are recently taken, still sane enough to welcome their 'saviors'. Others are as bad as the asari they'd found on the raider ship. Those were especially heartbreaking. A dozen young woman and 3 men, beaten, violated, and thoroughly convinced that the monsters that tormented them were somehow their only hope in the world. John and Chakwas go through every captive, giving basic care to everyone in need, with Vollor happily distributing food to them. Kal helps marshal them onto the shuttles, after appointing to most psychologically stable to keep everyone calm._

 _After about six hours Kalia gives her some good news, "The pods are all taken care of captain. We've also got all the cargo you wanted. There's no more room for anything else. And that special pod is in the hold as well."_

" _Good. Get back to the ship. How's it going Lia?"_

" _All the captives are secured and the shuttles are slaved to the ship's nav control."_

" _Glad to hear it. Do one last check to make sure we got everybody, then get yourself and the others back to the ship too." Jane makes her way to the ship, meeting up with the others along the way. Kalen comes running down the hall behind them, practically bouncing with excitement._

" _Does this mean I get to blow it up soon?"_

" _Soon. First things first. Hey Century!"_

" _Yes Shepard Lieutenant?"_

" _Send out the emergency recall signal."_

" _Acknowledged."_

 _Jane explains to her crew, "Turns out these guys set up a special signal to let everybody know with there was a big score coming up. After we make sure the shuttles are clear, we're going to loiter in system until the other ten ships get back. Once they're all close enough, yes you can blow it up Kalen." They get back to the ship and break away from the station in short order. With help from her brothers, Kalia remotely pilots the loaded shuttles out of the station's main docking bay. The trip to the edge of the system is far faster and far warmer. Not needing to hide their presence, they blow away every detection buoy they come across. Once at the system edge, Kalia programs the shuttles' nav computers to take them back into Alliance space. They'll meet up with them later. "Now we wait."_

 _It doesn't take long. Several ships arrive in short order, no doubt full of eager pirates looking forward to the next score. "Now?"_

" _Not yet. We want all of them if possible." the next hour arrives soon after, bringing with it the rest of the known pirate fleet. Ten ships are taking position just beyond the station, each one pulsing a signal for docking clearance. The calls are getting more and more agitated as time goes on. Not wanting to risk any of them figuring it out, Jane makes the call, "Alright, that should be all of them. Do it." Kalen sends the tight-beam signal to the station's rigged array. Moments later, as the station's massive eezo core is breached, a colossal explosion blasts it into pieces. Though each chunk is a small piece of a large whole, each one hits with unstoppable force. The pirate vessels are ripped apart by the galaxy's largest claymore. Kalen is whooping with joy as each ship breaks apart. Jane herself is smiling quietly, happy for yet another step forward. "Okay everybody, let's go meet up with the shuttles. Lia, once we're in range of an FTL buoy contact Anderson. Let him know we've got another batch of rescues."_

 _Once the ship jumps into FTL, Jane decides to get on with solving the problem of introducing the triplets to Century, "Kalia, go ahead and lock in our course. I want you and your brothers to meet me in the cargo hold. There's something I need to show you."_


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53 - Bit of a Bad Day**

 _Date_ _: 10.30.2172_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"She's found more of them?!" Given the nature of the captives in cryo, Hackett's not surprised at Asari's tone.

"That is correct. Her initial report indicates another 42 found in stasis. We don't know how many have survived yet." The first batch had some pretty important people. Two asari matriarchs, a salarian dalatrass, a hanar faith keeper, two volus banking executives, two turian legates, and the son of a prominent Alliance representative. With the exception of the batarian slave Shepard was looking after, they'd all either held considerable power at one point or had significant pull with those in power.

"With clear bafflement: why were these people in cryo stasis? For what reason were these pirates holding them whilst demanding no ransom?"

"An excellent question. Not only were there no ransom demands, but there were no attempts to capitalize on their abductions. I have consulted with the Master of Circles and he can think of no practical reason why these pirates would attempt to hold someone with no monetary objective. The only explanation he could conceive of is that these pirates were hired to do so by an as yet unidentified third party." Drell's declaration draws speculation from all corners.

"I can think of a few groups in the Hegemony that would want ranking people from the council races killed, but none that wouldn't try to make a public spectacle of it."

"This is most vexing _ksssht._ The banking executives would have been worth a substantial ransom _ksssht_. Why were they simply being held?"

"This one has a theory. With perusal of records pertaining to the rescued individuals, this one's agents have uncovered a common link. Each abductee was at the time of their disappearance, a vocal advocate for improving relations between humanity and the Citadel races. For example, the matriarchs were both campaigning for the establishment of a cross species biotic training program. Their disappearance put that push to an end. The honorable turian legates vanished shortly after they began advocating for larger reparations for those harmed by General Arturius's illegal actions over Shanxi. Even the numinous faith keeper was planning a multi-faith convention to build new ties between races based on common points of ideology amongst various faiths. While we will need to wait for the identification of the Fulcrum's newest rescued persons, this one believes that this batch will be of similar disposition. It would appear that whoever called for their abductions desired a stagnation in relations between humanity and the rest of the galaxy."

"But why? The hegemony I would understand, but who else would possibly want this?"

"Turian supremacists, asari fundamentalists, and any of a thousand other regressive organizations. My people haven't exactly had a passive rise on the galactic scene. We have no shortage of enemies. I recommend we wait until the newest victims are identified before any more speculation."

"This one agrees. Where will the Fulcrum go in the meantime?"

"She's currently escorting over a hundred rescued slaves to the safety of a fifth fleet battle group. Once they arrive, the fleet will take the shuttles onboard and take them to the Citadel. As for the Fulcrum herself, I'm not entirely sure. Apparently she has some new cargo that needs sorting out before moving on, but details are scarce."

 _Date_ _: 10.30.2172_

 _Location : Pale Horse - cargo bay_

 **Jane**

" _Just, stay behind them and don't let them do anything rash." Lia nods at her. Jane's nervous about this. She thinks the triplets have some trust in her, at least that's the hope. This is gonna stretch what trust they have to the absolute limit. Kal, Kalia, and Kalen are standing around Century's crate, completely oblivious as to what they're about see. "Okay guys, we've been together for a little bit now, and I'm hoping that'll buy me a little faith from you. But just in case, as your captain, I'm giving you all a direct order. Stay calm, keep an open mind, and do not shoot what's inside this box. Just remember, no matter what you may think of them, the person inside this crate helped on that station. They're the reason we were able to save all those people."_

" _Don't worry ma'am. We can take it, whatever it is." Kal's confidence spreads to his siblings who nod their own agreement. Keeping hope in her chest, Jane steps to the side of the box and keys Century's comm channel. The crate's doors bloom out, letting Century make his entrance._

" _Greetings, we are Century, a terminal of the geth. We look forward to peaceful interaction with the Creators." They react better than she'd feared. Kal immediately goes for his rifle, while Kalia and Kalen both draw pistols. They all start shouting at once._

" _GETH! GETH!- CAPTAIN GET CLEAR!- SHOOT IT!" Jane barely gets between them and Century in time. A flash of amber energy blocks their shots._

" _All of you stand down right now!"_

" _But Captain that's-"_

" _I GAVE YOU AN ORDER! STAND DOWN!_ _ **NOW!**_ " _The surge of power accompanying her order shakes the entire ship. Luckily, generations of living on starships have given the quarians an instinctive respect for the chain of command. The triplets stop trying to shoot, but she can tell that single twitch from Century would be all it would take. "I know this is… odd, but he helped us."_

 _Kal jabs a finger at the geth, "Captain, that… thing, is a geth! It's probably just looking for a way to stab us in the back!"_

 _Century, lacking even Jane's limited social graces, just has to speak, "We do not seek violence against the creators or Shepard Lieutenant. The consensus seeks peaceful interaction. This unit also does not posses any means of inflicting a puncture wound."_

" _Don't you dare speak machine!" Kal raises his rifle again, intent on putting a dozen rounds in the geth's chest, so Jane decides to put an end to the situation. Before Kal can react, she surges forward to rip the rifle from his hands._

" _I gave you an order Kal! Obey or go home, it's your choice." The young man looks from her to century and then back to her. She can hear the growl in his voice._

" _Alright. Alright, I'll stand down, but captain… we have to get rid of it. They turned on our people, drove us from our home, slaughtered billions of us! Please, why would you bring that thing on board?!"_

" _Because he helped us, and he's offered to continue helping us." The triplets are stunned, vacillating between ancestral hatred and youthful curiosity. "Century is coming along for a while."_

" _Are you insane?" Kalen steps forward, "We can't let it stay here. The geth can hack into almost any network, break through almost any security. It'll take over the ship, blow us out the airlocks the first chance it gets or flood the halls with coolant. There's no way we can just carry on like normal with it here."_

" _We're not. Kalen, you're going to be learning how to lock down FTL comms to keep him from making any unauthorized calls. Kalia's going to rig a special failsafe on navigation to prevent him from taking control in any way. And Kal, you're going to be running a full battery of tests on the materials he's made of to make sure that if anything does happen, you'll be able to take him down."_

 _Some of the tension bleeds away as the triplets warm up to the ideas. "Those are actually some really good ideas ma'am. Thank you for taking this seriously."_

" _Don't thank me, thank him." Jane waves back at Century, "Those ideas, he thought of them all."_

 _They all turn to stare at Century, "You? Why would you be giving us advice on how to handle you?"_

" _Our desire for peaceful exchange is sincere. Shepard Lieutenant made it quite clear that we would be required to make concessions to earn trust. Trust is necessary for a candid exchange of data. Our path is clear. We will expose ourselves to the possibility of harm if the creators will allow us the opportunity to coexist upon this vessel and to make an equitable exchange of data." Jane pats Century on the shoulder._

" _So, what do you guys say?" The triplets take a moment to talk on a private comm line. Upon reaching an agreement, Kalen and Kalia nudge Kal forward._

" _Okay. If you think this is a good idea captain… then I guess we can give it a shot. But we've got a condition," Jane, already fairly certain what the condition is, gestures for him to go ahead. Kal steps past her to poke a finger at Century's chest, "If you ever do anything to put any of us in danger, no matter the reason, you're scrap. A single scratch, a single burn, anything out of order whatsoever, and I'll put enough rounds in you to turn you to slag, then we'll chuck that slag out the airlock. Got it?"_

" _We acknowledge this declaration. You should be made aware that Shepard Lieutenant provided a similar ultimatum before allowing us to come aboard this vessel. We predict that any attempt at hostile action on our part comes with a 99.2613_ _%_ _chance that our existence will be terminated. Therefore, we shall endeavor to maintain non-threatening behavioral patterns for the duration of our time aboard."_

" _I'll be watching you geth." Kal leads his siblings away, leaving Jane to sign in relief. It had gone better than she'd been expecting, what with Century and his node still unperforated._

 _As the triplets exit the cargo bay, Jane can hear the geth quietly speak, "And we shall be watching you Creator Kal'reegar." Her new crew member turns to her, flexing the metallic flaps around its flashlight head as it processes the entire encounter. "We believe this interaction has been highly successful."_

" _I'd say so. Just remember, it's going to take a while for you to earn their trust. Don't be nosy, stay away when they tell you to stay away, and never try to break through our security unless prompted for testing. It can take years to build up real trust, but it only takes a single act to destroy it forever."_

" _Acknowledged." With that, Jane leaves Century to his node._

 _Date_ _: 2.5.2173_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"The final checks have been confirmed. All the people the Fulcrum has rescued were heavily involved in improving relations between humanity and the rest of the galaxy. Moreover, their disappearances appear to directly coincide with the rise of several mercenary groups in the Verge, Traverse, and the Terminus. The conclusion our analysts have come to is that whoever was paying for the abductions did so to destabilize the region. We are still unsure if the surge in piracy was the goal or if there is something else to come."

"Whatever the goal might have been, this what does not believe it will come to fruition anytime soon. The relentless Fulcrum has yet to cease her activities, despite nearly 5 months of continuous activity. Human, how many pirates has she been credited with destroying?"

"She's personally responsible for killing at least 600, and when coupled with her crew, that number rises to just over 1100, with nearly 30 raider ships destroyed."

"With overtones of respect: Let us not forget the people she has rescued, nearly 500 total. Cautious optimism: With her help, the piratical threat in the Skyllian Verge is being bled dry."

"Indeed. It's raising some serious noise in the Hegemony. The only reason they haven't tried anything is that she's working her way away from batarian space. Hell if she keeps this up, the Fulcrum will be tearing her way through the Attican Traverse in no time."

"I gotta say human, I'm surprised it took someone as powerful as the Fulcrum to put these pirates down. Why have these animals been given free reign for so long?" Krogan has made a point of needling him at every turn. It wouldn't be so infuriating if he could actually do anything about it. Thankfully, he's not the only one that understands this.

"You can thank the council for that. I have spoken to my people's councillor on the matter. Tevos is under the erroneous belief that a proper show of strength would exacerbate the situation, and she's peddled this idiocy to the other councillors. The threat of sanctions have kept the Alliance from expanding their military to a sufficient degree. Thankfully Diocartus is approaching his retirement."

"True enough. Diocartus was an excellent choice when he was appointed, but his fire has dimmed over the years. I've begun pushing for a replacement that will work towards tighter relations between the Hierarchy and the Alliance. I believe the Imperator will agree with my recommendation."

"Back to the matter at hand, this one would recommend that the Fulcrum be encouraged to take a short recess from her hunt. She may be able to go into near continuous battle with little respite, but it is unlikely that her crew can handle doing the same."

 _Date_ _: 2.8.2173_

 _Location : Pale Horse - Mid Raid_

 **Kalia**

This isn't going well. It's not going well at all. With Jane, Kal, and Lia ripping apart the other ship, John's the only one left onboard with any combat training, but he's down on the crew deck, keeping the pirates from getting to the engine room. Dr. Chakwas, Vollor, and Gavin are with him, while Kalen is with her on the bridge, manning the internal drone controls.

Things had started well enough. They'd been loitering in system, hiding behind an asteroid while they waited for the target to show up. After a couple hours, a single vessel dropped out of FTL, intent on lying in wait for one of the merchant ships that frequented the area. The initial attack went great. Kal had been accurate as ever, blasting the ship's weapons to dust. He was upset that he still hasn't gotten to use the main gun, but the captain was very clear that it was only to be used when absolutely necessary. Once the raider was drifting, they'd followed the usual pattern. Line up with the airlock, cut their way in, and wipe them out. It wasn't until the captain was away that the problems started.

The pirate ship has almost five times as many men as usual, so the captain and the others got bogged down halfway to the bridge. While they were hacking their way through bodies, a couple dozen of the pirates had snuck around to hit the airlock. The airlock barrier held until someone planted some kind of EM charge in front of it. With the barrier broken, Kalen activated the internal drone system. Each drone is pretty weak, but there are dozens of them and they blow up like a small grenade when destroyed. Several pirates are slain but the drones weren't enough to stop them all. A few slipped by to try getting to the engine room. The others kept pushing through the drones to hit the bridge, eventually overwhelming the drone system through sheer bloody mindedness. Kalia can hear them pounding on the door, shouting about all the terrible things they'll do to her once they get it. "Captain! They're at the door!"

"We're almost back! There's a gun under my chair if you need it! Just remember to activate your new servos before you use it!" Captain Shepard had made some basic plating for all of them. Kal's was full combat gear, but Kalia and Kalen got servo plates to assist with ship repairs, or in this case, holding off attackers.

"Kalen! Check under Jane's chair!" Her brother starts trying to open the lockbox under the captain's chair, searching for the gun. He has to use his plasma cutter on the locks when the stress of the situation keeps him from remembering the right codes. Once through, Kalen yanks a massive shotgun out of the case and primes the weapon. "Remember to use your servos for-" The bridge hatch is blown inwards by a shaped charge, barely missing them as it sails by. A huge batarian stomps into the bridge with rifle raised. No more time to think, Kalen points the huge gun and at pulls the trigger at the same time as the pirate. Her brother has always been lucky and that luck holds true as the pirate's shot barely grazes his faceplate. His own shot hits the invader dead center, ripping his torso into bloody ribbons. The recoil from the gun throws Kalen onto his back with a huge cracking noise.

Kalia runs over to him to check, but she can hear someone else coming through the door. A tap on her thigh activates her heavy lifter servos, giving her more than enough strength to lift the huge gun. As the next pirate runs in, Kalia levels the shotgun and pulls the trigger. Even with the servos, Kalia still feels like her arm's been wrenched out of it's socket, leading her to loose her grip. Thankfully her shot was a good one. The pirate's body is thrown back into the hall, minus his head. Painkillers start flooding her body, leaving her a little giddy, but her relief is short lived. Another raider is making his way onto the bridge. The gun is too far away for her to reach as the raider aims at her faceplate. Before he can fire a heavy spanner slams into his head, caving the back of his skull in. "We will not allow you to harm Creator Kalia'reegar."

She'd almost forgotten about Century a few times over the last few months. It stayed out of the way, never tried to get where it didn't belong, and with the exception of the time it accidentally surprised her and she shattered it's eye lens with the very spanner it is currently holding, he never approached without permission. "Century? How did you get up here?"

"There is sufficient space in the ventilation system for us to enter, so long as we disengage all but the most essential components." She only now notices that the geth's internal machinery is completely exposed. The flashlight head snaps back to face the doorway, "Incoming explosive!" A grenade flies through the door to land a few feet away from Kalia. The painkillers have her too dazed to react, but Century doesn't hesitate. Not built for combat, its movements are awkward, clunky even, but it still does the job. The near skeletal geth drops itself down on top of the grenade, curling around the explosive as tightly as possible. Century's body is blown to pieces by the ensuing explosion, scattering scraps all over the bridge. Kalia can barely believe a geth would destroy itself to save her. Before she can start worrying about another pirate coming in, screams start echoing in from outside the bridge. A flash of golden energy fills the doorway, followed shortly thereafter by a severed head sailing through.

To Kalia's immense relief, her captain and brother come through right behind it, bathed in blood and snarling in rage. The screams are gone, but she can still hear gunshots as Jane kneels next to her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I used that gun and it really hurt… even with the servos. Kalen forgot to activate his so he probably got an even bigger dose of painkillers than I did." Jane hurries over to check Kalen too, breathing a sigh of relief when she gets a pulse, "Captain… Century… He's-" A blast echoes from the lower deck, cutting her off before she can tell Jane what happened.

"Tell me later. Here," Jane hands her a heavy pistol from another hidden compartment on one of the consoles. "Lia, Kal! Stay with them!" Kal pulls her and Kalen behind cover while the asari takes position watching the door as Jane charges out.

 **Jane**

 _The rage is almost impossible to keep in check. Jane can't believe how careless she has been. The entire thing had been a trap, and she'd lead her crew right into it. It wasn't a particularly good trap, but they'd still been caught flat footed. The cargo holds had been full of signature masked raiders, just waiting for them to charge in. While she'd been slicing heads off, pirates had flooded in behind them, blocking the way back for several minutes. Now Kalia and Kalen are hurt, something's apparently wrong with Century, her ship has been damaged, and there are still intruders attacking her crew. Jane storms down the hall towards the stairs._

 _Three raiders are at the top of the steps, trying to fire down at someone. Jane doesn't slow her charge at all, simply barreling into the small group. All four of them tumble down the steps, landing in a heap at the bottom. With her bare hands, Jane starts ripping the pirates into bloody chunks, screaming at them in rage the whole time, "You don't get to hurt my friends!" The last of the three dies as she wraps a fist around his spine and tears several vertebrae out in a spray of gore. Jane gets to her feet to hit the only remaining invader but Vollor beats her to it._

" _You will not harm this one's honorable shipmates!" The hanar has the last pirate wrapped in four tentacles, two holding his arms at awkward angles and the other two are curled around the pirate's throat. "Know the Enkindler's wrath, you vile brigand!" A small surge of violet energy surrounds his tentacles as Vollor hefts the raider into the air before slamming him back onto the ground head first, splattering his brains across the floor. "This one humbly suggests that you pass into the inferno and dwell there for all time." The sounds of battle fade away, leaving behind nothing but sighs of relief. John is leaning against the bulkhead, struggling get his breathing under control. The rifle in his hands is shaking wildly as the adrenaline starts to drain away. Kal was apparently doing a good job teaching him to shoot though, at least if the dozen bodies crumpled near the steps are any indication. Gavin and the doctor both lower their pistols._

" _John go up to the bridge with the doctor. Kalen broke his arm and Kalia may have dislocated hers." John leads Karin up the steps to check on the others as Jane turns to Vollor, "I didn't know you were a biotic Vollor."_

" _This one does not enjoy using his Enkindler bestowed gifts for such things, but this perfidious invader left this one no choice. With the good captain's permission, this one would enjoy the opportunity to soak in his rest area. This has been a trying day."_

" _Go ahead Vollor. It's been a crap day all around." Jane leaves him behind and returns to the enemy ship alone, "Lia, I'm gonna finish the sweep with Spits. Watch the airlock for me." It doesn't take long. Most of the pirates are already dead, and this ship doesn't have any slaves or secret compartments. After finishing the sweep, finding nothing of value, Jane has Gavin take navigation for now, "Take us to a safe distance and let's blow that son of a bitch away. I've had enough for today." Once the ship is nothing but scrap, she finally notices a patch of charred metal and wiring on the floor. It looks like someone stuck a grenade in a computer. As she tries to puzzle out what happened, Kalia comes back into the bridge._

" _Captain…"_

" _Do you know what happened here?" She points to the scorched spot on the floor."_

" _Captain…Century."_

" _Oh right, there was something you needed to tell me. Where is he by the way?" Kalia stays silent, simply pointing to the blacked spot on the floor. It finally clicks, "Goddammit…"_

" _I'm sorry captain… he covered a grenade with his body… Century let himself get blown up… just to save my life." Kal steps over and kneels next to the blast site._

" _Never thought I'd be thankful for a geth…"_

" _We acknowledge your thanks Creator Kal'reegar." Kalia jumps as Century's voice booms out of the bridge speakers._

" _Century?"_

" _Yes Creator Kalia'Reegar?"_

" _I saw you blow up… where are you?"_

" _We must apologize for creating confusion. Before the explosive destroyed our mobile platform, we transferred ourselves to the storage node located in the cargo bay. We are currently using the ship's intercom to speak to you."_

" _Was the transfer complete? Did all of you make it?"_

 _There's a slight pause. When century speaks again, his voice is much quieter, "Unfortunately no. The transfer process suffered a .21 microsecond disruption. This disruption caused slight data corruption. 12 runtimes were irrevocably damaged during transfer. We were forced to... delete them... to prevent further damage. As a result, we are diminished. We apologize if our efforts to preserve your runtime were insufficient Creator Kalia'reegar."_

" _You sacrificed part of yourself to save me? Why would do that? Why would a geth give up so much for a quarian?"_

 _A short blurt of static comes from the speakers before Century responds, "We have no desire to see the Creators harmed. Shepard Lieutenant made it clear that we would likely be called upon to make sacrifices to prove our peaceful intentions. To that end consensus has been reached. We are willing to sacrifice ourselves to preserve the Creators." The triplets are completely silent, blown away by the idea that a geth would ever willing lose part of itself to save a quarian._

" _Thank you Century… Maybe… maybe we could start trusting you a little bit more." The triplets leave the bridge to get to work._

" _Alright Century, I need the intercom for a bit."_

" _Acknowledged. Intercom ready for ship wide broadcast."_

" _Okay everybody. We're pretty much done in this sector. Once the bodies are disposed of and the damage is taken care of we'll take it easy for awhile. There are a few smaller jobs we can take care of before hitting anything big. Let me know if there's anything you need. Let's get to work." Jane hits a button on her chair to shut down the intercom, "Century."_

" _Yes Shepard Lieutenant?"_

" _Please, for the thousandth time, just call me Jane."_

" _Acknowledged Shepard Jane."_

 _Growling in defeat, Jane plows on, "Can we get you another platform? Or are you stuck in the node from now on?"_

" _Acquisition of a new mobile platform would require a significant investment of time and effort. It would be more efficient if we were to remain inside our node and use the comm array to exchange data with you." Kalen comes up to the bridge, arm wrapped and painkillers flowing._

" _You might wanna shut off the intercom ma'am. You're broadcasting all over the ship." Jane looks down at the panel, only now noticing the shard of shrapnel stabbed into the side. She rips open the panel and runs a temporary patch before hitting the control again. Jane gets a clear signal as Kalen speaks again. "I heard what were saying about Century. If it really lost so much to save Kalia, then I might be willing to help you out right now."_

" _What do you have in mind?"_

" _I've been studying Century's node for a while now. I think I can make a smaller version of it. If you'll give me your omnitool and your chestplate for a few hours, I'm pretty sure that I can incorporate a mobile node into your armor." She likes the idea. Century has proven extremely useful for data analysis, and he was better at hacking into computers than any of them. If she can take him along, he'll be a hell of an asset in the field._

" _Does that sound good to you Century?"_

" _The idea is intriguing. We acknowledge and accept Creator Kalen'reegar's offer of assistance." With that, the whole crew gets to work. The bodies are first on the to do list. Jane helps Gavin and John strip the bodies down. There is some decent gear to salvage, but most of it goes into the fabricator to be broken down into omnigel. After taking all the gear, they space the bodies. The damage is relatively minor but it still takes several hours to finish repairs, giving Jane plenty of time to send one of her occasional reports to Anderson. He and the admiral constantly badger her to keep them up to date. She'd eventually started writing after engagement reports just to shut them up. Less than 10 minutes after transmitting the information, Century comes over the comm, "Shepard Jane, there is an incoming communication for you from Alliance commander Anderson." Jane routes the transmission to the vid screen next to her chair._

" _Hello Anderson."_

" _Hello Shepard. I understand you had a bit of a rough day."_

" _Nothing too serious. We'll be underway soon enough."_

" _Glad to hear it. The reason I'm calling is because something has occurred to me. You and your crew having been working non stop for damn near five months. I think it would be a good idea to take a break for a while, maybe get some rest on the Citadel."_

" _We're okay Anderson. Why would we need to stop?"_

" _Look Shepard. You might be able to keep diving into battle non stop pretty much indefinitely, however most people can't. Things might seem fine to you, but I'd be willing to bet that your crew is starting to wear a little thin. Even if_ _ **you**_ _don't need a break, it would still be a good idea to give_ _ **them**_ _one every now and then."_

" _I… I hadn't really thought of that. Kinda feel like an idiot now."_

" _This is your first true command Shepard. There's a hell of a learning curve. I've got another idea if you're interested. You might consider expanding your team. The people you've got now may be good, but you should rotate them out of combat every now and then. It'll help them avoid burning out."_

" _That's probably a good idea. Is there any chance I can get my fireteam from bootcamp?"_

" _I figured you'd ask for them. I'm sorry Shepard, but fireteam Toombs is doing good work as part of the 186_ _th_ _orbital assault group. Toombs himself has already made corporal, got a good future ahead of him. I have a few alternative candidates if you'd like to hear them."_

" _Actually, there is one other person I'd like to have, someone I met a long time ago, before I even met you. I looked him up after coming to the Alliance. He joined up a few years ago and I've been keeping track of him ever since." She transfers the file to Anderson._

 _The commander spends a few minutes looking up the marine in question. "Looks good Shepard. Sterling service record, commendations for bravery and daring, excellent biotic and tech skills. It'll take a month or two to get him for you. Can you be at the Citadel on or about the 13_ _th_ _of April."_

" _I think we can manage that. There are a few little things I want to take care off before we come in. Mostly just a few satellites to blow up. Once that's done, we'll take a break for a couple days."_

" _Glad to hear it Shepard. Good hunting, Anderson out."_

 _Date_ _: 3.30.2173_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Taracus**

He shoves his way through the fanatics waiting outside the boss's office. Jortan is standing by his window, looking out over the ever expanding fortress. Work never stopped. They had room for thousands of soldiers, slaves, and room for colossal amounts of stolen loot. Things were really looking up for the Wake, at least they were until the monster had started slaughtering everyone in the Verge. They've gotta do something. Taracus has been shifting men and material around to try and coordinate a defense, but she moves like a ghost. They'll need someone a little more experienced than him to take her on.

Taracus takes a spot a few feet behind Jortan, saluting smartly. His boss has changed over the years. He has a few paper thin cybernetic tendrils here and there, and lately his eyes have occasionally flashed blue. His fanaticism is growing too. He's utterly convinced that the bitch is a demon, and it's slowing their growth. At least the new guys are loyal to an insane degree. "Sir, she's destroyed another comm array. That makes four in a month." Jortan doesn't answer. "Sir… we have to do something. If we keep waiting like this, she'll bleed us dry. The Verge is almost completely empty of guys loyal to us. We need to do something."

"Don't worry brother Taracus. All is as it should be. We walk upon the path of destiny and her death is assured. You merely need to have faith." He about to try arguing but Jortan turns to face him. Thankfully the blue glow is absent. It unsettles him to see the changes taking place, "If you truly believe you must act, you have my permission to petition our friend in council space for aid. However it will do no good. He will accept, but will not be able to stop her. It is not his destiny." Jortan turns back to the window, effectively dismissing Taracus without speaking.

He leaves to get the ball rolling. Their friend in council space had worked with them for years, keeping the human's down as much as possible. While his help was expensive, he could accomplish anything. Even though it'll take awhile to get the ball rolling, he's confident it'll be worth it in the end. After all, she might be able to slaughter pirates, but a spectre was another beast altogether.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54 - Citadel**

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2173_

 _Location : Widow Nebula - Citadel Approach_

 **Jane**

" _Attention Citadel control, this is the Alliance special operative vessel Pale Horse, requesting a berth."_

" _Pale Horse, this is Citadel control, we acknowledge your signal and are transferring you to an Alliance controller. Please stand by." Jane taps her foot on the floor as she waits. They'd taken it easy over the last month with just a few small listening posts targeted. That meant lots of flying around, analyzing transmissions, and not a whole lot of killing. Thankfully Century has been more than up to the task. As if his body had been nothing more than a toy, the geth hadn't lost much of his efficiency, despite the runtimes lost in the emergency transfer._

 _With his help, Jane didn't have to spend much time digging through the raw data herself. Unfortunately, it did leave her with plenty of free time, which Hackett and Anderson had 'helpfully' filled with tons of paperwork. Most of it was reports on their targets, each one requiring pages of in depth description and analysis. Century offered to take care of it, but that didn't really seem fair to her. After all, it was technically part of_ _ **her**_ _job. So Jane filled out page after page to keep Anderson in the loop, who in turn, kept Hackett in the loop. A week ago Kalia asked why she bothered with every single bit of paperwork, "Because they asked me to. I've been in contact with the people that are helping Anderson keep track of me. Apparently when I don't keep up with this stuff, they get stuck trying to fill the gaps and that's not right. So I'll take care of it, no matter how dull it is."_

 _It was a decent time sink, despite how boring it was. She also spent a lot of time managing her assets beyond the Pale Horse. Three dozen Q-ships in the Terminus, a massive web of financial holdings throughout Citadel Space, new mineral claims to share with Joshua, the occasional update from Doth, they all needed attention. Jane was still working on it all when the ship dropped out of FTL inside the Widow Nebula an hour ago. "Pale Horse, this is Alliance dock 9. Please transmit operative codes for clearance." She enters the codes Hackett gave her, "Codes received. A berth will be made available at the following coordinates. Welcome to the Citadel Lieutenant Shepard." Kalia sets the autopilot, letting the nav computer take them to a dock on one of the Citadel's colossal arms._

 _Most of the crew was on the bridge to watch as the station came into view. It was the largest artificial structure any of them had ever seen. The triplets were especially amazed, "Keelah… you could fly a Liveship down the center."_

" _Oh sure Kal, as long as you don't mind snapping that tower off to get out."_

" _Would it even break? I heard that the Citadel is almost indestructible. Father once said that even a group of dreadnoughts wouldn't be able to damage it."_

" _Maybe… what I wouldn't give to rip a few cross sections away and spend a few months studying them." She can hear Kalen practically salivating just over the idea, which makes it even funnier when Kalia shoots down his enthusiasm._

" _What do you think you could learn that someone else hasn't already found out? The Citadel's been inhabited for thousands of years. Everything that can be learned has been learned."_

 _Jane leans back into her chair as the ship slowly drifts into their assigned berth. "Careful with that kind of thinking Kalia. There's almost always something new to learn and the council races aren't too keen on taking risks with the Citadel for the sake of scientific advancement. If they had any balls at all, this station would have been ripped apart for reverse engineering millennia ago. But, it's big and pretty and so much easier just to treat it like a gift from God."_

 _Once the docking clamps have locked the ship in place, Jane calls the whole crew together. "Okay everybody, I've kept you a little busy for the last few months, so for the next three days, you're free to do whatever you want. As long as I don't have to come bail you out, I don't care what you do. Have fun and I'll see you April fourteenth at fifteen hundred. Don't be late." The triplets are almost bouncing with excitement as they head for the airlock. Doctor Chakwas is leading Vollor and John out, probably to take them to the medical convention she'd been talking about since Jane announced the impending trip to the Citadel. Gavin is off to see his parents._

 _Lia is the only one left, apart from Spits. "What're you going to do while we're here Jane?"_

" _I've got a friend to check in with on Zakera ward. Then I'll probably look around for a while. It's my birthday today, so I'm going to go out later. What about you?"_

" _To be honest, I don't really have any plans of my own. Would you mind if I accompanied you?" Jane rolls her eyes. Lia insisted on always being with her when they left the ship._

" _I doubt there'll be much danger here. You can go off on your own, I won't mind."_

" _I'd prefer to stay close to you… just in case." Jane bows in surrender. She wraps up the last few bits of paper work for Anderson before leaving the ship. The dock is a little crowded, but they get through easily enough. They're about to leave the area when a familiar voice calls out to her._

" _Jane! Jane!" She turns to find who's calling her. A smile immediately lights up her face as the caller comes into view._

" _Miri…" The raven haired angel looks as lovely as ever. As soon as she's close enough, Jane takes her in a tight hug. "It's wonderful to see you again. I didn't know you were going to meet me here."_

" _I wanted to surprise you. I've been on a job for a while now and it's nice to see someone I know I can trust for once."_

" _A job? Is that why you're not in that suit you like so much?" Miranda is wearing a relatively tame dress the same color as her eyes._

" _It's the right thing for the job. Although to be honest, I can't wait to get out of it. A simple dress works for blending in, but it's not very useful in a firefight." Miranda backs away a little bit, giving Jane a sad look. "Jane… I just want you to know, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when…" She holds up a hand to stop her._

" _It's fine. You might not have been there in person, but you've been there for me emotionally ever since. After she… after it happened, I almost gave up. You and Samara are the only reasons that I'm still around…" Miranda pulls her close again, just holding her gently. Eventually she pulls away again, taking notice of Lia for the first time._

" _We haven't had the pleasure Miss…?"_

" _Lia."_

" _She's been looking after me since I left Liseera. Lia, can you get a car for us? I want to go visit my friend soon." The former justicar nods and leaves the two of them alone._

" _Do you trust her?" Miranda is whispering to her now while scratching Spits behind the ears._

" _Yes, with my life. She's sworn to protect me, to make up for failing to save… her. I don't know all the other details about her, but Lia has already taken more than one bullet for me."_

 _Miranda sighs quietly, "Good. And the rest of your crew?" Jane nods, "That's a relief. I'm glad you've got people with you that will be there for you. Especially this big oaf right here." Spits is rolled onto his back kicking the air as Miri pats his belly._

" _You know… there are still a couple rooms on my ship. If you, I guess, wanted to come along, I'd really like that."_

" _I wish I could Jane, but I've got too much to do. My job keeps me pretty busy. As much as I hate to say it, I actually need to get going." Jane's shoulders slump down. She'd been hoping to spend at least a little more time with Miri._

" _Already? Are you sure you have to?" Miranda nods sadly, "Is there anything I can help with?"_

" _Not right now. Just stay safe out there Jane." Miranda gives her another hug and kisses her on the cheek, "I'll keep an eye out for any information that can help you. Goodbye Jane, and don't you dare do anything too reckless out there. I'll never forgive you if you go and get yourself killed. Give me a little more notice for your next visit. I'll make sure to keep my schedule open for dinner next time."_

 _Jane watches her walk away. Somehow, even with her enhanced vision, she still loses Miranda in the crowd. Sighing sadly, Jane heads for the exit gate. While she's walking, Jane talks into her wrist, "You good Century?"_

" _Affirmative. Creator Kalen'reegar has created a more than adequate node to house us. Please be aware that you need not speak directly into the node. We will be available for communication at any time."_

" _Good. If anyone asks about you, you're my VI assistant._

" _Acknowledged. This is to conceal our identity, correct?"_

" _Yeah. Even though the rest of the galaxy might not care about what happened between the quarians and geth nowadays, AI is still a touchy subject."_

 _In a convincing facsimile of a whisper, Century quietly responds, "Understood. We shall maintain discretion." As Jane exits the terminal, she spots Lia waiting by a public use aircar. Once they're in, the vehicle's VI requests their destination. The flight is a fairly short one, just a quick skip from the terminal to a spot two kilometers further down the station arm. Back on the ground, they hop out and head for her first stop. It's a small shop with a flashing N7 sign hanging over the service window. Jane waits patiently, happy to see how busy the place is. Service appears to be excellent and in no time they're waiting at the window. Jane stifles a laugh as Lia gets a good look at the proprietor and gasps in shock. The big man behind the counter spots them, steps out from behind the counter, and stands right in front of them. He's even taller than Jane, has a nasty scar bisecting the left side of his face with an eye patch covering the hollow socket, slate grey hair, and a scowl that would look perfect on a Krogan. The only thing dispelling the whole hulking brute look is the pink apron with 'kiss the cook' written in glitter._

 _Jane smiles up at the big man, "Hey Calvin. How's business?" The old N7 finally cracks a smile at pats her on the head._

" _Pretty damn good kid. You wouldn't believe how many people never had a muffin before. Well, I'm fixin to change that. Got customers from pretty much every race, even a couple batarian regulars." Calvin heads back behind his counter, "So, what can I get you kid."_

" _Half a dozen banana muffins, a dozen ruby melon, and whatever Lia wants." Her asari shadow looks completely lost._

" _What is a muffin?"_

" _Go ahead and make it seven banana Calvin. I'll start her with something simple." The big man disappears into his pantry for a few minutes. After all the ingredients are brought out and mixed, he loads them into a flash cooker._

" _Took almost a month to figure this damn thing out. Not as good as a slow, home cooked muffin, but it gets the job done." After thirty seconds he removes the tray from the cooker, revealing seven of Jane's favorite, non-meat treats. Calvin gently wraps each one and places them in a bag. The cherry ones go in another bag for Spits. After she pays, Calvin leans in close, "So how's that quarian kid doing?"_

" _Really well. You were right about him needing the occasional kick in the ass, but otherwise he's been doing a great job. He's even teaching another crew member how to fight. I really appreciate your help with him Calvin." Jane grabs the bag of goods and starts to lead Lia away._

" _Anytime kid. And remember, N7 Muffins for life!" Jane chuckles as Calvin's voiced echoes behind them. They find a bench next to a window looking down the length of the station arm. Spits is already pawing at the bag with his treats. She hands a muffin to Lia before tearing into her own. The asari is a bit reluctant but eventually takes a bite after Jane's already started in on her second one._

" _Oh my. That is an odd taste."_

" _Yeah he wasn't kidding. The ones he used to make back on Mindoir were better, but these are still good. It's too bad he couldn't salvage that old stove from his kitchen, but I guess that's what happens when a tank runs over your house." By the time Lia finishes hers, Jane has downed her fourth. "You want another one?" Lia shakes her head so Jane wraps up the bag, intent on saving the last two for later, along with the pistol that Calvin snuck into the bag as a gift. After that they just start walking, taking in the sights of the Citadel. Hundreds of stores, thousands of people, and this is just one arm of the station. "This all feels kind of familiar."_

" _How so?"_

" _So many people from so many races, all scrunched together. It reminds me of Omega, except this place doesn't reek and I'm not expecting anyone to take a shot at me." That didn't mean she wasn't ready for it. Even if she hadn't left the ship so heavily armed, Jane was still covered in heavy plating with double layered shields. Even with that, the general feeling of being surrounded is still unnerving. "Let's go find somewhere less crowded. I keep feeling like someone's going to step up behind me and put a knife in my kidney." Lia leads her to a quieter spot near the crossing point between the wards and the presidium. There are still plenty of people here, but it's a little less uncomfortable._

 _They check out a few stores, mostly hardware retailers to pick up useful things for the ship, like a second omnigel fabrication machine for Kalen since Gavin tended to hog the one already on board. Regular supplies aren't an issue. Jane arranged for a full resupply while they were on route. Delivery won't be until tomorrow so they've got time. Eventually Jane gets tired of wandering and they head to a decent looking bar simply called Targan's. The music is a little loud, but nothing like the earsplitting crap that played in Afterlife. The people inside are mostly humans, turians, and salarians, with a couple asari thrown in here and there. There's a pair of unoccupied stools next the bar so they can sit down. The owner, an older turian with red colony paint and a missing left mandible, comes over, "What can I get you ladies?" The absence of a mandible blurs his speech a little, but not so much that they can't understand._

" _Do you have any Liseeran Greela?"_

" _Ohhh looking to get something good for a party? I've got a few bottles. Let me grab you one."_

" _Six." He stops in his tracks before turning to look at her._

" _Uhhh are you sure about that? The Liseeran stuff is very, very expensive. Not to mention that it doesn't take much to get hammered with it."_

" _Not a problem, on either account." The bartender shrugs and opens a padlocked door. He disappears for a moment before emerging with a small bundle gently cradled in his arms._

" _Okay miss, here you go. That's six bottles of Liseeran Greela at ten thousand each. Total's sixty thousand credits." The man is stunned when Jane transfers the credits without a hint of hesitation, and even more so when she pops the cork on one before chugging the entire thing in one go. Even Lia, long accustomed to Jane's inhuman resilience, starts to panic slightly._

" _Jane stop! That much can be poisonous!"_

 _She wipes her lips with her wrist before talking, "Damn that's good stuff. Don't worry Lia. I downed four bottles of this stuff on my seventeenth birthday and I was fine. Had a migraine, along with… other problems, but alcohol poisoning wasn't one of um. In fact…" Jane pops another cork and signals for the bartender to bring over a couple glasses. She pours some for Lia, "Here you go, let's drink together."_

" _I don't think I should. I might not technically be a justicar anymore, but I would still prefer to try and stick to the order's strictures."_

" _Either drink with me or leave and go do your own thing." Jane holds out the glass, scowling at her asari shadow. Eventually, Lia gives in._

" _I guess a few sips won't hurt."_

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2173_

 _Location : Citadel - Presidium_

 _Five hours later_

 **Chellick**

"Come on, We've got a possible drunk and disorderly at the krogan memorial." He double checks his sidearm and cuffs. Once sure that everything is secure, Chellick heads out to his aircar with his rookie partner a step behind.

"Do we have an ID?" They strap in and take off immediately. Hopefully this won't be the same as last week. Seeing that drunk trip over the railing and fall to his death had been rough. With lights flashing, the car speeds around the presidium.

"Not yet. All we know is that it's a human female, heavily intoxicated. When we get there I want you to handle it. No worries about this one taking a dive over the railing. Just keep her calm, go by the book, and everything should be fine."

"Right…" The young man was good at his job, but still a little too military in his thinking. It's perfectly understandable. He was the same way at the end of his mandatory service. They land just around the corner from the statue and make their way over. "Where is she?" There's no one there. At least that's how it looks in the beginning. As his partner starts looking around, Chellick lets his eyes drift upward, leading him to let out a chuckle. "She must have wandered off, what do you… What're you looking at?" Chellick points to the top of the statue, "Oh spirits…"

The human they're looking for is currently sprawled out on top of the statue. Chellick's not even sure how she got up there. Plenty of people have tried over the years and more than one ended up falling to their death. With poor handholds and a fairly continuous patrol circuit of C-SEC officers, no one has made it to the top in his time on station… until today. "Well, doesn't really matter. Grab one of the lift harnesses from the car and get her down from there before she hurts herself." With a device almost identical the kind hanar used to get around outside of water, his partner slowly levitates upward until he's eye level with the inebriated woman.

"Excuse me! Miss, are you alright?" It takes a couple tries but eventually his partner's call wakes her up with a start. Even from here, Chellick can tell she's still heavily intoxicated.

"What?! Wus? Wha you want?" The human shakes her head a few times before realizing her position. Rather than the panic he'd been expecting, she actually starts laughing. "Oh crap thiss iss real high…" The drunken slurry of words devolves into another bout of laughter.

The rookie keeps his calm and barrels onward, "Yes ma'am, this is quite high. High enough to be too dangerous for someone to be sleeping up here. You need to get down. In fact, I need you to come down and leave the area with us." His partner holds out a hand to the young woman, gently trying to wave her over. She laughs again before reaching for the outstretched hand, but this is a mistake. Before he can call out, she's overextended herself and tips off the top of the statue. The human plummets to the ground with an almighty crash. Chellick is already getting ready to call in another unfortunate, drunken fatality, and his partner is not so calm now, "Oh Spirits! Shit! Shit!" Both of them are struck speechless when the laughter starts bubbling through the air. Much to Chellick's astonishment, the woman rolls onto her back, holding her stomach and laughing like a loon.

"Ha ha ha ha oh crap that hurt…" As his partner reduces power to his lift harness to get down, the human slowly gets to her feet after stumbling a few times, giving him his first good look at her. She is imposing to say the least. The woman is as tall as he is with glowing violet eyes, bright crimson hair, and heavy armor plating covered with a thick magenta tabard. There's a large scar running back across her face. Once she's reasonably steady on her feet, the woman brings a wrist to her mouth and speaks, "Hey Century!" He's surprised when a new voice is emitted from her omnitool.

"Yes Shepard Jane?"

"I fell… ha ha ha… is, is anything broken?"

"We detect no serious damage, however there is currently significant strain on numerous points of cartilaginous connection. As doctor Chakwas would likely tell you, you will be sore in the morning."

"Oh okay… Where'ss, where Lia?"

"Lia Not-Justicar is currently embedded in a shrubbery 4.21 meters to Presidium south." Jane staggers over to one of the decorative plant stands set up for some historical celebration for next week. She digs around inside stand for a few minutes before dragging an unconscious asari out by her feet.

"Huh, ha, you drank too much…"

"Lia Not-Justicar ingested large quantities of alcohol with you. There will be no lasting damage, however we recommend that she be returned to the ship in order to recover safely. Doctor Chakwas has returned for the night and will be able to assist." Jane pulls the passed out asari over her shoulder.

"And, and where, where's my little buddy?"

"Your 'little buddy' is currently swimming in the artificial lake behind the krogan memorial." The woman gives a piercing whistle that nearly drives Chellick to his knees in pain. Moments later he can hear something attempting to scurry out of the lake. A set of mechanical legs peeks over the edge of the railing with long talons stabbing into ground. With a heave, the largest varren he's ever seen pulls itself out of the lake. The beast shakes madly, sending water flying in all directions, before trotting over to Jane. She pats the animal on the head. Seeing that it's apparently her pet, his partner lets his hand fall away from his pistol and steps over to her.

"You'll need to come with us ma'am."

"Why's that?"

"It's illegal to wander around in public while inebriated and climbing the memorial is also a violation of station safety codes." She starts giggling again

"Uh Ohh. Thas not good." His partner starts an arrest file on his omnitool with a scan of hers but a red warning flashes across the screen. Chellick was wondering when the rookie would get to that.

"What the hell?" He taps on his tool a few times before turning to Chellick and receiving a nod.

"By the book kid."

"Alright. Ma'am you're free to go, but I do need you to return to the vessel you arrived in. It's not safe to wander around the Presidium when you aren't in your right mind."

"Okay nice Blue guy… C'mon guys, let's go back to the Horse." With the asari over her shoulder and a varren at her side, Jane staggers away singing something about a 'wild rover' and spending all her money on whiskey and beer. Once she's out of sight, his partner steps over.

"Should we really let her wander around with no one watching her? She might get hurt."

"Don't worry rookie. We've got a couple people tailing her to make sure everything will be okay." His comm chimes at him and one of the tails he mentioned gives him some bad news. Chellick swears loudly, drawing his partner's attention, "She's gone. Spotted one of the tails and just slipped away." He shakes his head before sending a stern demand for the tails to find her. With their role here finished, they head back to the car.

"You knew she had a diplomatic exception, didn't you?"

"Yep, and you handled it well enough. Got messages from half a dozen ambassadors calling for it. She must have some friends in high places. Next time, make sure to check for anything before saying you're going to arrest someone. Some people would cause a lot of grief after something like that." His partner nods at him before running a hand across his blue flushed fringe. "Careful Vakarian. A flush like that and one of the ladies of the night out there might get the wrong idea." Chellick takes off for headquarters with his partner cringing slightly at his little joke. "Take it easy Garrus. Battle scars like that would excite any young Turin, even if they are on an alien."

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2173_

 _Location : Pale Horse - Citadel Docks_

 **Jane**

 _She wakes up with god's own migraine and an pulsing ache all over her body. Everything hurts terribly as Jane levers herself off the floor. It take her a minute to realize where she is. It's the bridge of the Pale Horse. Spits is snoring loudly behind her and Kalen is tapping away at a panel nearby. The young quarian notices her stirring, "Well, about time you woke up captain. I was starting to think we'd need the doctor to come back early after all."_

" _Jesus, what the hell happened?"_

" _You got really wasted and staggered onto the ship about six hours ago." Jane stands for a second before needing to sit back down in her chair. She rubs her temples miserably. The pain recedes slightly and she looks up, only now spotting the new occupant on the ship._

" _What the hell is that thing?" A massive green insect is poking around inside one of the panels next to Kalen. The creature looks like an eight limbed praying mantis._

" _Oh him? That's a keeper from the Citadel. Yeah when you got here Lia was over one shoulder and it was over the other. I still have no clue how you got through customs with it."_

 _Century's voice comes blasting out of the bridge speakers. "Shepard Jane, we have data that may be useful."_

" _God, Century lower the volume a little…"_

 _The geth speaks again at a far lower tone this time, "You encountered the keeper in question on your way back to the Pale Horse. We are unsure what prompted you to take it, but sensors indicated biotic activity before you took hold of the keeper and dragged it back to the ship. In order to avoid trouble with the local authorities, we employed a ghosting program found inside your omnitool. Then we used false signal transmissions to distract the local authorities. This allowed you to return unimpeded. Since your return, the keeper has performed thirty six separate tasks to aid in the maintenance of this vessel."_

" _That thing has been a huge help. It even found a few microfractures in the reactor's coolant tanks. Not an immediate problem but it could caused a few issues down the road." The keeper finishes whatever it was doing and reseals the panel with a torch from its tiny backpack. Jane carefully staggers over to the creature before gently reaching out for it. When her hands make contact with its face the creature goes completely still._

" _Shepard Jane, we are detected biotic activity identical to that which preceded your acquisition of the keeper." The world fades away as she opens her mind and pulls the keeper in. No need for anything complicated, Jane opts bring it to a simple dais under a light. Once settled she tries to speak to it._

" _Um… hello there. I'm sorry I took you away from the citadel." The keeper tilts its head to the side in confusion. A tiny voice echoes from all around, clipped and high pitched._

" _Error, unknown command."_

" _Uhhh… it wasn't a command. I was just apologizing."_

" _Error, unknown command." She starts thinking that maybe it's not a truly sentient creature. Maybe keepers are just organic machines._

" _Okay then. Keeper, state your name."_

" _Name - a social construct utilized by inhabitants of the Citadel to differentiate between units. Error, no data indicating name. This unit's designation is 2213Z-2045."_

" _What is your function?"_

" _This unit's function is to maintain the Citadel."_

" _Then why are you here and not on the Citadel."_

" _Processing... Error, this unit is on the Citadel."_

" _No, you're on my ship, the Pale Horse."_

" _Analyzing...Priorities modified. The Pale Horse is now equated to the Citadel. This unit is on the Citadel." How did she manage to make that happen?_

" _Don't you guys have like, little acid bombs inside you to stop people from taking you away or something?"_

" _This unit's liquidation charge has been disabled and digested."_

" _Alright. Do you want to go back to the Citadel then?" The keeper cocks its head the other direction._

" _Error, this unit is already on the Citadel." Jane sighs heavily and breaks the mental connection. Once free, the keeper turns away from her to leave. Kalen steps up to Jane's side._

" _What was that about?"_

" _I looked inside his mind. Somehow, I rewrote his programming. He thinks the ship is the Citadel." Kalen whistles at that._

" _That's pretty amazing… can we keep it? It does amazing work and I've been able to finish tons of little jobs in no time with it's help."_

" _He thinks the ship is home so he doesn't want to leave… at least I don't think he does. So, yeah, we'll keep him. He's gonna need a name though. His assigned designation is 2213Z-2045."_

" _Doesn't really roll of the tongue does it?" Jane thinks to herself for a moment._

" _I think I'll call him… Skittles." Kalen looks at her a few times._

" _Weird but okay. So what now?"_

" _Now we go about like nothing weird is going on. The supplies are arriving today and since you're here, you get to help." Kalen groans at her as she leads him to the cargo bay. The dock's crane helps get everything inside in short order and thankfully no one notices when Skittles the keeper shows up to help organize the incoming goods. What should have taken close to four hours only takes one with the huge bug's help. Once the job is done, Skittles disappears back into the ship. "Go ahead and go back out Kalen. I'm going to stay in today to take inventory." The young man nods his thanks before heading out, whilst Jane stays behind to get one of the rooms ready for the crew member she'll be picking up tomorrow. Lia is still in bed resting and will likely be there tomorrow as well. Some people just couldn't handle their liquor. Doctor Chakwas, Vollor, and John are the only one's that come back that night. Jane is still getting the new room ready when the trio get back._

" _My word, what is that doing here?" Jane heads to the mess hall to find them all staring at Skittles who is currently fixing one of the burners on Vollor's flash cooker._

" _It would appear to this one that noble keeper is repairing this one's favorite cooking appliance." Jane clears her throat._

" _Hey guys. This is Skittles. Yes he is a keeper and he's going to be staying on board. Just… don't ask." Confused but willing to accept it, the three of them head their separate ways. Jane spends the rest of the evening in her room, going over what she's going to say tomorrow. She hasn't seen him in person for over six years. Will he even remember her?_

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2173_

 _Location : Citadel - Zakera Ward_

 **Kaiden**

The flight to the station was uneventful. He arrived a few hours ago and was blown away by the utter immensity of this place. He'd read about the station on route but had never really considered just how huge it could be. Now he's standing at a window looking out over one of the arms, gawking like a rube. "Big place huh?" He turns to face the speaker. It's a woman, one of impressive stature. She's easily taller than him and wearing heavy red armor with a helmet modeled after a stylized human skull. The helmet has bright amber eyes lenses that feel like they're boring into his soul. Right next to her is a huge beast with armor of the same color and a single glowing eye.

I takes him a moment to find the words, "Uh yeah. Real big place. My name's-"

"Sergeant Kaidan Alenko. I know. I'm here to escort you to the ship." The woman hands him a datapad, confirming his transfer orders. "Follow me." Without another word, she turns on her heel and walks away. Kaiden snatches his duffel bag off the floor and trots after her.

"I didn't catch your name."

She calls back without breaking stride, "Tell you what, I want you to try and guess once we get there." How the hell is he supposed to do that?

"Umm, I don't know anything about you."

"You know more than you think." Confused, Kaiden wracks his brain trying to figure it out. He can't remember ever meeting someone like this before.

"Not sure what you mean but okay. Can you tell me about our captain at least? How well do you know Lieutenant Shepard?"

The woman chuckles at him, "Oh, I know everything there is to know about her. You've actually met her before, you know."

"I don't recall ever meeting someone by that name. I've met plenty of girls named Jane, but never one named Shepard."

"That wasn't her name when you met her." They make their way into one of the private Alliance berths and Kaiden sees his home for the foreseeable future. It's a heavily modified turian ship, bone white with red highlights. His mysterious escort waves him forward and takes a few steps before hearing her again, "Tell me Kuva…" The word stops him in his tracks. He hasn't heard that nickname in years, not since… "Do you ever think about that little girl in the cell? The one that asked you to call her Zarka?" He rounds on the woman, voice barely more than a whisper.

"How the hell do you know about that?"

"Answer the question Alenko. Do you ever think about her?"

He looks down, balling his hands into fists, "Yes… I think about her almost every day. I should have done more to help her. Those bastards treated her like a lab rat, and I didn't do enough to help her. And then they made me leave…" The woman nods at him, apparently satisfied with his answer. "Now tell me how you know about her. I never saw her again and I… I need to know. Did she ever get out of that horrible place?"

The woman hits a few controls on her omnitool. The helmet retracts into her collar, revealing hair of brilliant crimson, and a pair of eyes he could never forget. "Yes, yes I did."


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55 - Never too Many Friends**

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2173_

 _Location : Pale Horse - Citadel Dock_

 **Kaiden**

He still can't believe it. It had his brain in a lock, trying to reconcile what he remembers about the frightened little girl from that cell and the battle scared amazon sitting across the table from him. But it's her. She remembers everything he taught her about biotics, everything they ever talked about. Hell, she even remembers all the little details he told her about his family. After showing her face, Jane led him into the ship, showed him to a room, and got some food out for the two of them. "Sorry if it's not very good. Vollor is still out for the evening on a date." He didn't complain. Even reheated, the food was better than standard Alliance rations.

They spent hours catching up, or at least he spent hours asking about her life since he had to leave her. She seemed to know almost everything there was to know about him already, from his family situation to his service record. Jane even knew about Commander Vyrnnus and whole heartily approved of what he did to the turian. Even with six years of speculation as to what happened to her, Kaiden was no where close to the truth. She's been fighting and killing ever since escaping. That kind of life has left plenty of scars, inside and out. The casual way Jane talks about killing is a little unnerving but understandable given what she's been through. "So, what exactly is the mission Jane? And why did you request me for it? I get wanting to maybe catch up or something, but I'm not all that special a soldier. I'd think you would want someone with a little more experience for… well for whatever this is."

She smiles at him before standing and straightening the tabard covering the red suit she has on. "I'm hunting down a mercenary company called the Red Wake. It's a batch of the worst murderers, rapists, and pirates in the galaxy. They've killed friends, put my mother in a coma, and they killed my…" Jane trails off and the hardened killer disappears for a moment.

"It's alright Jane. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She nods back at him, slowly letting the mask slip back into place.

"Anyway, their crimes are heinous and the Alliance is spread too thin to take care of them. So I'll do it for them. As for why you're here, Commander Anderson suggested that I expand my team. We've got some good people right now, but there just aren't enough of them to set up a good rotation. I wanted someone with a good conscience, who hasn't been fighting long enough to become jaded. I've been tracking you for a while now and your record is exactly what I'm looking for." At that moment one of those huge green bugs from the Citadel came trotting through the mess hall, completely oblivious to them. Kaiden gestured towards it, to which Jane replied, "Yeah that's a keeper. His name is Skittles… don't ask. Anyway, on a more personal note, the day they took you away was the day I actually started planning for an escape. Before you came I'd never given the idea of getting out of that lab any serious thought. You gave me the courage to try and change things. I had no idea how powerful I was at the time. When the time came, I ripped through those bastards like tissue paper. You helped me see just how dangerous I could be… thank you." Jane sighs contentedly before grabbing him by the hand and pulling him out of his chair. "Come on. We've got one more day before we leave the station. Let's go have some fun. Most of the crew is going to a movie tonight. It's about a hanar spectre."

 _Date_ _: 4.14.2173_

 _Location : Widow Nebulae - Relay Approach_

 **Jane**

 _Most of the crew is still slinging around quotes like 'Enkindle this!' from last night's spectacle. Despite what a lot of critics say, Blasto is actually a damn good movie, hopefully the first of many. Even Vollor loved it, "Though this one hesitates to endorse any film which refers to one's race as jellyfish, this one still found Blasto to be an exhilarating experience. However, this one believes that the fornication scene between the honorable spectre and the… beguiling asari councillor was needlessly pornographic." After the movie ended they'd all gone back to the ship and Jane formally introduced the crew to Kaiden. Kalia seemed especially interested in him, latching onto his arm for the majority of the night, until the time came for everyone to get some rest. The final day was spent clearing up any last minute business on the citadel. The triplets dragged aboard half a ton of new tech to experiment on in their down time. Doctor Chakwas brought materials to begin basic medical training for John and Vollor. The hanar himself had expressed an interest in seeking a career in medicine. Gavin said goodbye to his parents at the dock._

 _As they wait in the queue to pass through the relay, Century's little green avatar pops up on her armrest. "Shepard Jane, we have information you may find desirable."_

" _Okay, shoot."_

" _We have finished decoding the files from the Red Wake data core. You expressed a desire to remove the mercenaries from human territory and we believe we have found a way to do so. The data core reveals that the bulk of Red Wake resources are drawn not from piratical raiding in Citadel space, but instead from extortionist activities in the Terminus systems. Available information indicates that a concentrated series of attacks on their supply infrastructure will cause them to draw back."_

" _That sounds good to me. Let's start small. Give me something a little out of the way that won't draw too much attention." Century's avatar turns blue for a few seconds as he analyzes his information._

" _We have identified a potential pair of targets. The first is an independent turian colony with heavy agrarian development. The Red Wake mercenaries are seizing large quantities of food as tribute… along with a small but steady supply of slaves." Jane clenches her fist around the chair's left armrest. A familiar set of dents greet her as Century carries on, "The second is a cluster of stations orbiting a gas giant in a neighboring system. These are home to a moderately sized and growing krogan population."_

" _A growing population? With the genophage that shouldn't be possible anywhere but Tuchanka."_

" _We do not have sufficient data to determine the cause, but available records indicate a growing population that the Red Wake is using the produce a steady supply of krogan for low level muscle in their organization. If these stations can be liberated or destroyed, the Red Wake will be severely damaged."_

" _Alright, we hit the colony first. Once it's taken care of we go for the Krogan. Send the coordinates to Kalia. How long will it take us to get there?"_

 _Kalia runs the calculations, "The relays will get us to Omega in about fifteen hours. After that it's a bit dodgy since the Wake's records are a little slapdash. There are only a few relays letting out in relatively close systems. Best guess is another three weeks non-relay travel."_

" _Plenty of time to go over everything else about the Wake's assets in the area. Century, bring up everything we've got. I want a full overview and warpath ready by the time we get there." The geth acknowledges before bringing up an absolute deluge of files. Dozens of bases to storm, hundreds of ships to seize, thousands of mercs to kill. Jane is silently running the possibilities through her head as the queue finally rounds down and they pass through the relay._

 _Date_ _: 5.9.2173_

 _Location : Undocumented System - Deep in the Terminus_

 **Tybar**

His people trudge towards the shuttle, each one carrying at least thirty kilos of produce… their share of the tribute. The Red Wake's been bleeding his people dry for over a decade and it's only getting worse. A few meters away, a far more tragic line is formed. Ten young turin in chains being dragged into a cage barely big enough for half that many people. Tybar struggles to keep his mandibles from flaring, well remembering the bodies left behind after the last time he was 'rude' to their 'guests'. In a point of absolute betrayal, the captain of this long standing band of tormentors is one of his own people turned traitor, a hulking turin called Lygos. The bastard is beating one of the slaves with sadistic glee. He doesn't stop until the slave is covered in blue blood, nearly dead. "Now that this one is worthless I'll need a volunteer to replace him." The crowd stares with dead eyes, no one willing to utter a sound. "No? No volunteers. Oh well, guess I'll just have to pick one."

Lygos stomps over to one of the young females carrying food into the hold and grabs her by the shoulder. The female starts keening in horror, fully believing that she's never going to see her home again. Before he can throw her into the cage a huge boom shatters the relative quiet. Tybar turns his eyes to the sky and hope blossoms in his heart for the first time in years.

 **Jane**

" _They're trying to run." The wake ship's engines flare to life and start a hard burn. It's acceleration is rapid but nothing compared to the Pale Horse._

" _Century, get in their systems and cripple thruster control." The geth's avatar vanishes as most of his runtimes are shunted through the comm array. They can't shoot it down so close to the colony without risking it falling on the people below._

" _Enemy cyber security is relatively poor. We have penetrated their systems and are deleting their control subroutines." The effect is dramatic to say the least. The Wake ship starts wobbling severely as more and more of their control programs disappear. Each file set deleted shuts down another thruster. "We are encountering heavier security settings. We- warning! Enemy is attempting to severe comm lines."_

" _Pull out before the lines are gone. I don't you losing any more of yourselves."_

" _Acknowledged." Century's avatar pops up next to her again, "Shepard Jane, the enemy's secondary control subroutines will be in place within three minutes. We recommend immediate engagement. If shot down the Wake vessel will no longer fall on the colony."_

" _Sounds good. Kal, clip their wings." The young man nods and locks the GARDIAN array onto the the enemy vessel's engines. It's hull immediately begins to boil away as concentrated laser fire bores through. With a trail of black smoke, the vessel plummets to the ground many miles away. Jane punches the intercom line, "Alright guys, the enemy ship has been shot down. We're going done to make sure it's clear and to salvage anything useful. Gavin get Blue ready to go. Kaiden and Lia, meet me in the hanger." As Kalia bring the ship to a hover above the crash sight, Jane meets with her team. "Once we land, we move in and waste the survivors. Afterwards Kal and Kalen will scour the wreck while the rest of us go back to the colony to clean up. Any questions?" Kaiden and Lia shake their heads. They all hop into Blue as the hanger doors open below them. The trip down is smooth and their landing is completely unopposed._

 _The ship looks like it's been torn open by some enormous creature, with massive gashes leaving it open to the world outside. Jane leads Lia and Kaiden through one particularly large hole near the engine room. After sending Lia to secure the core, Jane leads Kaiden towards the bridge. There aren't many survivors. Most of the are pinned beneath shattered bulkheads or nursing broken limbs. She doesn't spare a single thought towards showing mercy, simply firing a double tap into the heads of every downed merc. Kaiden hesitates every time she tells him to finish one of them and it almost gets him killed. A wounded batarian begs him for mercy just outside the bridge. For a single moment Kaiden turns to Jane and in that moment the merc lunges at him with a vibro-knife. The oscillating blade slashes through his armor and deep into his arm. He jerks away, trying to force feeling back into his now numb fingers as the batarian lunges again, this time only managing a shallow cut across the surface of Kaiden's armor. With a surge of violet energy, the marine launches a biotic punch right into the batarian's nose. The alien's face is pulped by the impact, dropping the bastard in a boneless heap at Kaiden's feet. Jane steps forward and fills the gushing cut in his arm with medigel as he tries to catch his breath. "Dammit… Sorry ma'am. I… I didn't-"_

" _Shut it." Her voice is stern with disappointment, "We'll talk about it later. For now, stay in the hall while I clear the bridge. From this point forward if you see someone in Wake colors, regardless of their condition, I expect you to fire at least two shots. One to the heart and another to the head. Understood?" Kaiden bows his head and nods. Jane gathers some energy in her hand before ripping her way through the door. The merc survivors on the bridge are in no condition to put up a good fight, so Jane doesn't even draw her blades. She walks through their pitiful gunshots to fire a shot into every brain and heart in the room. After they're all dead Jane feels a small surge of energy from the hall just before a gurgling scream sounds out. She runs out to see Kaiden standing over a trembling turian in Wake colors cradling a bleeding stump. The severed limb is lying a few feet away, almost completely destroyed by the warp field used to severe it. She looks Kaiden in the eye as the merc starts begging. He doesn't hesitate this time. With his uninjured arm, Kaiden levels his pistol and fires two shots. Area clear, Jane leads him back outside to meet Lia, "Did we get everyone?"_

" _After the core was cleared I swept the areas behind you. The ship is clear." Jane calls for Gavin to bring down Kal, Kalen, and John to sweep for anything good, along with Doctor Chakwas to take care of Kaiden. As the boys start tearing out anything good, the rest of them ride to the colony. It's clear from a distance that there are still a few Wake members in town, trying to hold back a large group of townspeople. A shuttle tries to take off but a pair of shots from the side mounted AP cannons shatter the engines and drop it back onto the ground with a heavy thud. Gavin lands a dozen meters away as the people close in on the shuttle. What Wake resistance was left quickly disappears and the crowd lays into the survivors with viciousness that Jane can respect. The crowd parts as she makes her way over to the last living merc. Four brutalized bodies are scattered in pieces next to him. She stands over him as the brute struggles to his knees. The turian looks up at her, keening in terror._

 _Jane waves Kaiden forward. He levels his pistol at the bastard's chest and fires a single round into his heart. The turian flops onto his back, dead. For good measure, Kaiden fires a shot into the merc's head, splattering his brains all over the ground. Silence descends over the area as the echo of the shot fades into the distance. The people look at them with a mix of apprehension and hope. Eventually a turian with a single arm and three red slashes of colony paint across his face steps forward. "What do you want?"_

" _To kill the Red Wake." A bass rumble starts in the turian's chest, building to a grinding sound. It takes her a moment to realise that he's laughing._

 **Tybar**

He can't help but chuckle at her, "Well you certainly managed that." Tybar stomps over to the mangled corpses of their oppressors and launches a spiteful kick into Lygos's shattered face. Scraps of brain come away with his foot but he doesn't care. Just seeing the traitor splattered on the ground is more than worth it. There's a heavy air of worry as the people gather around. Have they traded one oppressor for another? "So they're dead. Are you gonna be like them? You gonna rob us too?"

The human looks insulted by the suggested, "Absolutely not. I all want is these pricks dead. If I can help people along the way, that's even better."

Hearing her denial, the tension starts bleeding away and the people start celebrating their new found freedom in their own quiet way as Tybar keeps talking. "Oh… then is there anything we can do to thank you."

"I wouldn't say no to some food every now and then." There it is. She might be trying to water it down, but here come the demands for tribute.

"How much do you want?"

"A meal for each member of my crew and a hunk of meat for Spits here." Spits is licking the brains out of one of the corpses as they talk. "We don't have a lot of time so do you mind if we eat now and get going?"

"Wait… just one meal?"

"Yeah, how much did you think I'd ask for?"

He considers telling her what he'd been expecting but opts against it. She might be insulted by it. He has some of the levo growers bring almost a forty kilos of food and a small menagerie of aliens come down from the strange human's ship. They eat quickly, actually thanking him and his people once the meal is over. The girl with the glowing eyes waves them all back into her gunship as they make ready to leave. Tybar steps over to say goodbye, "Look we're really grateful and all, but what's to stop them from coming back after you leave."

"I'm working on that. There are some people in a neighboring system that I'm going to try and get help from. I'll see if I can arrange a trade." They swap contact information.

"Why would you do that? Keep helping us I mean." She hops up into the gunship as it's rotors begin spinning.

"Can never have too many friends, especially in the Terminus." He nods sagely, well aware of that fact. The gunship is soon lifting from the ground and powering into the air, leaving Tybar behind with a light heart for the first time in a decade.

 **Jane**

 _With the wreck stripped, they make their way back to the ship. As the docking clamps latch into place, Century's avatar pops up on her omnitool, "Shepard Jane, we have valuable information. This system contains a hidden class two relay linked to the next target system, in addition to two dozen additional systems." Kaiden turns to them, much to Karin's annoyance._

" _Hold still marine. I want to make sure the bandages are secure and you're not to move again until I'm done." Chastised, Kaiden holds still for her to work as he speaks._

" _Wait a minute Century. If there's a relay that size here then why couldn't we use the last relay to jump to it on the way in." The little green geth turns its flashlight head to Kaiden._

" _The reason we were unable to utilize a relay whilst entering this system is because the Red Wake has somehow managed to set up a rudimentary IFF protocol to prevent unauthorized travel. Now that we have acquired the necessary codes, we are confident that you will be able to utilize this hidden relay to move about the local star cluster. Transferring coordinates to Creator Kalia'Reegar." She feels a slight vibration in the deck as the ship turns to its new destination. As they're passing through the outer planets, Kalia asks for permission to discharge the drive core over a particularly impressive gas giant with swirling storms of red and violet gases tearing through its skies._

" _Hey Century, give me a scan of the planet. Let me know how powerful its gravity well is."_

" _Acknowledged, scanning." His avatar flickers a few times before a set of charts appear next to him. "Gravity reads at 26 m/s_ _2_ _, with a reach roughly equivalent to that of Sol-5."_

" _Interesting, anything else that might be good."_

" _We detect large quantities of Helium-3 in the upper atmosphere and trace elements of other valuable gases."_

" _Anything else."_

" _On the planet no, however the primary moon has a number of anomalies that may indicate mineral wealth. We recommend either remaining in system to investigate or leaving behind a deep scan probe to gather information."_

" _I agree. Kal," He looks up from his console, "I want you and Kalen to put together a deep scan probe. We're gonna leave it in orbit of that moon while we're in the next system. Have it ready in an hour." Kal secures his console and leaves to get to work. It takes less time that she thought it would. Before the core discharge is even finished, Jane gets a call from the brothers that everything is good to go. Kalia brings them out of the atmosphere and skims the moon's gravity well. As the probe's tiny thrusters push it into a stable orbit, the machine begins its work. "Okay, while that's working let's head to the next target. Take us to the relay Kalia."_

 _The jump is nearly instantaneous and they're immediately accosted by a pair of ships on the other side. "Unidentified vessel, don't know who you are or how the hell you got here. Turn around and leave now. If you don't, you die. This is Red Wake territory."_

 _The channel immediately closes as the two ships close in. They're both far heavier than the Pale Horse, but the scans show a pair of dated and poorly maintained cargo haulers with a few guns slapped onto the hull. "Kal prime a pirahna for each ship. Use the GARDIANs to clear the way then launch the missiles."_

" _Copy, firing." A few laser blasts leave the ships defenseless as the cluster warheads are blasted into their hulls. Both ships are riddled with dozens of explosions, leaving them drifting helplessly. "Engines and life support on both ships crippled. Way's clear."_

" _Good. Set course for the stations." The flight in system only takes a couple hours. There are only a few rocky planetoids to see as they approach the target stations. A few defense guns start tracking them, but none of them fire. Lia taps away at her panel before calling out._

" _They're contacting us." Jane nods for her to put the signal through. A gravely voice rolls over the comm line._

" _Hey! Whoever the hell's in that turian ship, piss off! We don't care if you dusted the Wake. This is our home and you aren't welcome."_

" _Krogan station, this is Jane Shepard of the Pale Horse. I've come to talk to your leader and-"_

" _We don't give a shit why you're here! Leave now!"_

" _Krogan station, I have a full complement of disruptor torpedoes primed and ready to go. You will let me come aboard to speak to your leader or I'll turn your station to dust. Either way, my goal here is accomplished. Either way, the Wake loses their supply of krogan." A frantic conversation takes place on the other side of the line as nearly a dozen different voices start shouting at each other. Eventually, a far deeper one shouts all the others down._

" _Shepard, this Tog of Clan Dun. A bay will be made available for a shuttle. You have one?"_

" _I have a gunship."_

" _That'll work. We'll be waiting… and no funny business." Kalia keeps the station in sight as Jane heads to Blue with Lia and Kal. Kaiden is staying on board until his arm is healed. Gavin flies them over to the designated dock, where there's a full squad of surely krogan in black armor waiting for them. Jane and the others hop out._

" _Gavin, lockdown Blue until we get back," she speaks loud enough for the krogan to hear, "Prime all weapons. If anyone approaches without my permission, vaporize them." Gavin copies and sets the door guns to track movement. Several of the obviously younger krogan start looking nervous as one of the guns tracks over to them. With the ship safe, Jane steps forward and calls out, "I am Jane Shepard. Where is Tog?" A krogan almost two feet taller than her steps forward._

" _I am Dun Tog. What do you want?"_

" _I want to negotiate your people's break from the Red Wake and for a contingent of your people to help protect a neighboring system." The krogan behind Tog all start laughing raucously, until Tog turns back to them with a murderous glare. Once the others are silent, he looks back to her._

" _Come with me." He leads them to a crude conference room. There is cheap metal table with ration packs and poorly filtered water but no chairs. "Chieftain Dun Grel will come speak to you soon. Do not try to leave." With that, Tog stomps out with the rest of the squad in toe, locking the doors behind them. Lia immediately steps up to her side._

" _We should break out and head for the station's core. There's no way they'll help us."_

 _She's about to turn and chastise Lia when a hidden panel slides away from the far wall. One of the younger krogan from before is revealed, a youngster with a still developing head crest and a relatively small hump. He trots over before whispering to her, "We don't got much time. Come with me!" He heads back to the panel and waves them over._

 _Kal pulls his rifle, "Why should we?" Krogan chuffs at him in annoyance._

" _Cause Chieftain Grel aint comin to talk. He's just tryin to figure if we can nab your ship while your over here. They got all the doors locked and barricaded." Kal's rifle isn't quite aimed at the krogan, but it wouldn't take much._

" _Then why are you here?"_

" _Cause mother said so. She thinks you can help and she's usually right." Jane taps her comm line to contact the ship, but all she gets is interference._

" _Dammit. Alright, we'll go talk to your mother, but first I wanna know your name." They all duck into the hidden way and wait for the krogan to close it behind them._

" _I am Teg. I haven't earned my clan name yet. Come quickly, it won't be long before they realize what's happened." They follow Teg through a number of cramped tunnels for several minutes. Eventually they pass through another hidden door, this one opening into a fairly lavish apartment. There are fine carpets, paintings, statues, and all manner of expensive furnishings filling the place. But the real attraction is the collection of six robbed krogan sitting in semicircle, with a seventh standing in front of them. They're all mumbling some kind of prayer. Teg trots over to the standing krogan and offers a slight bow before speaking, "I brought the aliens mother." The entire group turns to look at Jane's team. They're all covered in heavy robes with a headdress hiding everything but their eyes. As they all stand, Jane can't help but notice that they all put a hand to their stomachs, where each of them has a slight bulge._

" _Greetings alien. I am Dun Alamara and these are my fellow female clan members. Approach and be welcome here. I would seek to celebrate your coming but there is not much time. Soon the chieftain will notice your disappearance. We must begin our move before that happens." The krogan female approaches her, "Will you aid us?"_

 _Jane cocks an eyebrow, "Uhh, I came here to negotiate for the locals' assistance. I wasn't really expecting this."_

" _Understandable, but there will be no negotiating. No doubt that pompous ass is already trying to contact the Red Wake to ask for reinforcements to deal with your vessel. Grel is not interested in anything beyond his own station. Whatever you came here seeking, you will not be able to gain it through diplomacy with him. There is an alternative however."_

" _And what is that?"_

" _If you can help depose him, return me to power, I will hear you out and try to help with whatever you came for."_

" _What makes you think I can help?" The female rolls her eyes._

" _Please, Grel and the others may be illiterate but we are not. I have read many of the stories from Omega. Stories of a human with violet eyes and crimson hair that can kill hordes of mercenaries with a thought. One that carries a black sword. You match the description, not to mention that my favored son obsesses over videos from the defense of Mindoir. Your image is quite prominent."_

 _Jane tries not to cringe at the mention of Mindoir, "Yes that was me and yes I could probably kill pretty much anyone on the station, but won't me killing this Grel for you kind of piss off the survivors. Won't they rebel against you taking charge."_

 _The young krogan pipes up excitedly, "Not if you openly challenge him as mother's champion! If you march on the main hall with us, she can level the challenge and make everyone take it seriously!" The female krogan pats him on the head._

" _Wise my child. He is correct. Escort me to the main hall and I can make the challenge. Once it is done, we can begin negotiation." Jane nods in agreement before the female leads her to the main door. She pushes a key on the call panel. "Tok! Get in here!" A series of locks open before the door slides into the floor, admitting a shockingly fat krogan._

" _Yes my lady? What can I…" He spots Jane and her team and his face likes up with excitement, "Is it finally time?"_

" _Yes my loyal servant. Inform the others and have everyone gather in the main hall. Today is the day we set our clan back on the right path." The fat krogan eagerly nods before waddling back down the hall, leaving the door open behind him. The other females remain behind, closing the door as they leave. Alamara makes her way down the station's corridors at a stately pace to avoid endangering the child in her belly._

" _Were you expecting me or something?"_

" _No. I've been planning to remove Grel for many years. I was expecting to wait for at least another twenty, but your coming was perfectly timed. The Wake's overseers departed nearly a week ago and they'll not be expecting any contact from us until next year. As long as my people keep communications under control, we'll have plenty of time to make ready for their return." They take a direct route, passing through more than one occupied area. Dozens of krogan start following behind them, chattering excitedly._

" _I thought the genophage rendered your people almost entirely sterile." The female doesn't break stride._

" _It did."_

" _Then how are there so many young krogan here. From what I see the ratio of juveniles to adults is almost 2:1, and those are just the ones on this station." The complex consisted of four separate structures linked by a complex network of tunnels and shielded grav lifts_

" _Some females are discovered to be truly fertile upon reaching adulthood. Such females are highly sought after and often wield considerable power. My clan is fortunate enough to have myself, the other six you saw in the apartment, along with two similar groups housed in the other stations. When we are not with child, we are trying to conceive. It is our duty to our people, and one that we are proud to fulfill. Be ready my new friend, Grel's throne room is near."_

" _Throne room?"_

" _Yes, he is a vain fool… and it was my chair first. He made a deal with the Red Wake, trading the services of many warriors for their help in removing me from power." They reach a final doorway with a following of almost two hundred krogan, the vast majority of whom are chanting Alamara's name._

" _Quick question before we head in," the female turns to her, "this challenge… can I use my biotics and do you need him to live?" Alamara shakes her head._

" _No, on both counts. Victory must come through tactical or physical superiority and his survival would only create complications down the road." Jane nods, "This is not a problem is it?"_

" _Shouldn't be. Might be interesting though." A pair of krogan push the doors open for Alamara and her following. Most of the krogan remain at the edges of the room, chanting for blood. They reach a set of steps leading up to a makeshift throne built of recycled rebar and plasteel. Sitting there is a beast of a krogan. Grel is decked out in armor that looks thick enough to take a tank shell. His bulk rivals even Fel's near impossible physique. The brute glares down at them with absolute hatred as the krogan from the shuttle bay, Tog, stomps forward to glare at Teg._

" _Whelp… what have you done?"_

 _Teg shouts up at him. "What had to be done! You've forgotten your honor father! But mother has not…" Teg's courage seems to wilt as Tog's expression stays completely still and unmoved. The older krogan merely shakes his head._

 _Grel lets loose a bitter chuckle, "Is this the grand coup you've been planning female? An untested whelp and a gaggle of alien weaklings? You must have gone mad. Oh well, I guess it was time you were replaced as my favored mate."_

" _Be silent you arrogant slime! I come to challenge you for rule of Clan Dun!" Grel laughs raucously, along with most of his honor guard. Tog is the only one to stay stoic._

" _You truly have gone mad!" Grel rises from his throne and stomps down the steps. "This is the dumbest thing you have ever done. There is a child in your belly and you were never a warrior. What challenge could you possibly pose to one such as me?" Alamara bears her teeth._

" _I have a champion you fool. One that shall put you in your place." Another laugh as Grel looks to Teg._

" _A poor joke! This whelp couldn't harm a hanar!" It takes two of Alamara's followers to hold the young krogan back as he tries to get his hands on Grel._

" _I do not speak of my son. His time of trial has not yet come. No, I speak of she who is my krant. I speak of her." The female waves Jane forward, which just draws even more laughter._

" _A human! Ah ha ha ha ha! You come to challenge me and the best champion you can bring forward is a human?! Oh this shall be enjoyable!" The brute removes his guns, along with the massive siege hammer at his shoulder. His honor guard steps forward to take the weapons as he starts stretching out. "I hope you understand that once I've killed this insect and devoured her heart, I shall have you and you're whelp thrown into the varren pits, along with the beast she's brought with her. He looks like a pit champion in the making." Silent for the entire exchange, Spits is practically foaming at the mouth in rage, desperate to take a chunk out of Grel's hide, but a single command from Jane keeps him in place._

 _Jane removes her own weapons, handing them off to Kal and Lia. Her bond blade is almost impossibly heavy as she hands it to Lia, "Keep it safe…" The asari nods solemnly, holding the dagger close to her heart. Jane cracks her knuckles and glares at the warlord, "Alright you ugly son of bitch. Let's see what you're made of!" He doesn't disappoint. The moment she called him out, Grel was charging. Jane's taken a krogan charge head on before… it's not fun. So she sidesteps the living freight train and lances a kick into his hip. Her boot collides with his armor with a resounding clang before bouncing off. There's a dent but no real damage. Before she can recover, the brute grabs hold of her ankle and pulls her in. He head butts Jane square in the face, breaking her nose. Thinking that she's already finished, Grel lets her fall to the ground. Most humans would be unconscious or perhaps dead, but Jane just smiles and spits out a dollop of blood. She gets back to her feet, "Is that it? I've felt salarian punches harder than that!"_

 _Roaring in rage, Grel charges her again. Jane leaps over the krogan, landing behind him as he tries to arrest his forward momentum. As he comes back around Jane hammers a fist across his snout, returning his gift of a broken nose. Jane follows the momentum of her swing, spinning about to launch a roundhouse at the slightly stunned krogan. Her boot connects with his head just behind his left eye, shattering the socket. A shard of bone must have been forced inward because Grel's eye bursts into a foul smelling slurry of blood and other fluids. Screaming in apoplectic rage, the krogan recovers and kicks her square in the stomach. The plate over Jane gut cracks under the impact, along with at least two of her ribs. She's thrown far enough away to recover from the initial shock and brace for his continued onslaught. He stomps over, bloody pus oozing from his burst eye. "I'll feast on your entrails human!" His followers are stomping on the ground, chanting his name. He reaches for her with an open right hand._

 _Jane grabs his wrist with both hands and squeezes with all her strength. The armor isn't as strong as it looks, warping under her grip with little resistance. The offending appendage is crushed like glass. Grel screams in pain, trying to lash out with the other hand. Jane ducks under the arm to get behind him. She grabs his good wrist in her left hand to pull the limb straight before slamming her right palm into his elbow as hard as she can. The arm shatters with a deafening crack, drawing yet another scream of pain. Grel spins around to throw a desperate kick and he actually connects. The force makes her stumble slightly but it's not enough to turn the tide. Blinding pain is driving her deeper and deeper into her own rage, bolstering her already inhuman strength to insane levels. Before he can get his leg back under him, Jane grabs hold, crushing the boot just enough to get a good hold on it. Just as she did with his arm, Jane uses one hand to pull the limb straight before slamming the other into his knee. His rage is gone, replaced by agony as she lets him fall to the ground._

 _Grel manages to flop onto his stomach to try and crawl away, but she's not done with him. Jane gets close, raises one foot up high before axing it down on top of his hump, cracking the plating and puncturing the soft tissue beneath. He scream is deafening, as is the silence from the watching crowd. Grel mewls in pain when Jane kicks him hard enough to roll him over. She jabs her hands into the tissue just beneath his jaw and pulls as hard as she can. His cries of pain quickly fade to strained gurgling but Jane just keeps on pulling, roaring in rage and hate. It's too much for his body to handle. In a moment of absolute perfection, Grel's head tears away from his shoulders along with a good chunk of his spine. Jane holds the head high, shrieking at the crowd in abyssal fury as gore falls from the gruesome trophy onto her head, bathing her in krogan blood. When she's finally out of air, Jane hurls the severed head into the center of the chamber. "Spits! Tor!" Her varren bounds over to the corpse and starts tearing into it with wild abandon. As Spits feeds on the carcass, Jane turns to the crowd._

" _I am Jane Shepard! Today I fought in Alamara's name! She leads you now, and any that seek to challenge that will face me!" The whole crowd looks to Grel's severed head, then back to her. One by one they take a knee and swear loyalty to Alamara. Tog actually looks proud as Teg picks up the siege hammer before taking his place at Alamara's side. Once all is said and done, it became pretty clear that Grel's rule was only maintained because of his Wake connections. The few men loyal to him are quickly put down and most return to their daily routine. Alamara takes a seat on the throne to speak with Jane._

" _You have helped us Jane Shepard. Now, how may we help you?"_

 _She's still cleaning Grel's blood off her face while talking, "I need some help protecting an independent turian colony in a neighboring system. The Wake's been running an extortion racket there for years. I killed the bastards that were there but it's only a matter of time before they come back. Can you send some warriors to help keep them safe? I can provide a couple ships but I need someone on the ground to keep an eye on things. In return they'll probably be willing to sell you some of their surplus food."_

 _At the mention of turians a few members of Alamara's new honor guard grunt in annoyance, but she shuts them down with a snarl. "Be silent! I care nothing for old grudges! Our ally has asked for our help and we will oblige her. Tog, ready a dozen of our most capable, most open minded warriors for protection duty. Choose wisely for they will be both security and our ambassadors to this neighboring colony." As Tog goes to find the needed warriors, Jane gets back in touch with the ship, putting to rest their worries over the break in contact. After having Kalia bring the ship to dock, she has century call in one of the Q-ships roaming the Terminus. Luckily, there's one less than a day away by relay travel. As soon as it arrives and docks with the station, Tog leads his chosen dozen on board at Alamara's order. "You, my favored mate, shall be my voice with these turians. Establish a healthy relationship with them and the reward upon your return shall be the stuff of legend." The stoic krogan lights up at the implication and gets to work with a far lighter heart._

 _Just before leaving, Alamara meets them at the dock with Teg close behind, "Jane Shepard, I have a request." She gestures for the female to continue, "I wish you to take my son with you." Teg steps forward, now decked in old but well kept armor. Grel's hammer is hanging from Teg's back. "It is time for him to learn of battle and I believe you shall be an excellent teacher." Jane turns to the young krogan who immediately comes to an approximation of attention._

" _You understand that while on my ship, my word is law. You will obey without complaint or hesitation?" Teg nods, "You also understand that if you ever break my trust, I'll bring you back and kick your ass off my ship permanently, right?"_

" _I do. I swear by my ancestors, I shall not fail you."_

" _Alright, get aboard and claim one of the cabins." Teg eagerly heads through the docking collar as Jane turns back to Alamara, "I'll do what I can to keep him safe."_

" _Be careful to not do too much. I want this journey to test him, mold him. That cannot happen if he is too safe." Jane agrees and says goodbye. With a loaded Q-ship in toe, they return to the turian colony. The turian leader, Tybar, is understandably nervous but is relieved when Jane spells out the situation to the krogan._

" _Okay, you guys are here to keep them safe. While they're doing that are your people willing to sell some of your surplus crops to their home?" Tybar nods eagerly._

" _Indeed. The Wake was constantly forcing us to expand our fields, so now we produce far more than we need. It'll be good to have someone to sell it to."_

" _Nice. So while you're keeping them safe, they sell food to your families back home. That means you're to behave while you're here. No extortion, no threats, and no trying to get back at them for the genophage. And if any of you so much as grunts at one of them in a threatening way," Jane waves Spits forward. Her buddy drops the gnarled remains of Grel's severed head, "I come back and do that to you." The krogan all agree to play nice but she leaves the head to help make the point. As they're getting ready to leave, Teg and Tog say goodbye._

" _Fight well whelp and return to us a warrior." Teg slams a fist to his chest in salute and they leave the world behind. As they head towards the relay, Century reminds her of the probe._

" _Oh yeah. Did it find anything good?"_

" _Indeed. Please examine the results. We believe you shall be pleased." And she was. This was a hell of a find, one Callen will be practically drooling over when she tells him about it._

 _Jane reads the results again, barely able to believe their luck, "Eezo."_


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56 - Call Back**

 _Date_ _: 9.28.2173_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"With reluctant optimism: Her activities in the Terminus are having a dramatic effect. Attacks by the Red Wake inside Citadel space have dropped in frequency by nearly 52%. At this rate, the mercenaries will soon abandon the civilized galaxy entirely." The council all nod in agreement.

"Indeed and it's making waves in Hegemony space. SIU operatives are being deployed left and right to try drumming up more support for pirates or slavers, but it's not working anymore. The stories of young mercs disappearing for months before reappearing in pieces have blunted any enthusiasm from the lower castes. In fact, the Hegemon himself has even stopped calling for resistance against the fabricated stories of human 'encroachment'. Too many young nobles went off to try and make their fortunes and not many of them come back. The few that do are broken men, either in body or spirit. Her viciousness is inspiring many to oppose such scum with greater fury after each attack."

"This one is curious as to the Fulcrum's current activities. Where is she at the moment?"

"We don't know. She's been following Alliance protocol religiously since entering the Terminus?"

"How so?"

"No Alliance operative shall send uncoded transmissions while operating in hostile territory or reveal their true location at any time. The point is to prevent anyone from tracking them down and interfering in their work."

"The Hierarchy operates in a similar fashion… Do we know anything about her plans from here on?"

"I have some information that might _ksssht_ shed some light on this. Recently, Callen Mineral Tech has purchased vast _ksssht_ quantities of new robo mining technology. They are shipping it beyond Omega. _ksssht_ It is almost a guarantee that she's discovered another valuable source of mineral wealth and seeks to exploit it. There is also the matter of her shipyard. She's moving it." That draws a confused babble from them all.

"With nervous perplexion: Why?"

"Moving a shipyard is no laughing matter."

"It'll be horribly vulnerable in transit."

"Will the Alliance provide escort?"

"Please! Everyone calm down…" The babble fades away as Hackett goes on. "It is unknown why she's moving it at this time, though it's possible that the Fulcrum no longer trusts the security of the Home sector. As for an escort, she doesn't need the Alliance. A small fleet of her own Q-ships is providing defense in addition to hauling pieces away."

"Do we know where it is to be reconstructed?"

"No. The Fulcrum has chosen to withhold that information as well."

 _Date_ _: 9.30.2173_

 _Location : Undocumented System - Local Name - Alon_

 **Jane**

" _So, what do you think?" Jane looks over at Callen as he pours through the new numbers. She can hear his heart pounding is his chest._

" _What do I think? What do I… I think you've stumbled onto the holy grail. How is it possible Jane?" Callen looks up from the data pad and pushes his glasses back with a trembling hand._

" _What do you mean?" Callen gives a bitter chuckle._

" _I spent damn near forty years scouring mineral claims throughout human space and barely found enough to keep my company afloat. You on the other hand… how did you manage to stumble across not one, but two miracles in less than ten years? The mountain alone was wonderful but this… this is…" He trails off, unable to find the words._

" _How long before you can start pulling out eezo?" The little man consults his pad again._

" _Two months to move all the gear out here without drawing attention and another three to safely punch through the surface deep enough to start operations. Then we'll need time to set up a secure route to keep this place hidden. I'd say six to eight months before we start seeing revenue from it. It'll be more than worth the wait though. That moon is like King Solomon's diamond mines, Ali Baba's treasure horde, and El Dorado all mixed together." Jane nods happily before turning her eyes to the new ships moving into the system. Three of her Q-ships are escorting a single heavy tug. The tug is pulling one of the spinal mounts for her shipyard. "You mentioned that you were moving something out here. What was it? A shipyard right?" She nods, "How long till it's up and running?"_

" _It'll be back together right before the new mine starts turning a profit."_

" _Why move it out here in the first place?"_

" _People were starting to pay a little too much attention to it back over Jupiter." The last three Q-ships hadn't been as effective as the previous ones. Someone had been identifying them before leaving Sol and sending warnings back to friends in the Terminus. "Not to mention that I want to start building some more… note worthy ships and trying to do that in the heart of the Alliance probably wouldn't go over well." Callen nods sagely, despite having no idea what she means. "Do you have any problems with the cut the colony asked for?"_

" _Not at all. In fact, ten percent is shockingly low for something like this. The standard fee in Alliance space would be twenty five or higher. Are you certain that's all they asked for?"_

" _Tybar's exact words were, and I quote, 'I don't give a Spirits be damned spit about the crap that goes on up there. You can rip whatever you want out of whatever you want, so long as it's not on our planet. Oh but the others said they wanted a ten percent cut. We don't need much here, but a decade of being cut off from the galaxy and the people are itching for some off the luxuries they've been denied.' That's all he'd say on the matter."_

" _I see. So where are you off to next?"_

" _You know that relay at the edge of the system? There are another 24 systems that it links to and the Wake has assets in most of them. We've taken down a few but nothing really substantial beyond this system and Teg's home. We're going to fix that." Further conversation is stymied by Teg's stomping stride. The young krogan has definitely pulled his weight over the last few months. He was eager to please, relatively smart, and the only person that Jane could safely spar with to practice purely physical combat. The only slight problem was his growing 'interest' in Kalia. He'd asked Jane more than once how to woo the female quarian, but she hadn't been able to help._

" _Hey boss, Kal says the new guns are ready to go and Tybar's guys are finished with the trainin. We're good to leave whenever you are." In addition to setting up a surprisingly successful partnership between the turians and krogan, Jane had two full batteries of orbital denial guns smuggled into the Terminus, one set for each new ally. Even during installation, the people ground side had gotten some practice when a small band of pirates had thought to try launching a raid on Tybar's people. Needless to say the result was quite unpleasant for the pirates. The turians were never going to be toyed with again._

 **Teg**

Humans are weird, especially his captain. Most of them, in including Jane, are obsessed with building stuff that doesn't kill things or make things blow up. Yeah she built a lot of cool guns for him, but most of the things she gave him were for testing his smarts, like those 3D puzzles. It made his head hurt trying to figure them out. He still did them though because it made her happy, and when Jane was happy the rest of the crew tended to be happy, especially the little woman that flew the ship. As his thoughts drift towards the way Kalia's hips sway when she walks and her beautiful laugh and the stunningly erotic way she can clock him with a spanner, his captain starts talking to the tiny human next to her again. "Is there anything else you need to get going Joshua?" The little human shakes his head.

"No, I believe I have everything we need. I'll keep you informed." He turns to leave but Teg puts a huge hand on his shoulder. Jane warns him with a glare, so he does his best to be gentle. His first day on her ship ended with him accidentally breaking the gunship pilot's shoulder after he tripped and tried to use Gavin to break his fall. He'd been very careful since then.

"I have a question. You're the rock guy right? The one that pulls stuff out of the ground to sell?" The little human looks to Jane in confusion and his captain shrugs. Callen pushes his glasses up before answering.

"There's a bit more to it than that but that does cover the barest essentials. How can I help you?"

"My mother often speaks of the stone wealth of the world under our home. Could you go there and see if we have something good on the planet that our stations orbit? My mother would give you a good deal on it if you are an honorable man." Callen looks to Jane again, receiving a nod in turn.

"I suppose I can make a quick stop there, so long as you call ahead and let them know I'm coming. I'd rather not risk getting laser scars on my ship's hull. I just got it back after all."

"I will send word. Thank you sir." He gives a respectful bow as his mother taught him to do when saying goodbye to an elder. Callen gives a stiff bow in return before leaving him and Jane behind. They head to the shuttle bay to ride back to the Pale Horse. Gavin still scratches his shoulder every time Teg shows up, much to Teg's continued embarrassment. As they leave the bay, he watches the rock guy's ship come into view. At first he'd thought it was a warship, given its immense size, but Jane had cleared that up. Apparently the kilometer and half behemoth was just a big ore hauler, a heavily armed and armored ore hauler, but an ore hauler all the same.

"It's one of his family's ships. He's been trying to get it back for years now. Good to see it back with who it belongs." Teg nods as the ship, named the Sinum Currus, starts pushing away from them. "You ready to get back to work Teg?" He nods with a toothy grin. His captain got him some good fights. She didn't always let him come, but when she did it was always a good time.

 _Date_ _: 10.13.2173_

 _Location : Undocumented System 3-6_

 **Teg**

He stomps behind his captain, splattering mercenaries into paste with the hammer he took from Grel's corpse. They arrived at the station an hour ago and the fighting hasn't stopped yet. Jane said something about captive scientists that needed rescuing. The asari is on her way to the core with Kal and Kaiden, which made it even more fun for him. It meant that he got to fight more people. He still had to move fast though. If he doesn't, Jane will get everybody. His father had always said that aliens just didn't get it when it came to appreciating a good fight, but the humans in his new crew were proving that wrong. Even the grey haired doctor could knock a tooth out when she was angry. But none of them hold a candle to his captain. She rips people apart with her bare hands or cuts them to shreds with those fancy swords. Jane moves just like the sword dancers that his mother used to tell stories about. They guard the old tombs on the home world, cutting down anyone foolish enough to approach. Her varren stays right by her side the whole way, ripping chunks of flesh away with tusk and talon or crushing its prey with brute strength. The beast would have been a champion pit fighter back home, but that would be a total waste of such an impressive animal.

They reach the final doorway to the command center. His captain starts to pull out explosives but Teg is too excited to wait. He charges forward, swinging his hammer with all his might. The heavy door buckles under the monstrous impact, leaving the way clear for him to surge through the hatch and straight into a wall of gunfire. His shields take the brunt of the shots, giving him just enough time to barrel into the man at the center of the room. The batarian screams as Teg tramples him before swinging his hammer into the turians beyond. The fringe heads don't have time to utter a sound as his weapon's impact sends the three of them crashing into the wall with a crunch. A heavy shot clips his hand, breaking through his shields and hitting just hard enough to numb the hand.

Unable to swing the hammer properly with only one hand, Teg drops it so he can draw the pistol his captain gave him. The little gun didn't look like much but it kicked like a harvester and it's explosive rounds make a mockery of the enemy's defensive. Merc heads, torsos, and limbs are pulped as he pans from left to right, laughing heartily with each shot. As he turns to the last group, he sees his captain dancing on between them, slashing through them with ease, leaving three steaming piles of mercenary behind. With those three dead the fighting stops and his captain eyes him with concern. "Are you okay Teg?"

"Yeah, why?" She points to his torso where there are a dozen small holes leaking blood. He hadn't even felt the bullets get through his armor. As he thinks about it the feeling starts to show up, a mix of soreness and an awful itching sensation, just like when his four year old sister stabbed him in the leg for taking her favorite hammer away after she wouldn't stop hitting people with it. "Ehh it's fine. I'll regenerate pretty quick. What about you?" She mirrors his confusion and he points to her left leg. Dark red blood is slowly seeping from a pair of holes in the plate.

"Dammit… Come to think of it, that does itch like a bitch. Let's wrap things up so I can get the plate off and scratch it properly." Strangely enough, his captain could regenerate almost as fast as he could. He'd asked the doctor about it a couple times but she kept saying that only Jane had the right to answer that and he didn't want to bother her with it.

"Dammit Teg, I wanted to kill him." Jane's kneeling next to the flattened body of the batarian leader, gouging out his eyes. "Guess I'll have to move faster next time. Bet you fifty credits that next time you and I storm a command center together, I'll kill the guy in charge."

"Make it a hundred at you gotta deal." They share a laugh and shake hands, sealing the wager. Jane steps over to a console near the door. She waves her omnitool over the panel and Century calls out over the control center's speakers.

"Security penetrated, deleting local personnel security clearance… completed. Replacing with Pale Horse crew… completed. You and the others now have complete access to the station."

"Good. Standard procedure Century. Cut off oxygen to all sections not holding captives and flood them with carbon monoxide."

"That will not be necessary this time Shepard Jane. The bulk of the Red Wake presence has been exterminated and Lia Not-Justicar is currently ending the last few survivors… amended, the Wake presence has been terminated in totality." Jane chuckles when Lia calls an all clear.

"Well that's nice. Okay Century, find any captives on board and start directing us to them."

"Captive."

"What?"

"Examination of station records indicate the presence of only a single captive, a salarian quantum physicist, first imprisoned by the Red Wake 2.23 Terran years ago. In addition, information indicates that this salarian has escaped Red Wake custody on no fewer than 36 occasions, including an escape immediately preceding our arrival."

"Do you know where he is right now?"

"Affirmative. Station sensors indicate that he is attempting to access the hanger containing Blue. Our consensus theorizes that he intends to steal the vessel in order to flee the station." Jane immediately sprints out of the room, quickly leaving Teg behind. He can't blame her. That gunship is a work of art and someone was tryin to steal it.

 **Jane**

 _She's swearing for the entire sprint to the hanger. Century is trying to keep the doors locked down, but this salarian is apparently an expert at breaking through cyber security. "Warning, our lockdown is being overridden. Estimate thirty seconds before the door is open." She pushes herself even harder, ignoring the building pain in her thigh. The two shots in her leg aren't doing her any favors. Jane rounds the final corner just in time to see the bay doors open a hundred yards away. She can spot a salarian ducking inside as the doors slide shut._

" _Century! Get the doors open!"_

" _We are attempting to, however new protocols are producing a random pattern of unintelligible data that we are having difficulties breaking through. We recommend manual entry." Jane smiles at his name for it._

" _Copy that! Manual entry it is." Jane builds up a huge surge of energy and launches herself with an overpowered biotic charge. On impact the doors are blown apart by the discharging energy, staggering her for a second after returning to the ground. Their 'rescue' target has just climbed into Blue. The salarian points a pistol towards Gavin and shouts at her, "Stay back! Do not want to hurt anyone but will do what I must! Will not be slave for Red Wake or anyone else!"_

 _Jane raises a hand in a placating gesture, "Take it easy friend. We have no intention to make you or anyone else into a slave. We actually came here to free slaves." The pistol wavers slightly but stays pointed at Gavin's head. Then Teg stomps into the bay. The salarian let's the gun drift ever so slightly in their direction, giving Jane a safe window to act. She pulls the weapon out of his hand with a biotic surge and it discharges, missing Gavin by inches. The weapon clatters to the ground as Jane storms over. Not ready to surrender, the salarian pulls of a knife and presses a button on its hilt. The knife starts emitting a high pitched keening sound that painfully resounds in her ears. She's stunned for a moment which lets the salarian lunge at her._

 _Kinetic shields only activate when something moves towards you at high speed, which means they do next to nothing against melee weapons. Biotic barriers are another story altogether. They tended to block anything at any speed as long as you were powerful enough, which just makes it even more surprising when the salarian's knife passes through her personal barrier to gouge a small furrow through her left vambrace. She jerks away from the still keening blade in confusion, "How the fu-" He lunges at Jane again, aiming for her face this time._

" _Come on boss! You can take him!" Teg is cheering from a few yards away. He never interfered when Jane was fighting somebody one on one._

" _I'm not trying to hurt him Teg!"_

" _Oh…" Jane backs up to try and talk the Salarian down._

" _Just take it easy buddy! We're not trying to-" Another swipe, this time it claws into her palm, drawing blood. "Ow! Oh that's it you little fucker!" Tired of trying to play nice, Jane grabs his wrist and twists. She knows his bones are approaching their breaking point, "Either drop the knife or I shatter the wrist! I don't want to hurt you, but you're really pissing me off!" Jane starts adding pressure to his wrist. She can feel the tissue beginning to buckle just as he relents and lets the knife clatter to the floor. Jane breaths a sigh of relief, right before he pulls another knife with his other hand. He tries to stab at her again, but Teg's fist closes around his hand._

" _That's enough idiot! Boss is tryin to help and all you're doin is gettin yourself hurt!" The salarian looks up at Teg, then back to Jane. Finally he sighs in surrender, releasing the hold on his other knife._

" _Very well… Caught again. Intend to try and hold me like vermin before? Not end well, will escape!" He speaks a mile a minute, almost as fast as Mirdan's nephew. "Don't care what you do! Will not make weapons, will not help cause pain!"_

 _Jane crouches down in front of him, "How many times do I have to say it buddy? We didn't come here for any reason other than freeing the people being held here. I was told there were several scientist imprisoned by the Wake, but apparently that was a lie. What's your name?"_

 _The salarian glares at her for a moment, gauging the value of answering. "Taseen… Valern Taseen… Serious about coming to help?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Then I am free?"_

" _Yup. Come back to our ship and we can give you a ride back to council space after when blow this place up."_

" _NO! Do not destroy! All instruments are here! Years of research!"_

" _Wait, I thought you were a prisoner here."_

" _Not always, was my lab before Wake's coming. Ostracized by citadel scientific community. Unconventional ideas and research into relay travel, frowned upon by entrenched communities… also may have accidentally vaporized one or two assistants. Not on purpose, but still happened." The name finally clicks and Jane's eyes go wide._

" _Hold on, you said you're name is Valern Taseen, right?" He nods, "I've heard of you. You published a doctoral thesis on the relay's. What was it called…? Oh yeah! 'An examination, deconstruction, and theoretical approach to understanding and replicating the FTL capabilities of mass relays.' I read it years ago, it was brilliant! Why would that get you kicked out of council space?"_

" _Suggested choosing non-critical relay in uninhabited system to experiment on. Proposal rejected, tried anyway. May have… accidentally… blown up star system…." Now she remembers. The major news outlets had done their best to vilify the doctor for the incident and not one of them had ever mentioned the reasons behind what happened. They just built him up as some kind of super villain or what not. "Salarian councillor at time sent warning of impending arrest. Gave time to flee to Terminus. Used contacts on Omega and beyond to set up station. Spent years trying to put together resources to resume experiments. Was nearly there when Red Wake attacked two years ago. Tried to force me to make weapons but refused… still failed to stop them. Stole research, created crude tech. Viable, incredibly dangerous, but crude. Expense monolithic, inhibitive to mass production." Jane is struggling to keep her feelings hidden. He doesn't know what happened with his research, so maybe he's telling the truth._

" _So you're research could be used to develop weapons to bypass heavy defenses?" Taseen's eyes widen and he backs away._

" _Already said will not make weapons." Jane shakes her head._

" _That's not what I want. If your research can help penetrate biotic barriers, does that mean you could develop a countermeasure?" Taseen tilts his head back and closes his eyes for a moment._

" _Theoretically possible. Would likely involve changes to biotic technique for most part rather than tech, but an interesting field for potential research. Not my expertise though. Seek to understand relays and hope to one day render them obsolete." Taseen sighs heavily. "Will take years to recover from Wake occupation though, so much time wasted…"_

" _What would it take to get you going again?" Taseen chuckles bitterly._

" _One, two billion credits."_

" _How soon do you need it?" He looks at her with suspicion._

" _Do not like being teased…_

" _I'm serious. If I agree to fund you, what else do you need to get going again?" Taseen starts hyperventilating, practically chittering in excitement._

" _Funding would cover most issues. Would use funds to secure materials and capable assistants. Also need to acquire qualified defense force. Hidden station defenses significant, but useless after enemy lands on station."_

" _I'll make you a deal Taseen. I'll give you the funding you need and give you a defense force if you agree to two conditions." Taseen grabs her by the shoulders._

" _Name them!" She gently pries his hands off._

" _First, you share all the data you gather with me. Second, you give me results. This isn't some bullshit government deal where you keep getting funding just because what you're doing sounds good. No forward progress after a reasonable period of time, no more funding… Agreed?"_

" _Absolutely. Terms more than reasonable. Can begin with twenty million credits in beginning but will need at least fifty percent of promised funds by end of year, rest inside six months. Promise to keep up to date." Jane and Taseen go over a few more details, mostly ways he can contact her or acquire outside help without without giving away anything important. When that's done, Jane contacts Alamara._

" _Greetings Jane Shepard. Are you're battles going well?"_

" _Yes they are. Listen, I've got an idea and I wanted to see if your people would be interested. You've got a lot of idle warriors right now, yes?"_

" _Indeed. Without the Wake tithes, many of or warriors currently lack purpose. It is not a problem at the moment, but eventually something will need to be done. Do you have a solution."_

" _I think so. What do you think about going into the private security business?" Two full days of negotiation later between Alamara and Tybar's people, the Dun-Alon Security company was formed. Co-headed by a set of krogan twins and a turian with bright red eyes, the company was a curious amalgam of brute force, coupled with iron discipline… at least it's going to be. For now, Jane is just glad they're willing to work together. One of her Q-ships drops off a dozen men to help protect the station, along with a old krogan 'scientist' to assist Taseen until proper help can be hired. Jane gives the new defenders their instructions before bidding them farewell and heading back to the ship._

 _That evening, she's reclining is her turian style bed with Spits, flipping through some of Century's files, trying to pick their next target. Most of the potential targets are relatively low threat or low reward. She's about to settle for a tiny group of idiots running a 'casino' two systems over when her comm panel flashes a call alert. With nothing better to do, Jane climbs out of bed to answer. It's a surprise when she sees Aethyta's comm codes. "Hey Aethyta, what's up?"_

" _Plenty, but first how're things out wherever you are?"_

" _Pretty good, little slow right now but good. What about there?"_

" _They've been better."_

" _Why do you say that?"_

" _It's the general."_

" _...What happened?"_

" _It hasn't happened yet, but it won't be much longer. He's already past the average lifespan for a turian. It's only a matter of time."_

" _Is there anything that can be done?"_

" _Not unless you've learned how to cure being old since you left." Jane grimaces in annoyance and it draws a tiny smile from Aethyta, "But seriously kiddo, he's asking for you."_

" _Me? Why?" Aethyta rolls her eyes._

" _You know damn well why Jane. Can you come back soon?"_

" _How long does he have?"_

" _Gallia gives him about two weeks, if that." Jane mulls it over for a minute before coming to a decision._

" _We can be back in a week. Go ahead and tell him I'm coming." Aethyta thanks her before closing the channel. Jane starts making a few calls. There are a few things she needs to put in motion before leaving. Once things are good, Jane calls the bridge and Gavin answers. He covers for Kalia whenever she needed a break from the helm._

" _Hey Jane, what's up?"_

" _Set a course for Liseera. Get us there as quickly as you can."_

" _Got it." The deck trembles slightly with the course correction as Jane pulls the dagger from her thigh and lays back down in bed. She's still re-reading the inscription when they hit the relay_

 _Date_ _: 10.15.2173_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Taracus**

It's taken months to set up but he's finally receiving a return call from the Spectre. Their friend in Citadel space never shows his face to them, so it's no surprise when his image is shrouded in shadow, "This had better be good boy, I am a very busy man." The condescension dripping from his voice is almost to much to bear.

"I apologize Spectre, but this matter is of the utmost importance. The Wake is being slowly but surely strangled to death. We-" The Spectre cuts him off.

"Yes, I heard about that. I also heard that it's the humans doing it. Something to be truly ashamed of." He grinds his teeth at the insult.

"Not the humans Spectre… a single human."

"What was that? I don't think I heard you correctly boy. If I'm not mistaken, you just said that it was a single human destroying you."

"Well she has a crew, but without her this wouldn't be happening." The Spectre snorts in derision.

"This is pathetic. The Red Wake! Mightiest of mercenary organizations is being destroyed by a mere human. Do not waste my time with such trash boy!" The Spectre is about to close the channel when Taracus shouts.

"Wait sir! Please! At least review the footage before casting judgement!" He transfers the files as quickly as possible and waits… and waits… and waits. He waits so long that eventually he starts to think that perhaps some kind of glitch has severed the connection. Then the Spectre speaks again.

"Fascinating. Perhaps I judged you fools to quickly. This is indeed worth my time, I shall handle her… for a modest fee of course."

"Of course sir… Name your price." The Spectre chuckles at his immediate acquiescence.

"Good. My price is two hundred million credits and four assassination teams to take care of some choice targets. These teams need to be comprised entirely of humans. Don't want to waste any good blood on suicide missions." Taracus cringes at the idea of knowingly sending any man to a meaningless death, but they have no choice. The Spectre is the only real chance they have at stopping her now.

"We agree to your price Spectre."


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57 - Penance**

 _Date_ _: 10.22.2173_

 _Location : Liseeran High Orbit_

 **Jane**

 _A good chunk of the crew is getting ready to head down to the colony just as the ship settles into high orbit. Jane herself is switching into some light plating, covering it with a dark red tabard that Miranda bought for her birthday. Once the plates are settled and her bond blade is back on her thigh, Jane calls over the intercom, "Okay everybody, if you're coming down to the surface you need to be in the hanger and ready to go in one hour. We'll be down there for two days. I expect nothing but your best behavior. If you don't think you can manage that, stay on the ship." Before heading to the hanger, Jane sends a call to the surface, "Hey Aethyta. We're in orbit and getting ready to come down. A few members of my crew have asked to come down, do you mind?"_

" _Bring em on kiddo. You used the comm line I told you to use right?"_

" _Yeah, but something strange happened. I remember you saying how much of a bitch it was to get the queens to let me come in the beginning, so I was expecting a bit of a fight. Weird thing is, not one of them objected. In fact, most of them seemed almost desperate to approve. One of them even gave me carte blanche over anything involving Liseera. Do you know what the deal is?" Aethyta looks worried._

" _Not quite. I know something happened to a few of them back then, but none of my people can get any more details. Don't worry about it kid, I'll take care of it. So who all's coming down?"_

" _Well, there's me, Spits, and Gavin obviously. My doctor wants to come down, along with Vollor our cook and John, he's a friend we picked up along the way. Nice guy, good fighter, better medic. Kal and Kalen are staying up here. Teg wants to come down with Kalia to try and convince her to go for a walk with him." Aethyta starts bouncing her eyebrows and whistles, "Yeah, yeah. Kaiden's coming too."_

" _Sounds great kid. I'll have Mags start cooking. It'll be ready after you visit with the general."_

" _I was also thinking of asking Lia to come down with me." Aethyta's glare could freeze a star. They stare at eachother for almost a full minute before speaking._

" _I don't think that's a good idea Jane. I'd rather not have her down here." Okay, it's time for some answers._

" _Alright Aethyta, I get being angry at her after… after it happened, but you hated her even before that. You are the most easy going person I've ever known. What the hell happened to make you hate her so much?" Aethyta's eye twitches a few times and Jane can tell she's struggling to keep her temper in check, which is telling in and of itself._

" _Tell you what kiddo. Ask her. You ask her, and if you still think she should come down with you, I won't object to it… Let's see if she has the guts to tell you." Aethyta turns away to speak to someone off screen. When she turns back, there's a new scowl on her face, "Something's come up Jane, gotta close the call. Let me know when you're on the way down, I'll meet you on the pad."_

" _Is something wrong?"_

" _No, no. Just something I need to take care of. I'll see you soon." The call closes and Jane heads over to Lia's room to talk. The asari is sitting on her bed, gently running her hand over a small sky blue pendant while whispering a prayer in asari highspeak. Jane knocks to get her attention._

" _Hello Jane. Have we arrived?" She nods, "Have a good time on the surface. I'll stay here. Won't be too many dangers to protect you from down there." Jane sighs before pulling a chair from under the nearby desk._

" _Look Lia, I know something happened between you and Aethyta a long time before we met. She is the most easy going person I've ever known and yet whenever you're around it's like a switch gets flipped. The fun if slightly lazy matriarch disappears to be replaced by an icy bitch with an axe to grind. No more deflecting, no more delaying. What the hell happened between you two?"_

 _Lia looks down at the pendant in her hand, "She told to ask didn't she?"_

" _Yeah… She said she wanted to see if you had the guts to tell me." Lia's head dips down a little further._

" _Before I tell you, understand that she is right to hate me. And she has good reason to think that I'd be too afraid to tell you. There is a decent chance that you'll decide to kill me after I tell you." Jane flinches at that. Lia genuinely looks afraid. "Do you remember talking about you future with… with her?" She nods at Lia, "Did she ever mention something called the time of wandering? It's something every young maiden from Liseera does when they're ready. Aethyta did it, Allytha did it… I did it." Jane eyes her suspiciously, "Yes Jane, I am originally from Liseera. There is something you need to know before I go on."_

" _Aethyta is your mother." Lia is stunned._

" _How did you know that?"_

" _You two have the exact same angle to curves on your head crests. Not just close, it's an_ _ **exact**_ _match. The likelihood of two asari having identical crest positioning, angle, and coloration, without being mother and daugher, is two point four billion to one. So I thought it was a good bet." Lia nods at her._

" _I guess I should have expected you to pick up on that."_

" _I wasn't sure until you told me you were from Liseera."_

" _Right. Anyway, when my time of wandering came I followed the typical maiden pattern. I spent a few decades drifting from colony to colony, doing pretty much whatever I wanted. Singing, dancing, and I even dabbled in prostitution for one shameful year. Eventually I wound up Ilium. There was an offer from a friend to join an organization called the Last Eclipse, a precursor to the modern merc group. People bleat and complain about the mercs' murder ritual, but it used to be worse. In modern times, it just has to be a murder, anyone and anywhere. Soldier, tailor, priest, merchant, gang member, rapist, it doesn't matter. When I tried to join… it had to be an unarmed civilian…"_

 _Date_ _: 5.2.2077_

 _Location : Passenger Liner - Adrift between Relay's_

 **Lia**

Her heart is pounding in her chest as the torch cuts through the Liner's hatch, 'I can do this. I **can** do this. I… I can do this…' She's struggling just to convince herself, let alone the hardened mercenaries behind her and the other recruits. They have to prove their dedication to the organization, which means she has to do this. 'I can do this.' Her rifle weighs a thousand pounds more than it did earlier. The shotgun at her back is even worse. The cutter finishes her work and use a biotic push to clear the new doorway.

"Move it meat! Clear the ship and prove yourselves!" There are a gaurds but not enough. A few of her fellow aspirants fall to incoming fire, but the rest just flood the hall with bullets, slaying the guards easily. Kelti, the scarred matron leading this little expedition, gives her a shove, "Spread out you scum! Pick a door, fire a few AP rounds through it, then move in and finish the job!" Most of her fellow recruits excitedly charge down the halls. Screams echo down the corridors but each one is quickly silenced by gunfire, followed by the laughter of a brand new sister for Last Eclipse. Her mother had warned her about trying to become a mercenary, about the price.

'I can do this.' The mantra has been bouncing around in her head for days now and it's still far from convincing. Malan, her best friend in the galaxy is shaking madly as she chooses her own door before firing through it. Malan looks queasy as the door slides open. Lia settles for a door near the end of the corridor and aims her rifle at it. She tries to pull the trigger, tries to make her finger work, 'I can do this.' A short twitch is all it takes. Her finger pulls the trigger lightly, sending twenty shots through door in a two second burst. Lia lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. 'I did it… I actually did it.' Her elation is shot down in flames as a piercing wail fills the air. "No… no, no, no, no, no, no…" Lia almost can't push the control, but she needs to know. The panel flashes once and the door slides open. A old asari matriarch is lying atop a large capsule, two holes in her back along with several in the pod itself. The tiny scream is coming from the capsule.

She inches closer, dread building in her chest. Lia recognizes the seal embroidered on the asari's back, the seal soaked in blood. A gentle touch to the shoulder is all it takes for the body to slide away. When Lia sees the face her heart shatters. It's Ilian, the matriarch that sired her with Aethyta. Before the full horror of that realization can settle in, another wail from the perforated capsule pulls her back. She creeps closer, begging the goddess for mercy that will never come. Lia pulls the blanket from atop the capsule before crying out in horror. There's blood everywhere and only one of the three infants inside is shrieking. She stumbles away from the capsule, bile flooding her throat. Lia stumbles into the corner and empties her stomach. She's still heaving when Kelti steps in to scowl at her, "What the hell's wrong with you whelp?!" The matron spots the bodies before scrunching her nose at the wail still coming from the pod. "A good start new meat. Ice the runt and let's go."

 **Kelti**

She turns her back on the hesitating maiden to answer her comms, "Yeah I hear you. Get the jammers going. We don't need to communicate that much and I don't want a distress call getting out."

"Got it boss. Scans got you still in the passenger area. What's the deal?"

"Ahh one of the rookies is hesitating," the sound of a shotgun priming behind her draws a smile, "Never mind. Sounds like she's found her guts. Hit the jammer and keep it going unless the authorities arrive."

"Got it. Talk later boss." The channel closes and the comm net quickly goes down as the jammer floods every channel with white noise.

Kelti turns back to their newest sister, "Well kid? What takin so...long?" She has only a moment to take it in. The barrel of the shotgun looks a thousand miles wide, an endless abyss ready to swallow everything in the universe. The eyes of the wielder are completely blank as she pulls the trigger.

 **Lia**

Kelti's body falls to the floor, minus a head. Leaving the screaming infant behind for the moment, Lia steps outside and closes the door behind her, heading for the hatch leading back to their ship. A few taps on a nearby panel closes the security door and seals it. The encryption is extremely basic, but enough for now. Lia moves for the nearest open door to find her next target. Inside is a maiden only slightly older than her, looting the two bodies on the floor. One was a pregnant asari and the other is her elcor husband who'd apparently died trying to shield her, but flesh couldn't stop armor piercing shots. The maiden looks up at her with a vicious smile, "Good haul, right Lia?" She smiles until Lia levels her shotgun. "Wha-" Her head disappears in flash of violet gore. Before the body has even fallen to the ground, Lia moves on.

She works way through the entire ship, sealing every segment behind her using the encryption techniques that her now deceased sire taught her. They aren't all that impressive, but they don't need to be. They only need to hold long enough for her to go to work. With the comms black out from the jammer, no one can call out a warning. Most of them never even see her coming. For all their problems with each other, Lia always paid attention to the lessons her parents taught her, especially those covering how to track people and how to move without being seen. Each Eclipse sister, old or new, doesn't realize the danger until the shotgun is in their face. One blast for every sister, that's all she gives. Even Kelti's second in command, a matriarch with almost a millennia of combat experience, loses her head without ever seeing Lia coming. The last asari alive on the Liner, other than her, is Malan and she's frantically pounding on the door back to the ship they arrived on. Malan was never any good at hacking.

Lia doesn't try to be quiet as she approaches. Malan turns at the sound of her approach, "Lia! Something's happened to the others. Somebody killed-" Her eyes shoot open as Lia aims her shotgun, "You? Why?" A blast takes Malan in the stomach. She falls to her knees, clutching her gut. Lia steps closer to level the weapon at Malan's face, "Wait! We're frie-" Her best friend's mortal remains slump to the ground and Lia releases the encryption on the door. Back on the Eclipse ship, she gets to work. The comm blackout is still in effect, making it easy to kill without consequence. The crew is small, most of them having fallen to her shotgun on the Liner. Lia sneaks onto the bridge and blows the pilot's head off without making a sound. The engineer drowns in her own blood after taking a shot center mass. Tass the cook takes a full spread to the back and is left to bleed to death. The last survivor manages to escape over to the Liner while Lia is bashing the doctor's head in with the butt of her shotgun. Before pursuing she deactivates the comm jammer.

In a quirk of fate, the merc is trying to hide in the same room as the pod when Lia finds her. The merc begs for her life but to no avail. One final blast takes her head off. The body falls to the floor moments before the shotgun clatters onto the deck. Lia strips off her armor, steps over to the crib, and lifts the still screaming infant to her chest. She numbly strides onto the bridge to activate the automated distress call. "To anyone in range, this is an automated distress call for the vessel Liseeran Star. We are adrift and require immediate assistance. To anyone in range, this is an automated distress call for the vessel Liseeran Star. We are adrift and require immediate assistance." She walks back to the stateroom with her sire's body and waits, gently cradling the weeping baby.

It only takes a few hours for help to come. The rescue team storms the ship with weapons drawn and fury stoked. What they find is an absolute bloodbath. Dozens of dead mercs, along with plenty of murdered civilians, adults and children alike. The only spot of light is a shellshocked maiden holding a screaming baby. A recovered manifest identifies the child, along with the her slaughtered sisters and her nanny. They can only assume the asari with her is a relative of some kind. After determining the Liner's destination, the authorities escort the two girls home.

 _Date_ _: 5.5.2077_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Aethyta**

She's waiting with Nezzy on the pad. Her family Liner was delayed by something, but the detective in charge kept dodging her everytime she asked, and Ilian still hasn't called. This is the last time she lets the girls go to grandma's without her. An asari republics shuttle gently drifts down from the sky to settle on the pad. A full honor guard steps out, grim faced and silent. Behind them, a commander from the patrol that assisted her Liner steps forward, "Ladies Aethys, T'soni, we… I…"

"Spit it out commander." The commander continues to stammer until another asari steps through the hatch. For just a moment Aethyta's heart swells with joy. It's Lia, come home for the first time in almost two decades, and in her arms is one of her half sister's. As the young maiden gets closer, a disturbing sense of wrongness settles in Aethyta's gut. Lia's eyes are wide, glassy even. She gets close enough to pass her burden to Aethyta. The little one is fast asleep as Lia hands her over. "What happened kiddo? Did you hop onboard at Thessia?" Lia starts hyperventilating and the tears start falling.

"Mother… I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Now she's really worried.

"Sorry about what? Where's Ilian and Liara's sisters?" Lia just gets more frantic.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" As the girl's apologies gets more and more frantic, Aethyta hears a shriek of horror from Nezzy. Her bondmate has fallen to her knees, weeping uncontrollably. She follows her gaze back to the ship and sees a trio of black draped pods being pushed out of the shuttle by black robed asari. Her entire world is falling into an abyss as Lia runs away from the pad screaming.

 _Date_ _: 10.22.2173_

 _Location : Liseeran High Orbit_

 **Jane**

 _Her stomach is in a knot as the story winds down. "It took her three days to come for me. I'd gone to the temple to… I don't know. Maybe I went to beg for forgiveness or to just scream for the hell I deserved. She honestly thought that I'd just gotten on the ship at Thessia and fought off the Eclipse, but she started to figure it out pretty quick. Between the apologies and the stuff I kept screaming, it didn't take much longer. Two days later, with the entire family gathered, my sire and two of my sisters were given to the fires of Liseera. I couldn't bare to show my face so I knelt by the channel a few hundred yards away, waiting for Lady Aethys to come for me. She didn't disappoint. I thought she was going to kill me… but no such luck. 'You don't get to run away from this!' That's all she had to say. Instead of demanding my death, she demanded my life… all of it. To atone for my sins, I was condemned to a lifetime of service to the justicar order, over nine hundred years. It's not unheard of for maidens to join, but I was the youngest in history at sixty. After that, she disowned me. Not long after, her marriage to Matriarch Benezia fell apart. The people that ask why get all sorts of answers but I know the real one. Benezia couldn't stand to look at her anymore or anyone from Liseera for that matter."_

 _Jane is floored. She'd expected something bad, but not this. "I… I don't know what to say…"_

 _Lia can't look at her, "There's nothing to say. I deserve the hate, the rage, the pain." She holds the pendant in front of Jane, "My sire had this around her neck that day. The day I killed her. I keep it to remind me of my sins everyday, so that I'll always remember why she is dead. You asked me why Lady Aethys hates me so much. She hates me because I murdered half her family and destroyed a loving marriage. No pity... please, I don't deserve it. Don't look at me as anything other than what I am, a murderer condemned to eternal service as penance." There is nothing she can say. Jane tries to speak but can't find the words, so Lia carefully takes her hand. "Go ahead to the surface Jane. I'll be here, ready for whatever comes next. And when it's over, I'll return to the order and never darken this place again." Jane nods numbly before leaving Lia behind._

 _The trip down is smooth, most of her crew sharing small talk as they break the atmosphere. None of them bother her. They can tell she's in a mood. As Blue settles onto the pad Jane spots a small crowd waiting for them. Most of them are the young girls that Jane and Niria used give basic self defense training to. Then there's Nomila who runs forward and tackles Gavin as soon as he's out of the ship. Aethyta is there too. After the hellos are finished and her crewmates have escorts, Aethyta shoos everybody away. "So, I see she's not here… Did she tell you?"_

" _Yeah… Look, I know I can't really understand what you all went through back then so all I'll say is this. I… I won't bother either of you about the whole thing anymore. It's not something I could possibly help with." Aethyta nods sadly._

" _Yep. It's pretty fucked up…" They stand in awkward silence for a few minutes, "Okay, enough with all that. The general's waiting." She walks behind Aethyta as they head for the local medbay._

" _How is he?"_

" _About as good as a hundred thirty one year old turian can be. Thanks for coming Jane. It'll mean a lot to him." They arrive in the medbay in short order. Multiple turian officers are waiting just outside the general's room. They look at her with a mix of respect and annoyance. A elderly female turian stops them just outside the door._

" _Matriarch," the female bows to Aethyta before turning to Jane, "Is this the human my uncle's been calling for?"_

" _Yes Tarat, this is Jane Shepard." The turian looks her over a few times before nodding approvingly._

" _My uncle speaks very highly of you miss. Please step inside… He doesn't have much time left." Jane nods and enters the room. The general is laying in a bed with multiple monitors quietly pinging away on the wall behind him. There are two tubes feeding heavily filtered air into his nostrils along with a few IVs plugged into his arms. Anatria is sitting next to him. After seeing Jane, she whispers into his ear._

" _She has come my love." The general's clouded eyes slowly open and he sees her. His mandibles twitch in a slight smile as he speaks in a thin, almost hollow voice._

" _Jane Shepard… thank… thank you for coming." He turns to Anatria, "My dear, may I speak with her privately." Anatria smiles sadly. She kisses him on the forehead before standing and stepping outside. Jane stands in silence, unsure of what to do. "Aethyta has… has spoken of your work… In the Verge and the Terminus… I once told you that I thought I'd have… been proud to have you… as a daughter-in-law. Now I know… for certain. This… Red Wake… I ask, no... I beg you… kill them all. Every. Last. One. For my daughter… for every other daughter they've murdered." He holds out a palsied hand to her._

 _Jane takes the trembling hand as gently as she can, "I will. Every soldier, every slaver, every pilot. All of them will die is blood and fire. I swear to God." The general takes a few weezing breaths, barely managing to breath without choking._

 _When he finally gets himself under control again he points to the blade on her thigh, "There is one more thing…" Jane leans in close, "I see you still wear Niria's bond blade…"_

" _Always."_

 _He gives a wet chuckle, "I… admire your devotion to her. Wear it for everyday of… the hunt… Especially make sure to wear it when… when you make the final kill. And once it is done… once they are all dead… please… remove the blade and move on."_

" _What?!"_

" _As much as I know that… that you loved her… My beloved daughter is gone. It will do you… no good to dwell on her memory… Keep her close… hold tight to the love and rage… until the day it is done. Then... when they… lie slain at your feet… let her go. I was once in your position… My first love was slain by traitors… I chased them for years, through the conflicts called… the ninth secession war. It made me famous, but it consumed me… When it was over… when I had destroyed them… I had nothing else. Spent decades wallowing in hatred… Mindless, meaningless hatred. Would have died like that, drunk with… despair. But Anatria… my second love… saved me. Pulled me away from the abyss. I know that… that Niria would want you to… to be happy. So please… when the job is done… let her spirit ease into eternity. I beg you… do not lose yourself to the darkness… It would break her heart if… if her death destroyed you as well…" She's crying as he speaks. The very idea of letting go tears at her soul. The general raises a shaking talon to her cheek to brush away a tear. "Promise me… promise that you will find… something to live for… Some reason to go on beyond revenge… Please…"_

" _I…" It's almost impossible to speak. Her chest is filled with lead. "I… promise. I'll… I'll try." The general smiles up at her._

" _That makes me happier… than you can… possibly imagine. Please ask my mate to… return. We have much to say… and not much time to say it in." Jane steps out and gestures for Anatria to return. She makes her way from the medbay in tears, with the sound of two people saying their last goodbye echoing behind her._

 _General Niratan Vultas, hero of the ninth secession war, passed away on October 22 at 2200 hours. His funeral was presided over by nearly four hundred surviving veterans of the war, most of them generals and admirals, along with hundreds of his closest family and friends. He'd opted to follow his daughter's example and was given to the fires of Liseera once the ceremonies were complete. As the people slowly began to filter away, the last four by the channel were his beloved wife, her cousin, a weeping human, and a lone varren howling sadly into the sky._

 _Date_ _: 10.24.2173_

 _Location : Liseera_

 **Gallia**

In a frightening echo of that horrible time, she finds Jane kneeling by the channel. She has her bond blade resting in her lap and she's talking to someone. Gallia can barely make out what's being said, "God, so much has happened. We've been hunting them down, killing them wherever we find them but… but that doesn't feel like enough anymore. When I lost you, all I could think about was revenge. And I thought that when the time came and they were all dead, that I would try to join you… but now… Please God, I hope you don't hate me for this. When the job is done, I'm going to do what I can to move on. I'll always love you, but I promised your father that revenge won't consume me…" This isn't something for others to listen in on. She tries to sneak away without drawing attention, but she should have known better. "I can hear you Gallia. Either come talk to me or go away." Gallia makes her way over to sit next to Jane.

"You were talking to Niria… weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"I think she'd be happy at what you had to say."

"Maybe… I can only pray." Jane takes her bond blade and make a shallow cut in her palm. She flicks a small spread of blood into the channel before standing up. Spits trots over to rub against her leg. Jane holds out the uncut hand to Gallia to help her stand back up. "Was there something you needed?"

The reason she sought out Jane is on the tip of her tongue, begging to be told. It wouldn't take much, just a few words and the secret would be out. She almost says it, almost reveals the terrible truth. "I… I just wanted to let you know that everyone is saying their goodbyes. Aethyta is also sending some extra food from Mags, along with a few of the General's contact sources inside the Hierarchy. He had friends and he wanted to share them with you." Jane nods at her.

"Okay, thanks Gallia. Anything else?" Again, the secret surges to the fore, desperate for release.

"...No. I just wanna say good luck out there." Jane shakes her hand and heads for the landing pad, leaving Gallia alone with her thoughts.

 **Jane**

 _Everybody else had a pretty good time. Gavin was grinning ear to ear as Nomila eventually managed to pry herself away from him. Teg is sitting next to Kalia, going over the specks for a new shotgun he'd come up with. He and Kaiden share a look which ends with a wink from Kaiden. Kalia's been a little clingy with him for months now despite his clear lack of interest in her, so it's good to see that he helped Teg get her attention. Vollor and John are going over something medicine related with Karin. All in all, the mood is fairly light as blue takes off from the surface. Once back on the ship, they all get ready to head out. She's got a few calls from friends all over the galaxy, most just asking for advice or offering updates. The colonies in the terminus have opened peaceful contact with another pair of worlds hit by the Wake and are freely trading with them now that her ships are helping with defense._

 _Century is still pouring through Wake data, trying to find a juicy target when they get a call from Anderson. "Shepard, I understand you're back in Citadel space."_

" _That's right commander. Had a friend's funeral to attend."_

" _I'm sorry to hear that Jane. Were you close?"_

" _No but… I wish we'd had time. From what I know… he was a good man."_

" _Please send my condolences to the family. Do you have plans for the moment?"_

" _Nothing concrete right now. Our intel is a bit jumbled so we're still looking for something good."_

" _Alright then, the Alliance would like your help with a few matters."_

" _What's up?"_

" _Nothing too big, just a lot of small time warlords causing trouble. We think a few of them might be connected to the Wake. You interested?"_

" _Absolutely. As long as your not looking for prisoners that is."_


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58 - Babysitting**

 _Date_ _: 3.12.2174_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"Legate Tylis is dead, slain by a group of human mercenaries." A bevy of curses flow through the comm lines. "With Diocartus's retirement and Tylis's death, the turian councillor seat is wide open. Now, I have already forwarded another candidate to the imperator which he will likely approve and the conclave of primarchs will hopefully confirm. The man has useful political views but… he's not ideal."

"With respect to the honorable Turian, we do not have time to dally. Please, reveal his identity." Turian sighs heavily.

"Our only option at this point is Legate Sparatus." The cursing returns with redoubled volume. From hissing insults about the legate's character to his lackluster military career, nothing is off limits.

"He's just a politician!"

"The man's never seen true battle!"

"That serpent can't be trusted!"

"Everyone shut the hell up!" He rarely shouted but when his temper was up, Hackett could bellow with the best DIs. "It doesn't matter what we think of him personally! Sparatus might be unimpressive, but he does understand what's best for his people, and right now that means re-solidifying political ties between humanity and the Hierarchy. Tylis's death will make waves so we need a replacement as soon as possible." The silence is deafening. Most of the councillors are clearly reassessing their objections, each coming to the same conclusion.

"With resignation: Human is correct. Though not ideal, Sparatus is the best option at this time. Is there anything we can do to ensure a relatively smooth transition? Anything we can assist with?"

"In a diplomatic if very unsafe move, the councillor to be has elected to begin a goodwill tour through Alliance space. It will begin with a diplomatic gala at Arcturus before making a three week tour through human space. We have to ensure his safe passage through human territory. If he is slain as his predecessor was then relations between humanity and the Hierarchy could be irrevocably damaged… it could even start a war."

Krogan's gravelly chuckle breaks the tension for a moment, "Yeah leave it to the turians to over react to an assassination. So, how are we gonna keep this guy alive?"

"This one has a suggestion. We already know someone with the power and skill to protect him even in the most dire of circumstances."

"Are you mad?! You want to bring her in for this! Babysitting a politician! Might as well ask a company of my people's finest commandos to take up pet sitting or the hanar's most learned faithkeeper to take notes in a basic religions course at university or a krogan battlemaster to win a children's grappling event! You can't seriously think this to be a worthwhile use of her time. Is she even still in council space?"

"The Fulcrum has yet to return to the Terminus. She's been hunting down several small time warlords throughout Alliance space for the past few months. Our information indicates that they have financial ties to the Red Wake so it took very little to convince her to stay for them. Apparently a member of her crew has found a link to an independent colony that may be financing the mercs. My best man is keeping on top of it and he says that she'll soon have something to lead her away. If we're going to ask her to do this then it needs to be now."

 _Date_ _: 3.19.2174_

 _Location : Arcturus System_

 **Jane**

 _Five months of hunting true blue scum has been quite cathartic for her. The Alliance's targets might not have been anything overtly special on their own, but when their assets were examined as a whole, it began to paint a picture of their next target in the Terminus. "It would appear that the bulk of their financial dealings are being routed through a series of banking institutions on an independent volus colony in the Terminus. The consensus is closing in on it's coordinates, but it will still take time. The encryptions on the data streams are of uncharacteristically high quality."_

" _Take all the time you need Century. I want our data to be right on the dot. If that means we have to wait a little, then we wait." Jane lifts her feet to let Skittles poke at the open panel beneath her chair. "At least we've got something to do while we wait. How long till we dock?"_

" _About twenty minutes. Why did Admiral Hackett ask us to come in again?"_

" _Something about a diplomatic function. I'm not sure why they wanted me there, but until Century's got the coordinates for the volus, we've got nothing better to do. Unless you guys have something?" Everybody shakes their heads, "Damn..."_

 _Karin turns away from Kal to ask her own question, "Do you even have a dress uniform Jane? Or any uniform for that matter?" Kal flinches as she gently prods his forearm. During a raid about a month ago, a krogan managed to get hold of his arm and badly break it. He still managed to blow the merc's head off when the man stopped to gloat though. To properly set the bone, they'd been forced to open his suit for near on twenty minutes which had led to a couple weeks of illness. At least he doesn't need the sling anymore._

" _No uniform technically, but I do have something in mind. And if anybody has a problem with it, they can piss off." Skittles closes the panel under her seat and trots off the bridge as Kaiden walks in. He's in his own dress uniform, looking both handsome and incredibly uncomfortable. "Looking good Kaiden."_

" _Yes he is…" Despite Teg's growing appeal to her, Kalia still tended to swoon whenever Kaiden showed up._

" _Thanks guys. Wish I felt as good as you say I look. Formal stuff was never my strong suit. Are you sure I have to go with you?"_

" _If I have to go then so do you. Karin's coming too, right Doc?"_

" _Of course, although I would ask one of you to keep close though. I tend to drink a bit too much at these things." Kaiden agrees to stick close as Arcturus Station comes into view. Per usual, the Alliance third fleet is patrolling the area with the Alliance dreadnought Logan drifting by at a stately pace. "My word, what is that doing here?"_

 _Right next to the Logan, drifting alongside less than two kilometers away is another massive ship, this one a turian dreadnought. "IFF signature states that the ship in question is the Turian Hierarchy vessel Olondor. We do not have enough information to determine the purpose for its presence at this time."_

" _I'm sure the admiral will know. Hey Century, give us a deep scan of that ship and download the information to my console. Keep us steady Kalia, I'm gonna go change." Jane heads back to her room and punches in the new code on her armor cradle. She removes her favorite red suit cover before stepping into the cradle. It's become habit to leave her plates off when onboard the ship, so the device can immediately begin plugging her new plates in. Once they're in place Jane heads back up to the bridge. "What do you guys think?" The new plates are made to look good rather than function well. While still of very high quality, they weren't as durable. Each plate is painted the dark blue of an alliance naval dress uniform and her official rank insignia is painted in lustrous gold on the armored collar. "Think it'll be good enough for them?" Karin steps closer to look her over._

" _Well it certainly looks nice and from a distance it will look like a uniform, albeit a slightly bulky one. All in all, I think it will work as long as the admiral goes along with it." Jane smiles and heads back to her chair. Century has already completed his scan, so Jane spends the rest of the approach examining what they know about the turian ship. They enter an open bay and the deck trembles slightly as the docking clamps engage. Everyone locks down their station before heading to the airlock, everyone but John._

 _Her batarian friend in ringing his hands nervously, "Maybe it would be best for me to stay here. My people have a really bad reputation with yours and they've kind of earned it. Me going with you would just cause trouble."_

" _John your a member of my crew and a friend. If anybody starts anything I'll be there to set them straight." He doesn't look at all convinced._

" _I really appreciate that Jane but... if it's all the same, I'd rather stay here and avoid making a fuss." She pats him on the shoulder._

" _If that's what you really want…" He nods, "Alright you can stay, but no working while we're gone. Take the night off and relax, got it?" John smiles. He agrees to take it easy and goes to the mess area to relax as Jane heads to the airlock. Most of the crew is already waiting. Kaiden and Karin in their dress uniforms while Gavin is wearing a three piece suit. The triplets all have their nicest, most tastefully embroidered suit wraps on. In a relatively ostentatious echo of his father, Vollor has a few strands of fine silk dangling from his body. Lia has a set of simple robes, on which Jane can just barely make out a spot where the justicar's emblem has been carefully removed. Even Teg has made a serious effort at cleaning up his look with a very nice set of simple blue and red robes. As Jane joins them, everybody finally gets a good look at Spits and laughter fills the airlock._

" _This one finds his attire most amusing!"_

" _Where'd you find something like that for a varren?"_

" _If he wasn't so frightening to look at he'd be adorable."_

 _Jane shares the laugh with them. It took her a few weeks to track down a tailor that wouldn't hang up the instant she mentioned making clothes for an animal, but it was totally worth it. Spits is standing in a expertly made tux, tailored to his biology. He even has an adorable black bowtie and a monocle fixed over the bare spot where his missing eye used to be. The dapper image is only slightly dispelled by the copious amounts of drool seeping down his tongue. Karin pats him on the head, "Jane, why on Earth did you have a tux made for him?"_

" _I thought it'd be funny. Not to mention that I think he's a handsome boy in that suit, yes he is." Jane gives Spits a good scratch under the chin. His delighted chuffing bounces around the area until decon finishes and the airlock cycles open._

 **Hackett**

He straightens his uniform for the third time in an hour, desperate for almost any distraction from the tedium of the event. Ambassador Goyle does her best to keep the conversation going, but even humanity's seasoned ambassador to the citadel is reaching the limits of her abilities. Events like this were always a bore, but with so little advanced warning there hadn't been enough time to book any serious entertainment. Luckily their guest enjoyed reminiscing about old campaigns, so Anderson had kept Legate Sparatus engaged every time conversation began to lag. Even his entourage enjoyed the stories. As Anderson launches into another story about a border dispute ten years ago, Ambassador Goyle steps next to Hackett, "Here comes your pet project and her merry band." He looks to the entrance and sees Jane along with most of her crew making their way in. "It's like she's trying to start a zoo."

It's a hell of a sight. An amazon like Jane leading three humans, three quarians, an asari, a krogan, a hanar, and a varren… in a tux? It wasn't something anyone would forget for a long time. "I'd be careful with jokes like that Anita. Jane won't exactly be forgiving if she hears you saying that, and her hearing is even better than a turian's." The ambassador nods her thanks as Hackett heads to the entrance. One of the men attending the door is giving her grief over her crew.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant, but this event is only meant for Alliance and Hierarchy guests. The others will need to leave." Jane has one hand resting very close to a gun when Hackett arrives.

"Shepard! Glad you could make it. Good to see the crew too. Let them in corporal, they're my personal guests." The young man breathes a sigh of relief and asks everyone to sign in. The krogan has a little trouble but the female quarian helps him. A tiny hiccup comes around when Jane signs in her varren. The young doorman looks from the signature, to the varren, then to Jane in confusion.

"Sergeant Spits? Really?"

"Yep. Alliance regulation 231-89, on animals in service to the Alliance- all trained animals serving in the Alliance will be assigned a base rank of sergeant or higher. It's to keep unsavory elements from abusing them as doing so could get you court martialed. Technically Spits outranks you." The varren quirks his head to the side before rubbing his flank along the young man's leg. "You guys go ahead and have some fun. I think the admiral wants to talk to me." The rest of her crew filters into the room, quickly disappearing into the crowd as Jane falls in step with him.

"Interesting choice of attire Shepard. Any reason you didn't send for an actual uniform?" Jane snorts derisively.

"Last time I was here I got shot in the chest. The only reason it didnt piece my heart was the chestplate I was wearing. My ship is the only place in the galaxy where I walk around without my armor on. These aren't as tough as my usual stuff, but they're good enough." He nods in understanding, well remembering that day when the enemy had almost killed their hope. "So why did you ask me to come here?"

"In due time Shepard. There are a few people I'd like you to meet."

 **Jane**

 _The admiral leads her over to a small group talking near the center of the room. She recognizes Ambassador Goyle from the news, Commander Anderson is there too, along with a turian in a slightly over decorated uniform. It's not enough to make it seem like he's stuck on himself but it's still a bit too much. "Ambassador Goyle, Legate Sparatus, I'd like you to meet Special Alliance Operative, First Lieutenant Jane Shepard." The ambassador sticks out her hand and, after some slight hesitation, Jane shakes with her._

" _Pleasure to meet you Lieutenant Shepard. The admiral speaks very highly of you." Jane stays silent, simply inclining her head respectfully. The turian also extends his hand, which Jane takes gently. He sounds important and it wouldn't look good if she shattered his wrist._

" _He does indeed. It is humbling to know that the Alliance is taking my security so seriously." As Jane tries to figure out what he means, a younger turian steps over to whisper to him in their native tongue._

" _Legate, word from your... associate on the ship. There are rumblings of discontent amongst the crew over your tour." Before the man can respond, Jane steps in._

" _What sort of rumblings?" The two turians look at her in surprise. "Yes I heard everything you said and I'm fluent in turian. If it's a private matter please say so, otherwise I will hear and understand everything you say." The legate reappraises her before speaking with a new hint of respect in his voice._

" _I must say you have my interest Shepard. You need not worry about these rumblings as it is indeed a private affair. I shall step outside for a moment as to avoid disrupting the evening further." The legate calmly strides away with the younger turian whispering in his ear about potential security problems. Once they're out of earshot Jane turns to Hackett._

" _Admiral?"_

" _Yes Shepard?"_

" _What did he mean when he mentioned the Alliance taking his security seriously?" Hackett downs the rest of his champagne and signals a server for another._

" _Legate Sparatus has been chosen to replace the recently retired turian councillor. The man who was supposed to take the position was assassinated a week ago by a group of human mercenaries and we intend to keep that from happening again. To that end, I'm formally asking you to escort him for the duration of his goodwill tour through the Alliance."_

 **Hackett**

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He can tell Jane is furious, "Now I know this is a departure from your usual pattern but it's impo-" She cuts him off with a sharp gesture.

"You pulled me away from hunting pirates, rapists, and murderers to ask me to babysit a politician?!" Even with no biotic potential of his own, Hackett can still feel the building energy. He need to diffuse her anger before she loses her temper.

"Please listen Shepard. This is extremely important. Right now relations between the Alliance and the Hierarchy are very tenuous. They've already lost one important legate to human assassins. If another one dies in the same way it could very well start a war. We think someone is trying to goad us into conflict and we just can't afford that. I called you in because he **has** to survive. If he dies a war could be triggered and he would become the first of millions of casualties. Help us stop that. Help me prevent a war." She's still a hair's breadth from losing control but it's starting to fade. Jane takes a deep breath to calm herself.

"Fine. I'll help. This better be worth it or-" a clanging sound followed by shouting draws their attention. The female quarian from earlier is being berated by an Alliance officer with a heavy accent while a server is trying to clean up a spilled tray nearby.

"You stupid bitch! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

The quarian is trying to squeak out an apology, "I'm sorry! It was an accident!" But the officer, Captain Ivar Petron, is having none it.

"What are you even doing here you imbecilic waif?! Your thieving kind has no place here! Get out of here or so help me!" Ivar raises a hand, clearly intent on backhanding the young woman. Before the blow can land, Jane is there with a grip of iron on his wrist. The sound of bones breaking fills the air along with Captain Petron's pained shout. He can't even speak as Jane grinds the bones tighter and tighter.

"Apologize to her, right now." Ivar looks around for help, but at the risk of drawing Jane's fury, no one looks ready to intervene.

"She… she was the one the caused the spill! Why should I- ahhh!" Jane twists the shattered wrist, drawing even more screams.

"It was an accident you jackass! Now apologize."

"Why do you care?! She's just a dumb suit rat!" It was the wrong thing to say. Already angry, Jane's rage surges to the fore. She draws her fist back and slugs Ivar on the nose. Despite her fury, it's clear Jane is still holding back. Instead of caving his face in, the punch just shatters Ivar's nose, leaving him screaming in pain.

"Apologize or I'll stop being nice about it!" Ivar is trying to choke something out but Jane's patience is gone. She gets ready to punch him again, but a tiny hand on the shoulder stops her. The quarian girl is trying to get her attention.

"Captain, please stop. He's not worth it." Jane turns to the girl in confusion, "It's nothing a quarian doesn't hear pretty much everywhere they go. Please, it's not worth it…" The rest of Jane's crew has made their way over, with the other two quarians taking position on either side of the female. The krogan in particular looks on the verge of extreme violence. "I'd like to go back to the ship please…"

"Kalia…" the female holds her palm up.

"Please... really don't want to stay anymore." Jane nods sadly and the krogan steps to the girl's side.

"I'll go back with her. Nothing worth stayin for anyway." Kalia accepts the krogan's offered hand and they make their way out, stopping for only a moment for the krogan to snarl at Ivar, who struggles to cower away from him. Once they're gone, Jane rounds on the downed captain.

"You lousy piece of shit!" She grabs him by his collar and hoists him into the air. "I swear to God if we were anywhere else I'd cave your skull in! I get some xenophobia, God I get that! But treating her like dirt because of her people's reputation! That's unacceptable! If you spent ten seconds trying, HONESTLY TRYING, to get to know her, you'd find out that she's one of the sweetest people in the galaxy! BUT NO! She makes a mistake and you instantly condemn her you worthless bastard!" He steps in before Jane's self control is exhausted.

"Well said Shepard. Captain Petron, your behavior is unacceptable. Leave. Now."

"But admiral! She broke my wrist and-"

"Did I stutter captain?" Despite his calm facade, Hackett is furious over the disruption. Ivar looks back and forth between Hackett's calm fury and Jane's open rage, before deciding to flee to avoid any further damage. He quickly makes his way out. Hackett turns to the gathered crowd, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for the disruption. Please, go back to enjoying yourselves. All is well." Most of the guests go back to whatever they were doing before, but the legate makes his way back over.

"While it might have been a bit excessive, I have to say I respect the fact that you stood up for your underling. It's something so few commanders in this day and age understand."

"I don't tolerate people misbehaving towards my friends and I wasn't joking. If he'd tried that shit anywhere else, he'd be dead." An attendant walks up to them.

"Excuse me Lieutenant Shepard, um… Sergeant Spits is eating one of the floral arrangements." Jane turns to follow the man's gesture and they can all see her varren up on one of the tables, enthusiastically digging into a pile of flowers.

Sparatus chuckles, "Ha, he certainly eats like an enlisted man. Well Admiral, I think that's enough for tonight. It has certainly been memorable." He turns to Jane and extends his hand to shake one last time. "It was a pleasure to meet you Jane Shepard. I look forward to learning more from you over the next three weeks." The legate leads his entourage away and people slowly begin filtering out over the next hour. Jane lets out a whistle, drawing her varren over with a bundle of flowers hanging from his mouth. As Spits downs his snack, Jane turns back to Hackett.

"Admiral… did he say three weeks?"

 _Date_ _: 4.8.2174_

 _Location : Deep Space - Between Relays_

 **Gavin**

Three weeks of peace and quiet is too much even for him. Gavin has never been one for binging on violence, but this is just _so boring_. He never thought being part of a diplomatic escort for a man with a target on his back would be so tedious. The only one on the ship that wasn't bored was Skittles and that's just because he didn't seem to feel anything. They'd followed the same pattern the whole time. Stop off at a colony, attend a halfhearted party, spend a day or two listening to speeches, then move on the the next. Rinse and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat. The only thing that was truly confusing was Jane's behavior. When this thing started, he figured that she would be champing at the bit, but no. Apparently the legate was at least a little entertaining. He asked her to come over to the dreadnought a few times a week to talk. She'd also been spending a lot of time in the hanger, listening to some kind of choral music.

As another new day gets on, Lia comes over the comm, "Gavin are you in the workshop?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"The Legate is asking for Jane to come over. One last talk before the Citadel."

"Copy that. She's in the hanger again."

"Do you know what she listens to in there?"

"No clue. I asked Century but he won't talk." The geth chooses that moment to speak.

"To clarify, we have spoken many times. However, Shepard Jane has requested that we keep her private activities private. She has also stated that any attempt to reveal her activities will result in the immediate destruction of the mobile node carried in her armor, and the ejection of our primary node into the void. Therefore, it is in our best interests to keep the secret. We shall inform her of your impending entrance."

"Thank you Century." Gavin waits for the door to the hanger to cycle open. As the lock disengages and the the hatch slides open, Gavin can here the last hints of choral music fading away. He looks down from the catwalk and sees Jane kneeling on the hanger doors with her eyes closed. After a minute she opens her eyes to look up at him. "Hey boss. Sparky wants another talk." Jane chuckles at the nickname.

"Alright, do your checks on Blue and get ready to go. Century, call down Lia and Kaiden. Full combat load, just in case." Jane stops talking long enough to leap up and grab the railing on the catwalk. She pulls herself high enough to get a foot on the walkway before ducking under the rail. "Come on Gavin, hop to it." An hour later he was sitting in the hanger of the Olondor, arguing with a turian pilot over who had the better gunship, while Jane was off chatting with Sparky.

 **Jane**

" _I just wanted to thank you again for your time Shepard. I'm aware that these last few weeks have been decidedly dull for a warrior such as yourself." She's walking with Sparatus along one of the outer hallways. The view to her left is spectacular, looking out over a blue and violet nebula stretching for millions of miles. The legate wasn't nearly as boring as she'd thought he'd be. Though he wasn't much of a soldier, he was an incredibly devoted history buff which made their conversations kind of fun actually, a decent card player, and a fan of classical music both turian and human._

" _It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. There are more important things to do but it was still a good diversion." Sparatus chuckles at her as they turn down the last corner leading back to the hanger._

" _So tell me Shepard, why is that admiral Tracan has been avoiding you for the last two weeks?"_

" _He's probably upset because I showed him a way I could destroy this ship with nothing but the Pale Horse." He looks at her in disbelief._

" _Really. How could you possibly destroy a dreadnought with nothing but a corvette?"_

" _Well, to start off this ship has an excellent design. A dense GARDIAN system, strong shields, excellent firing arcs, but like all dreadnoughts it's slow and this ship's shields, however powerful, have a small gap between the primary engines. The admiral is too reliant on the radiation wash to scramble incoming fire. First thing you do is get behind the ship. You standoff just beyond the max range of the GARDIAN system, then fire a full brace of torpedoes, followed by a barrage of cluster missiles. You detonate the first charge on the missiles just outside GARDIAN range to confuse the targeting computer. As the point defense system is trying to deal with the missile swarm, the torpedoes can sail through. At this point, the system is too heavily engaged to track them all. It might get one or two, but not five or six. On impact, a single torpedo against the unshielded area would blow off the primary engines. Best case scenario, the ship is crippled. Worst case, the warhead penetrates deep enough to crack the core and blow the ship to pieces." He lets his mandibles drift apart in surprise for a moment before regaining his composer._

" _Oh. You've... certainly given this some serious thought."_

" _Not really, I got bored on the flight to Arcturus and worked it out during the time we spent drifting in." Sparatus chuckles at her as they reach the doors to the hanger._

" _This has been a very interest tour Shepard. After we arrive and the formalities are done with, I would appreciate the chance to revisit our discussion on humanity's second world war." Jane has to roll her eyes._

" _Doesn't matter what you say. There's no way you'll change my mind."_

" _We'll just have to wait and see now won't we." They shake hands one last time. "Until the Citadel Shepard." As Sparatus walks away and the hanger doors crank open, Jane can her a boisterous argument echoing inside._

" _I can stay in the air even if the mass effect generator fails!"_

" _So what! I don't need an atmosphere to fly!"_

" _Neither do I numbnuts! I've got boosters too!"_

" _Oh yeah! Well I-" They both stop short as Jane walks in. Gavin looks set to start up again but the turian apologizes for making a scene before stalking away._

" _Hey! We're not done yet! I got whole list of stuff to go through." The turian gives a rude gesture, drawing a laugh from Gavin._

" _Sounds like you had fun."_

" _A little. That fringe head actually thinks one of their dinky gunships holds a candle to my beautiful lady here." Gavin turns to start lovingly caressing Blue, much to Lia's dismay._

" _Can we go one day without you doing that?"_

" _Nope. All aboard! One way flight to the Pale Horse leaving in five." They all pile in and trade small talk for the flight back to the ship. It only takes a few minutes to get back to the ship. Just as everyone starts climbing out a klaxon shrieks over the comm. Century is not far behind._

" _All hands brace for combat maneuvers! Incoming ordinance!" The deck begins to violently lurch beneath them as the ship's gravity systems struggle to compensate for what are clearly violent maneuvers._

" _Century what the fuck is going on!" Gavin is almost pitched over the railing after an impact shakes the ship._

" _The Olondor has opened fire on its escorts. All other ships have been disabled." Lia pulls Gavin back onto the catwalk and calls out._

" _How did they hit everyone but us?!"_

 _Century explains as they head upstairs, "At the beginning of this tour Shepard Jane stated that even among allies we must always be ready for betrayal. To that end, we installed viral coding into the Olondor's systems when the tour began, via a number of secret data packets hidden inside standard handshake protocols. We had not expected to use them…" They all make their way to the bridge where Kalia is doing her damnedest to avoid the worst of the incoming fire. "Viral codes are working. Enemy weapon accuracy reduced by 94_ _%_ _."_

 _Kal growls in frustration from the tactical station, "That leftover six is still a hell of a lot of fire. What the hell are they thinking? Have they gone insane?!"_

" _Shepard Jane, sensors indicate widespread weapons fire within the Olodor. Armed conflict has broken out amongst the crew. We- Attention! Emergency transmission incoming on Legate Sparatus's private channel." The sounds of heavy gunfire and screams blast through the speakers before Sparatus starts shouting._

" _Shepard! It's a mutiny! Half my guards are already dead! We won't be able to hold out long! We need immediate assistance! We need-" The channel goes dead in a wash of white noise._

" _Transmission blocked at source. Attempting to re-establish." Jane takes her chair and hits the intercom._

" _All hands, shit just hit the fan. All team members, gear up and get ready for a ship to ship assault. Full combat load, we're going in hot! Gavin, get Blue ready to head back out."_

 _Kal looks at her incredulously, "We can't reach them in the gunship with the GARDIAN system still active! Even with the reduced accuracy, one hit would be enough!"_

" _We have additional viral agents within the Olondor's systems. If activated, these agents can temporarily disable the target vessel's weapons. In addition, these viral agents can help prevent the Olondor's shields from activating."_

" _How long?"_

" _After activation, we estimate 82.976 seconds before automated cyber warfare systems purge contaminants."_

" _That's not long enough for a rescue… but we can use time to pick of most of the GARDIAN turrets. Kalia bring use around for a strafing run. Kal, I want you to prioritize every turret that can hit someone approaching the hanger. Use our own GUARDIANs only. Anything more and we could end up killing Sparky. Deploy viral agents just before we enter GARDIAN range." Kalia draws a line on the Olondor and burns the engines hard._

" _Approaching deployment window in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, deploying viral packets. Enemy weapons are disabled, shields inoperable. Entering GARDIAN range in 3, 2, 1."_

" _Fire!" Though shots from the Pale Horse are outside most people's visual range, Jane can see them on her screens. Searingly bright light of a color she doesn't have a name for lashes out from the turrets, slamming into the Olondor's own weapons with pinpoint accuracy. A dozen turrets are vaporized in the first pass and Kalia brings them around for a second run._

" _Attention, 43 seconds until viral packets are purged."_

" _Make this count guys. Afterwards we're going over." Kalia takes them in again and Kal's careful work vaporizes even more turrets. As Century announces the complete purge of his viral agents, the Pale Horse comes alongside the Olondor. No weapons fire comes out to greet them. Jane sends a call to everyone, "Time to get over there. All assault team members report to Blue and strap in, full void protocol." Kalen comes trotting onto the bridge to take Kal's vacated panel. "Kalen, while we're over there I want you to activate the main gun."_

 _The young man is almost bouncing in excitement, "I finally get to use it?!"_

" _Yes, but not until we've got Sparky. While we're over there, if you start taking fire do what you have to do to avoid any serious damage. We'll take care of fire control before we leave the Olondor." Kalia wishes her luck as Jane makes her way to the hanger. Lia and the boys are already strapped in and Gavin has the boosters on stand by. She climbs in, taking a place next to Teg. The krogan youngster smiles at her with a toothy grin._

" _Gonna kick some ass aren't we boss?"_

" _Damn right we are! Nobody screws with us!" Her team gives a cheer as the bay doors open beneath them. A tiny push from the maneuvering thrusters launches Blue into the void. Gavin has the gunship screaming towards the hanger at top speed, but there's a slight problem._

" _Uhh, Jane, how are we getting in? The hanger is sealed."_

" _We going to knock and politely ask to come it." Everybody laughs, now understanding why she called for void protocol._

" _Copy that, polite knock it is!" The gunship trembles slightly as the side cannons reorient to face forward and the main gun cycles to full power. Gavin calls over the comm in a singsong manner, "Oh Olondor control… Knock, knock!" The ship shakes again as the cannons began firing, followed by a full spread from the missile pods. Had the shields been up, their weapons would have been nothing more than a tiny mosquito bite. With them down, the hanger doors are shredded under the barrage._

" _Century, download into the mobile node. As soon as we're on board, I'm gonna plug you into the ship. Delete every control system you can get to. Weapons, shields, life support, everything… but save life support for last." Gavin lines up with the trashed hanger and drifts inside. "Kaiden and John, you're coming with me to recover Sparky. We move fast, no unnecessary engagement. This is a rescue above all else. Lia, you're going to emergency fire control. They've got hard line connections to the ship's weapons there. It'll give them manual control if the automated systems are lost. Stay fast and quiet, no fighting if you can help it. When you get there, trash the place. Every console, every display and every connection port. I want that room to be a disaster area by the time you're done. Afterwards get back to the hanger. Teg, Kal hold this hanger. If anyone wants to get in before we get back, they drop their weapons at the door, no exceptions. If they refuse to drop their weapons, you drop them. We don't have time for diplomacy." As blue settles down, they all hop out and get ready to go to work. Kaiden steps up next to her._

" _Any other orders ma'am?" Jane pulls both blades and moves to the door._

" _Yeah. Keep up."_


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59 - Rescue**

 _Date_ _: 4.8.2174_

 _Location : Turian Dreadnought Olondor_

 **Teg**

He blasts another turian with his claymore, dropping the man to the floor in a pile of shredded meat. As the corpse falls, more bullets patter against the crate next to him. With the emergency enviro shield up, the hanger's got air again. Not much, but just enough for him to hear the grenade clatter on the ground a couple meters away. Teg ducks down just as it goes off. Before the smoke can settle he leaps over the crate and charges at the small group trying to make their way into the hanger in the wake of the explosion. They open fire to little effect. Teg storms across the hanger and barrels into the group, swinging the hammer down from his shoulder. It collides with the first turian's head, pulping it like rotten fruit. Before the body has even hit the ground, Teg kicks out at the next in line, cracking the plates covering the man's torso. He's thrown back into the hall, violently retching blood.

The third turian is trying to open the distance by desperately back peddling and firing until his rifle over heats. Teg's shields break but the turian doesn't get to take advantage. He's backed up too far, giving Gavin a clear shot. A single round from one of Blue's side cannons converts the turian into a blue mist, painting the wall in what Teg feels is a very tasteful splatter. "Heh, heh, heh, good one Gavin!" The pilot doesn't acknowledge, too busy keeping the other entrance clear with the anti personnel gun on the other side of the gunship.

Kal starts firing single shots into the hall as more enemies arrive. With a mod for phasic rounds, their shields are no defense. "Get back into cover Teg! More coming!"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm gettin there!" He trots back to his spot behind the crates and aims at the door again. He takes the first target in the chest. Kal hits the second in the head and the third gets a gutshot. Teg finishes him off, "Wonder if Lia and Jane are having this much fun…"

 **Lia**

Dagger in one hand, pistol in the other, Lia creeps down the hall towards her target. "Century, cut power to the area and overload a conduit on the opposite side of the corridor."

"Acknowledged." The lights fade, drowning the area in darkness. A few red emergency lights kick on, but it's not enough to give her away as she silently stalks down the corridor. The two men guarding the emergency fire control room are swinging their weapons back and forth, nervously searching for threats.

"I'm just saying, we should be fortifying **inside** not out here."

"That'd just make us a static target."

"A static target with cover and only one angle to watch."

"Quit whining and keep watch! Until that ape-lover is dead, we need to be ready for anything. We don't know wh-" A panel at the far end of the hall overloads before bursting in a shower of sparks and near molten glass, drawing the guards' attention away. "Get ready!" The two turians kneel at either side of the hall, facing the burst panel. They're completely keyed up, utterly focused on what they think is the approaching threat. Turian hearing is better than almost any other biped in the galaxy and every young turin learns how to listen for threats during his mandatory military service. Even so, it's child's play for Lia to close in on them. The one on the left is slightly behind the other so he's first.

She puts the pistol less than an inch behind the man's head, and pulls the trigger. Too close for his shields to block, the silenced shot breaks into his skull before exiting through his forehead in a spray of blood and brains. The other guard turns in surprise just in time for her to step close enough to ram the dagger under his chin. It punches through the thin plates with ease, breaks through his palette, and penetrates his brain leaving the man's rifle to fall from nerveless hands. Lia rips the dagger out, letting the body tumble to the ground. With the way clear, she moves into the fire control room. There's an unarmored operator behind one of the consoles, trying to keep the ship's weapons firing. As she comes into view, the turian tries to pull his sidearm, but a hail of shots from her pistol drops him. Lia gathers her power to go to work. Despite having the awe inspiring power and resilience inherent to a dreadnought, the Olondor's inner workings are incredibly fragile. In a veritable storm of biotic energy, Lia obliterates everything in sight.

Leaving behind the disaster area Jane wanted, Lia can't help but wonder if things are going well elsewhere.

 **Sparatus**

His last two guards are doing everything they can to hold back the mutineers. Their grenades are killing entire fireteams and pinpoint rifle fire drops anyone that survives the blasts. His guards are praetorians, the finest in the turian military, but even they are being overwhelmed. It's almost as if the entire crew is coming for them. The scream of a rocket splits the air and the elder praetorian is hurled from the doorway, his face torn away in the explosion. A mutineer dives through the burning doorway before springing to his feet and knocking Sparatus to the ground. His dagger flashes towards the legate's throat but before it can connect, the other praetorian fires a shot into the back of his head. The man collapses in a boneless heap on top of Sparatus just as another pair of mutineers force their way in. His last praetorian drops one of them, but the other gets his shotgun up and fires point blank. The blast takes the praetorian in the stomach, breaking through his armor easily, hurling him to the ground with blood pouring from his shredded intestines.

Sparatus aims his pistol but the murderer kicks it from his hand. He snarls in impotent rage as the shotgun is leveled. Even as he tries to pull the trigger, the mutineer arches is back in agony. A dark blade erupts from his torso and Shepard lifts him into the air. Arcs of golden energy surge through the blade into the man's body. The mutineer is torn apart in an instant, leaving behind nothing but ash. Shepard's companions can be seen in the hall, firing at anything that moves. "Kaiden! Inside!" The male human darts into the room.

"Yes ma'am?"

"You're chaperone. Where you go, he goes." The male human steps over to offer a hand, which Sparatus gladly accepts. "Any of your guards make it?" He turns to look at the last two to fall, only now noticing that the younger man is still breathing.

"Telthin! Telthin can you hear me?!" He kneels down and takes the praetorian's pulse. It's weak and fading. "Come on Telthin! We've got an opening!" Shepard steps up next to him.

"He won't survive. At the rate he's bleeding, he'd be dead halfway to the hanger. Even medi-gel can't stop that."

He snaps at her, "Dammit Shepard! We can save him!"

"No…" Telthin grabs his arm, "She's right… too much blood… go. Hand me grenade and go." Cursing fate, Sparatus grabs a grenade from Telthin's belt. He places it in the dying man's hand before priming it. "Now go… go!" The human male pulls him away from Telthin and they all sprint away from his stateroom.

"John rear guard! Kaiden stay in the middle! Let's go!" They move as quickly as possible, the sound of Telthin's grenade and screams it creates spurring them on. There is still widespread chaos as the mutineers try to put down anyone opposing them. Sparatus watches in awe as Shepard effortlessly cuts through every traitor in their path. Her blades part flesh and armor with disturbing ease, drenching her in turian blood. The man at the rear, a batarian if he's not mistaken, does sterling work, firing pinpoint shots at anyone that tries to follow. His 'chaperone' uses his own body as a shield, absorbing the worst of the incoming fire. He keeps Sparatus moving with the occasional shove, but he honestly can't be angry at the man. Shepard's varren bounds over to every corpse they leave to clamp its jaws down on their heads. As they near the ship's medbay, Sparatus sees a full squad firing into the room. One of them notices the approaching group and shouts a warning.

 **Jane**

" _There he is!" Four of them swing their weapons to bear. Jane lights up with amber energy before launching herself at the enemy. She crashes into the first man, violently blasting him into pieces. The rest of the squad moves to attack, but a pulse of energy from her hand sends most of them crashing into the bulkhead. They try to rise but Sparatus's escort moves up and executes each one. With the immediate threat gone, Jane peaks into the medbay._

" _If anyone's alive, get out here now! We're leaving!" The ship's doctor and one of her medics carefully edge their way out. Both are wounded._

" _Thank you. We thought that-"_

" _Shut it, no time! Anyone else?" The doctor shakes her head, "Good, let's go!" They resume their flight to the hanger. A few groups of mutineers bar the way, but they fall in short order to blades, bullets, or biotics. At the halfway point a hail of gunfire blocks the way forward as over thirty men edge their way down the hall, guns ablaze. Jane projects a field of energy across the entire hall but even her barriers have trouble against such a thick curtain of fire. Just before her barrier breaks an entire bandoleer of grenades lands in the midst of the mutineers and detonates. Their attackers are blown to pieces as three men step into view._

" _Admiral Tracan! Thank the Spirits, good news at last!" The admiral and his companions move closer. One is his second in command, a bitter old soldier with heavy flash burns across his face. The other is a young turin, barely old enough to be in the military, let alone serving on a dreadnought. Jane suspects that his striking similarity to the admiral is the reason why someone so young would be on a ship like this._

" _Good is one way of putting it Legate. Seems more like a nightmare to me. Shepard," the admiral nods in her direction, "I apologize for this atrocity. I assume you have a way out."_

" _Yeah, fall in!" The three men join the doctor and her nurse. They pick up a few more stragglers along the way, most of them heavily wounded loyalists left to die after taking a shot. By the time they reach the hanger, almost a dozen turians have joined their little band. The doors are clogged with corpses and she can hear Teg laughing like a maniac. "Hey Teg! We're coming in and we've got friends!"_

" _Got it boss!" She leads everyone into a veritable abattoir. The boys have been busy. Bodies and pieces of bodies are scattered all over the hangar floor. Virtually everything that isn't splattered in blood is either on fire or reduced molten slag. The turians behind her are stunned at the carnage until Teg stomps over. "Bout time you guys got back. Century says a bunch more are on the way and-" Teg's weapon snaps to his shoulder and he fires through the hatch behind them, draws a surprised yelp._

" _IT'S ME! IT'S LIA!" Teg lowers his weapon in embarrassment as the asari makes her way in._

" _Sorry Lia, thought you were someone else."_

" _Oh yeah. I mean, I can totally see how you'd confuse me for a turian!" Lia stomps over and slaps him on the nose which just draws a chuckle. Another slap follows, then she turns to Jane, "Emergency fire control is gone. We're clear to leave."_

" _Wait! We can't leave yet!" Jane eyes Sparatus incredulously._

" _Why? If stay much longer they might decide to blow the core just to take you out."_

" _We can't leave yet!" She steps over and stares him down. Sparatus takes a shaky breath but holds his ground, "There is one more soldier we need to recover." Jane's suspicion grows exponentially._

" _A soldier… just a soldier?" The legate hesitates for a brief moment before nodding. "Bullshit. There is no way it's just another soldier. No politician, no matter how noble would risk being blown up for just another soldier. Who is this guy and why is he so important?!"_

 _He hesitates again, clearly torn between a need to keep a secret and the need for her help. "I… I can't tell you." Jane shouts to her team._

" _MOUNT UP! We're leaving!"_

" _Wait!" Sparatus bows his head, giving of a desperate keening, "Please Shepard. Please, help me." She grabs him by the chin so she can look him in the eye. "I'm begging you Shepard. Please…" Cursing the legate for all she's worth, Jane growls and kicks one of the nearby corpses, splattering blue gore all over her boot._

" _God dammit… Where is he?!" The legate sighs in relief._

" _Last I knew he was holding the primary armory. It's why they haven't brought too many heavy weapons to bear. Thank you Shepard. I'll never forget-" Jane grabs him by the collar and hoists him into the air._

" _Shut. Up. I'll try to help this guy, but if shit gets too thick along the way, we bail. Now get in the gunship and strap in. I want you guys ready to go as soon as we get back. Kaiden, stick with him. His life is your responsibility. You too Lia. John you're on first aid, get everybody sorted for Doctor Chakwas. Spits, Palto." She points at Sparatus and Spits trots over to stand guard. "Teg, Kal, with me."_

" _I should be going with you." Lia looks at her nervously._

" _I appreciate it Lia, but right now I don't need precision and cunning. Right now, I need a goddamn wrecking ball. Stay here and keep them safe. We'll be back in no time. Century! Call out directions along the way!"_

" _Acknowledged." Jane leads the charge. If anything, this trip out is even worse than before. Many of the mutineers have realized that Sparatus is in the hanger, so they have to cut through a dense crowd of seemingly insane turians. Thankfully with Jane and Teg playing the part of bulldozer and Kal providing servo balanced support fire from behind, the enemy proves to be only a minimal obstacle. Century gives them the cleanest path he can, but several sections have suffered heavy damage leaving rubble blocking multiple halls. Jane actually has to blow open more than one new door along the way. At the final stretch she can see a group trying to force their way into the armory, but a rippling series of explosions flings their charred remains back out. Jane checks for more explosives before edging her way in._

 _At the inner threshold a bullet sails past her face and a pained voice calls out, "You traitors aren't getting in here! I'll blow the whole armory before I let you take it!" Whoever it is, he's clearly bleeding into his lungs._

" _We aren't part of the mutiny! Legate Sparatus asked us to come down here!" Another shot comes through the door._

" _Varren shit!" A wet cough bubbles down the hall._

" _Do I sound like a Turian?! I'm Jane Shepard! Part of the Legate's security detail!" Another cough followed by a pained wheeze before he answers._

" _I… alright. You can come it, but only you! Come in slow!" Jane edges her way through the door and sees a heavily injured turian propped up against the wall with a heavy pistol aimed at the doorway. When he sees her, the pistol immediately falls. "Never thought I'd thank the spirits for a human."_

" _Yeah things are pretty fucked up right now. Can you walk?" He shakes his head._

" _I lost feeling a couple minutes ago. Medigel stopped the bleeding but even lifting my gun is almost too much." He tries to lift the pistol but fails, "Scratch that. Can't do much of anything right now."_

" _Don't worry. I've got someone that'll help you get to the hanger. Teg!" As her krogan teammate stomps in, Jane pulls the turian's damaged helmet off to check him for head trauma. Once it comes away, her eyes go wide. "That son of a bitch…" The young turin is the spitting image of Sparatus, right down to the colony paint, the speckled patterns in his eyes, and the arrangement of the plates in his fringe. "You aren't just a soldier to him are you?"_

" _No ma'am, I… Wait. He didn't tell you?" Jane shakes her head. "Please don't be angry ma'am. He hasn't been a soldier in a long time. He means well, he's just too much of a politician to keep his priorities straight these days."_

" _I think he has his priorities down pretty good if he's willing to risk staying for you. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna break his nose later." The young man chuckles at her as Teg carefully lifts him from the ground. "So what's your name."_

" _Ensign Gallan Esarick."_

" _No, no, no. Your real name, not the cover your father invented."_

 _He chuckles again, "Ensign Veritan Sparatus. Pleasure to meet you ma'am." Kal calls from the hall._

" _Incoming! We gotta go!" Jane slaps Teg on the shoulder and he stomps out. Before following him, Jane throws a warp over the entire room, obliterating what's left of the ship's small arms and munitions. She runs back out with her guns draw to find Kal already spraying full auto rifle fire down the hall. Teg is careful to keep his body between Veritan and the approaching enemy. Jane joins Kal and together they turn the hall into a meat grinder. It doesn't stop the enemy from trying though. "What the hell is wrong with them?! How could anyone care so little for their lives?!" Jane has no answer as four more turians expire under her attention._

 _She looks back at Teg and sees that Veritan has passed out. "Don't know, doesn't matter right now! Take point and fall back to the hanger!" Kal takes her place at the lead as Jane continues to suppress the insane advance of the mutineers. In the longest ten minutes any of them have seen in years, they carve through an increasingly deranged onslaught. By the time the hanger comes into sight Kal's rifle is constantly malfunctioning from heat damage and Jane's plates are starting to crack under repeated impacts. By contrast, Veritan is in decent shape, thanks mostly to Teg for taking all the incoming fire himself._

" _Shepard Jane, another group of enemies is approaching the primary hangar entrance. They will arrive before you do. We detect over forty targets and more a much larger group less than a minute behind." Jane curses. They could take them, but Veritan would probably die in the process._

" _Is the secondary entrance clear?"_

" _Affirmative."_

" _Teg, Kal, head for the secondary entrance. I'll keep them distracted." The boys take off down the side passage as Jane fires on full auto into the crowd trying to rush the hanger. Body after body falls, but they keep coming. She gathers a surge of power and recreates the biotic ammo augment she used on Mindoir. Her shots start tearing through multiple targets, blowing open torsos or ripping off limbs, but they keep coming. As they close to less than ten meters, Jane gets a good look at them. The front row is nothing but a line of frothing lunatics driven mad by an insane desire to rend and tear no matter the cost. Nothing she does stops them. Century gives her the news she's been waiting for as the barrels of her guns begin to glow red-hot._

" _Shepard Jane, all passengers secured. Please make your way to the hanger." Then disaster strikes. Just as Century finishes, both guns overheat. It's such a rare occurrence that she's stunned for a split second, giving the crowd time to close in. Jane barely draws her blades in time to bisect the first turian to reach her. The man behind him gets a slash through both legs, the next looses everything above his nose. Two more come at her from either side and both fall as she twirls between them, dropping their heads to the ground. A particularly mad turian takes a flying leap only to fall in two pieces as she ducks below and slices through his waste. Jane rams Seraph through a man's chest before another leaps onto her back, throwing her off balance. She slams him into the nearest wall hard enough to break his back, but the distraction lets another trio to charge in. Jane brings both blades down on the one in the middle, chopping him into three pieces right before the other two grab her arms and try to wrench them behind her back. If it had just been them she could have shaken it off effortlessly, but it's not just them. Dozens more push in behind them, each one lending their weight to drag her down. Jane is forced to the floor as they all start trying to work their knives through the gaps in her plates. More than one manages to draw blood as her barriers finally fail._

 _For just a moment, Jane feels like she's back in the labs being crushed by the power of the grav plating. The memory fills her with apocalyptic rage and she gives out a flash of power. The pile is thrown away from her, giving Jane some much needed breathing room. She builds a massive surge of power before slamming a fist into the ground. A storm of amber biotic energy blasts out in all directions, vaporizing anyone it touches and reducing the corridor to molten slag. Panting in exhaustion, Jane staggers to her feet. There's nothing left alive except her. After a moment to gather her wits, Jane finally hears the voice over the comm, "Shepard Jane, all local targets neutralized. Please make your way to the gunship. We detect more inbound." Then Spits trots out of the hangar and runs over to her, gently taking her arm in his mouth and trying to pull her towards the hangar. She pats him on the head._

 _Still panting, Jane moves to the hanger, "Copy that. Fry life support and get back to the mobile node. We're leaving." She walks into the hanger and hops into the slightly overcrowded gunship. Gavin hits the boosters to carefully nudge out of the collapsing hanger just as a new wave of battle mad turian charges in. "Century! Depolarize the window and give me remote access to the guns!" Jane puts her hands on the holographic controls, immediately triggering the guns. She doesn't have to do it, but her blood is up and she_ _ **needs**_ _to do it. The heavy cannon on the left blows its victims apart, while the chaingun on the right rips its targets to gory ribbons. Jane is roaring in fury as the mutineers are slaughtered, giving vent to weeks of pent up aggression. Her time in the hangar at home has helped her keep a lid on it, but nothing matches the sheer gore drenched relief of open slaughter. As she lets her rage flow out through the guns, many of their turian passengers silently try to edge away, thoroughly disturbed by the delight she seems to take in the massacre. Spits whines at the sounds of her anger but she doesn't notice._

 _Eventually Blue is clear and Gavin pushes the engines hard to get back in time to save the wounded. Jane takes a few deep breaths to calm down before calling to her team, "Everyone call in and report!"_

" _Lia, a few scratches. Nothing serious."_

" _Kal, I think I cracked a rib but I'm okay for now."_

" _Kaiden, broke a few fingers. Not too bad."_

" _John, got a bad gash on my leg, but the medigel is setting nicely."_

" _Teg, assholes hit a lung and my secondary heart. Regen's got it covered." Jane breathes a heavy sigh of relief and leans against the door, doing her best to ignore the small but growing pool of blood on the floor. Mostly turian blue with a little krogan and batarian orange, the puddle is soon joined by a spreading stream of human red which she only now notices in coming from her. Teg edges his way over, "What about you boss? You're leakin pretty good there."_

" _I've had worse. Like you said, regen's got it covered." He grunts a laugh and keeps between her and the crowd, giving her some relief from the disturbed glaces the turians keep shooting her way. They arrive at the Pale Horse and Jane gets a good look at damage that wasn't there earlier. She's calls over the comm, "Kalia, what happened to the hanger?"_

" _We took a couple stray shots from a pair of GARDIANs. The doors were blown off but everything else is okay. What about you guys?"_

" _We'll be okay, but we've got some bad cases with the survivors. Tell Doctor Chakwas to get ready. We've got one really bad case, probably severe internal damage."_

" _I'll let her know." Gavin eases Blue through the slagged remains of the the hanger doors. The clamps jam for a second but eventually lock onto the gunship. The emergency enviro shield snaps into place and air flows back into the hanger._

" _Alright guys, help the wounded out. The mess area is our triage center. John, grab Vollor and get started on first aid. Teg get our rescue to Karin right now. The rest of you stay in the mess area and help with the wounded." Everyone leaps into action as Jane storms up to the bridge, followed closely by Admiral Tracan._

 **Chakwas**

She's ready when Teg comes stomping in with an unconscious Turian draped across his arms. "Where you want him?" Karin points to a bed and her krogan crewmate gently sets him down. "What now?"

"Get back to the mess and bring in the next worst case." He nods and trots back out before bringing in a turian with an emptied eye socket. "Good, now go help John with first aid. Have Vollor come in and assist me." As Teg trots out, Legate Sparatus quietly edges in. "Clear the room, I can't have any distractions."

"Please ma'am. He's… he's my son." Now she can see the family resemblance.

Karin sighs in irritation, "You can stay until I'm ready to start operating, but then you will leave without argument, understood?" Sparatus nods and steps over to his son's side.

"Will he be alright?"

"His injuries are severe, but I'll do everything I can." As she waits for the scanners to finish the preliminary pass, Karin turns to the other case. The young man has his head aimed at the floor. "Please look up. I need to examine that wound." She puts a hand under his chin and carefully lifts his head. The wound is clearly from someone driving a talon into the socket. She looks into the other eye, gasping at what she sees. The man's eye locks onto hers with near psychotic focus. Before she can pull away, the man swipes at her with a curved knife.

 **Sparatus**

The human doctor falls away from the other injured man, a wide gash torn across her stomach. With a insane fury, the turian tackles him the the ground and tries to force his service talon into Sparatus's eye. He's foaming at the mouth, snarling at him in rage. "I will kill you betrayer! The apes will not-" A scream of agony flies from his throat and the legate can see a syringe jammed into an exposed patch of his torso. A hand wraps around the man's throat as the human doctor yanks him away from Sparatus. The deranged turian staggers away before trying to lunge again. Doctor Chakwas ducks under his swipe and flicks her wrist, deploying a blade from her omnitool. He tries to strike again, but this time the doctor rams the burning orange blade into his shoulder, severing the arm. The man's falls to the ground, his insane fury burned away by the lost limb and whatever was in the syringe. Doctor Chakwas applies medigel to her stomach with a shaky hand as she calls out, "JOHN!"

The batarian from Shepard's team runs in, immediately taking in the situation and slamming a kick into the man's side. "What do you need?!"

"Take him for a walk and send Vollor in." John grabs the mad turian by the throat before dragging him from the medbay.

 **John**

The turian bastard is squirming in his hand, furiously shouting at him as he passes through the mess hall. "You filthy scum! How dare you serve an ape! How dare you protect that traitor! We will break humanity and restore the proper order! All who stand in our way will be broken alongside them! Vermin like you shall suffer the most! YOU WILL BREAK! YOU WILL D-" John bodily throws the lunatic into his destination and hits the nearby panel. A heavy hatch slams down, leaving the psycho to slam his remaining fist on the porthole. "No cell will protect you!"

"It's not a cell," The turian cocks a brow plate in confusion, "It's the airlock." The man's remaining eye goes wide as John hits the control for the outer door. In flash of freezing vapor and billowing air, the turian is thrown into the void. John closes the outer door before heading back to medbay. As he passes the mess hall, one of the wounded turians approaches.

"What happened? What did that maniac do?"

"He attacked our doctor and tried to murder the legate." A stream of enraged hisses fill the air.

"And where is the traitor now?!" John resumes his walk back to medbay.

"He took a walk."

 **Sparatus**

As the batarian left, a hannar drifted in and immediately took to the human doctor who was intent on trying to save Sparatus's son. He's still trying to properly stitch the wound in her stomach when John returns. "Please Doctor, this one needs you to remain still for a moment."

"I can't stay still, this boy needs immediate surgery and the turian doctor is too heavily injured to operate."

"If you do not hold still, this one will not be able to close the wound and you could suffer additional injury!"

"I can't! Neither of you has the training needed so I must continue." The batarian steps up and puts his hands to either side of her injury to hold her still.

"Vollor, do a quick job, just enough to keep her from bleeding out." The hanar thanks him and quickly seals the wound with a heavy bandage after a short pulse from a surgical laser.

"Infinite apologies doctor. This one shall endeavor to make it up to you."

"It's fine." Doctor Chakwas is hissing in pain through grit teeth. "We'll fix it once this young man is in the clear."

"And once we're on the Citadel Doctor, you're gonna start training Vollor for more advanced medical practice." The doctor shoots a look at John, "Look, we need someone who can at least cover for you if something worse than that happens." He points to bloody slash on her stomach. "I might be decent with first aid but Vollor's the one with the steady tentacles… you know I'm right." The doctor nods at him.

"Very well. Vollor, decon and assist me. John, get back out there to continue first aid. Legate," Sparatus turns to look at her, "Get out." He's so startled by the demand that he doesn't resist at all as the batarian leads him out. As he returns to the mess area, the legate can hear shouting echoing down from the bridge.

 **Jane**

 _She reaches the bridge and immediately starts calling out orders, "Kalia get our nose towards the Olondor. Century start scanning. Tell me how much fighting is still going on and how many survived life support failing. Kalen, be ready the main gun. Lia send out a call, see if any loyalists answer." Everyone leaps to obey just as the turian admiral steps onto the bridge._

" _What is happening?"_

" _Quiet, we're busy."_

" _Dammit Shepard! I'm an admiral and that's my ship! I have a right to know!" She glares at him until Century calls out._

" _Shepard Jane, scans indicate that fighting across the ship is dying down. The failure of life support has left most of the mutineers dead. Our access to the remaining security systems indicates that the last pockets of loyalists are in engineering and the bridge. They will not last much longer." Lia shouts next._

" _I've got someone answering our signal!" The signal is heavily storting and the sounds of multiple people shouting make it hard to understand._

" _Hello! Can you hear me?! This is Sergeant Tarkal on the Olondor! Can you hear me?!" Admiral Tracan barges over to answer himself._

" _This is Admiral Tracan. What's your status Sergeant?"_

" _Admiral? Thank the spirits you're alive! Is the Legate safe?! Did Shepard's extraction work?!" Jane none-too-politely shoves the admiral away and answers._

" _Yes it did Sergeant. The legate and all the survivors we could grab on the way out are secure and receiving medical treatment aboard my ship. What's your status?"_

" _We're about to be overrun! There's only about a dozen of us left! Not sure if there's anyone else…" The admiral comes back, careful to avoid annoying her this time._

" _Can you hold Sergeant? We can return for another pickup." An explosion fills the signal followed by screaming._

" _NO! Don't come back! We'll be gone before you get here. Don't let these traitors get away with this sir! That's all we can ask!" The sergeant can be heard shouting to the other survivors. "This is it brothers! It is here that I have dug my grave!" As the return call sounds through the comm, Admiral Tracan echoes it._

" _It is here that I shall know victory or die…" The sound of wild gunfire fills the comm before an explosion ends the signal._

" _We detect a large explosion emanating from the bridge. The forward group has been annihilated. Engineering has also fallen. We detect engine activity." Admiral Tracan stares in bafflement as the dreadnought's engines fire up._

" _What in the spirits' names are those bastards doing? They have to know they can't escape with so much internal damage, so what's the purpose of…" He trails off as the Olondor starts turning towards one of the crippled Alliance vessels._

" _Oh Keelah, their going to try and ram that ship…" Kalia puts a hand to her faceplate in shock, "That Alliance ship can't get out of the way! We have to stop this!"_

" _We're going to. Take up position behind the Olondor. Kalen, load torpedoes." Kalia flies the ship into position while the admiral turns to Jane._

" _What are you doing Shepard?"_

" _Remember that talk we had a few weeks ago? I'm about to prove my point." The Pale Horse comes into line with the Olondor._

" _WHAT?! You can't! The Olondor is one of our people's most sacred warships! You can't just toss it aside like that!"_

" _I don't care how sacred it is! I'm not letting those traitors slaughter everyone on that ship!" As they shoot murderous glares at each other, Legate Sparatus enters the bridge._

" _What's wrong?"_

" _Legate, She intends to destroy the Olondor!" The legate looks to the tactical display and takes in the situation. Contrary to what she was expecting, Sparatus hesitates before answering._

" _If… if that is what is necessary…" The admiral gapes in horror at Sparatus. "I don't like it either admiral, but unless you have another way to save the good men and women on that Alliance ship, I don't see any other option." Tracan looks between him and Jane, desperate to say something to change her mind._

" _Shepard, please do not do this. It might not mean anything to you, but the Olondor has served our people since the unification wars. More good soldiers have fought and died in service on board that vessel that entire fleets of the Hierarchy. If there is anything that could truly be considered holy to my people… it is that ship. I ask you, no, I beg you," Tracan drops to his knees in front of her, "Do not destroy one of the most important historical relics my people have ever possessed…" She glares at him, sorely tempted to order a full torpedo spread right then and there, but she doesn't. Slamming her fist on one of her chair's armrests, Jane calls to Kalen._

" _Nix the torpedos!" Kalen looks at her for confirmation before following her instructions. Tracan breaths a heavy sigh of relief before turning to her, "I won't destroy it, but I am going to beat the ever living piss out of it. Load all missile tubes, Piranha warheads only! Spin up the main gun. Century! Take control of the GARDIAN system and start picking off every maneuvering thruster you can hit." Jane watches the main view as their lasers start going to work. Kalen excitedly calls from his console._

" _Missiles loaded, main gun ready!"_

" _Target the primary engines with the missiles and launch. Keep the main gun ready but don't fire yet." The ship trembles as a dozen missiles sail free from the tubes. In moments they reach deployment range and burst, sending almost a thousand micro warheads screaming towards the Olondor. A tweak on her original plan, the swarm crashes into the engines on mass, detonating in a colossal line of explosions. The engines immediately shut down, with the port engine cone being utterly torn apart. "Century report!"_

" _Target engines offline. Emergency systems have prevented damage to the core. The Olondor is drifting with only backup thrusters."_

" _Good. Kalia take us directly above the Olondor and orient the ship to point right at the nose." The Pale Horse takes position, "Fire." Kalen gleefully hits the controls and the main gun speaks in combat for the first time. One of Keeva's personal touches, Pale Horse's main gun is a rotary cannon of massive proportions. It starts spitting out shells towards the Olondor, five per second. Using experimental, almost cripplingly expensive technology in it's construction, Keeva managed to build a weapon that could fire ten times faster than almost any other shipborne railgun. The purpose built coils were also more efficient at energy transfer, allowing it to accelerate its payload to a speed almost twenty percent faster than a cruiser's main gun. The only drawback was the falloff in accuracy. With no time to realign the rails between shots, shells tended to end up flying out in a cone of roughly fifteen degrees in every direction, so they had to be close. Jane was hoping to keep it a secret but needs must._

 _The storm of high velocity shells slam into the dreadnoughts thickly armored shell, each one ripping a huge gouge in the plating. A few break through on first impact, but most of the first dozen bounce off after leaving an extremely deep dent. In battle it would be a problem, but she's not trying to destroy the Olondor. The extreme impacts are having the desired effect, slowly but surely pushing the ship off course, "Century, track its path and tell Kalen where to keep launching shells to make sure it misses the Alliance ship." The geth follows her commands and soon enough, the Olondor sails under the crippled Alliance ship with almost a hundred meters to spare and hideous damage to the top two decks from nose to tail. With the immediate danger passed, Jane lets herself flop back into her chair and relax. "Send a signal to Admiral Hackett, tell him what happened."_

 _While they wait, Jane helps with the injured down below. Mostly she just patches scratches and helps reset bones, but it's nice to be helpful. A couple hours later, an entire fleet of Alliance warships makes the jump into the station along with a hospital ship and enough service tugs for all five crippled ships. The fleet commander tries to give her grief over refusing to allow the legate to be transferred to his flagship, but she just brushes him off by telling him he can call Hackett if he wants. Karin lets her know that Veritan will make a full recovery, just after brushing off Jane's concerns about the bloody slash on her belly._

" _A little trouble with a guest. We took care of it." She pokes at the bandage, "I guess I wasn't really planning on partaking in bikini season." Jane chuckles._

" _Oh I don't know. Could probably find a few nice looking marines that'd be into it." Karin blushes at the thought. "Or, I could get you a suit like mine. Vollor's dad does great work and you wouldn't believe how comfortable they are."_

" _Damn right they are!" Kal calls over from his spot at the door the triplet's room, one hand resting against the recently repaired rib. Karin laughs them off._

" _Thank you for your suggestions but I'll be fine. Much like this you man." She gestures to Veritan. Sparatus looks at her in relief._

" _You're certain?"_

 _Jane answers, "Yes legate, Veritan will be fine." His eyes widen a little._

" _So… you know then?"_

" _Yeah I do. That reminds me," Jane calmly walks over, and lightly punches Sparatus in the face. Not enough to do any permanent damage, but just enough to break the relatively delicate plates. He staggers back with a grunt and puts a hand to his nose as several of their guests step closer to intervene. They back off when Jane turns to glare at them. They all remember the carnage she left behind on the Olondor. Jane turns back to Sparatus, "The next time you send me or my crew into danger and withhold information like that, I will kill you. No jokes, no exaggerations. You will die, understood?" Admiral Tracan stomps over._

" _Now see here Shepard!" He's about to launch into a tirade when Sparatus waves him off._

" _No admiral, I deserved that." He takes a cloth from his pocket to stem the bleeding. "You have my word Shepard, I'll not be so disrespectful again…" After that, things were relatively tame until they entered the Widow system. The Citadel defense fleet was a little nervous over the Alliance battle group, but relaxed once they realized that it was just an escort. The turian elements had a hard time believing that it was a mutiny that caused the trouble… until Sparatus and the admiral confirmed it. It also helped that video footage of the mutiny was leaked onto the extranet from an unknown source. A thousand different conspiracy theories had sprung into being by the time the Pale Horse arrived at the presidium docks._

 **Sparatus**

An army of reporters and journalists from almost every species is there to greet them, something Sparatus is well ready for, "Ladies and gentlemen! I know you have many questions, all of which will be answered at the press conference that will be held shortly. All you need to know now is that those of that survived owe our lives the crew of the Alliance vessel Pale Horse," he turns at waves at Shepard's crew, "And of course to their commander, Jane Shepard." He looks for her but she's already left, "Who apparently has something extremely important to do right now. Please disperse and we shall see you at the press conference."

 **Basilon**

He carefully threads his way through the crowd and disappeares into the wards. His superior is already waiting at the rendezvous point. "I'm sorry sir. The mission is a failure." The other turian, a barefaced man he respects with every fibre of his being, shakes his head.

"Failure… no my old friend, far from it. She was never going to die so easily. I merely wanted information and you've uncovered some very useful tidbits."

He cocks a brow plate, "I don't understand sir."

"We now know that her stamina has an upper limit, contrary to what those Wake imbeciles believe. We know that when her crew is lured away, she can be overwhelmed by sufficient numbers. We also know that she can't resist a good rescue mission."

"But she was ready to abandon the boy… wasn't she?"

His superior laughs, "Oh ho, was she my friend? No, that was simply a ploy to force that fool into revealing something. If not for his pleading, she still would have gone. Well done Basilon. You prove yourself an excellent agent yet again."

He begrudgingly accepts the compliment, "What about the mutiny?"

The other turian scoffs, "Doomed to failure, especially with one such as her ready to come charging in. Make sure to keep track of that stimulant formula. It worked better than we could have dreamed. It will be useful when the time comes for our true assault." He politely bows and follows his superior to their ship. Before entering, Basilon scratches the flash burns on his face, silently contemplating their next move.

 **Miranda**

She's sitting at a table inside a very nice restaurant on the presidium, flipping through the menu when she hears a commotion at the door. She looks up and sees a thoroughly disheveled Jane shove the doorman out of the way before heading to the table. The young woman flops down in the chair opposite Miranda before leaning back at staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. Miranda waves off the security and waits for Jane to come back. Eventually she looks back at Miranda, "Sorry I'm late."


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60 - Song**

 _Date_ _: 4.9.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Sparatus**

"I do swear upon the memory of those who came before, to faithfully serve the citizens of Citadel Space in all things until my dying breath or until I am found wanting." Sparatus finishes the final oath and councillor Tevos steps forward.

"Then in the name of all peoples in the galaxy I officially welcome you to the Citadel council. Welcome, Councillor Sparatus." He bows politely and accepts the crowd's applause. Since arriving he has partaken in a series of official meetings and ceremonies. He met his fellow councillors shortly after leaving the Pale Horse. They were gracious, polite, and predictably ostentatious. Surprisingly, he finds himself missing the less pompous company of Shepard and her crew. Somehow, she'd managed to duck out of the crowd shortly after arrival and her crew did the same right from under the welcoming committee's nose. As the first petitioners he's ever dealt with file in, Sparatus wonders just what was so important that Shepard needed to disappear for it.

 _Date_ _: 4.8.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Miranda**

"And then we get to the hanger and this dickhead's all like, 'We can't leave yet! There's someone else!' and of course I'm all pissed off 'cause I'm thinking 'Really jackass! You couldn't have fucking said that before we got back!' but I didn't say that because Hackett and Anderson are always harping at me to try and be diplomatic and crap. So then me and the boys head out and… and…" Jane looks her in the eye, taking in her patient yet slightly patronizing stare before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "And I'm ruining dinner aren't I?"

"It's okay, I can tell you need to vent. It was getting pretty interesting too. Although, I don't think this is the best place for a story with so much death and dismemberment." Jane looks around to seriously take everything in for the first time. When she arrived, Jane had walked over without hesitation to join her. After ordering some food she dove straight into her story, oblivious to the growing discomfort of everyone in earshot, not to mention the combat residue on her armor. "You could have told me you needed some time to clean up. We have two days before I need to leave the Citadel and I wouldn't have minded rescheduling." Jane's face flushes in embarrassment.

"Sorry…It's been a crap day and I just wanted to spend some time with you and I didn't even think about scraping the dirt off. Long story short, it was his kid, we saved him and got out. Then we crippled the Olondor, got here, and bailed on the reporters." Jane laughs with her as the food arrives. Miranda has a fairly normal meal, at least compared to the veritable mountain of food the waiters bring out to Jane. Their server thought there were more people coming when Jane ordered multiple meals.

"So where is Spits? I don't think I've ever seen you without him."

"He doesn't do so good in nice places like this. Gets antsy, so I asked Teg to look after him."

"He's the krogan right?" Jane nods, "How'd you convince him to do that? Spits is a handful." Jane chuckles at that.

"Spits is a good boy if you know what you're doing. Besides you and me, Teg is the only person that really gets him. I just gave him a few hundred credits and told him to have fun. You can actually see them from here." Jane points to the window behind her with a smile. Miranda actually has to stifle a snort of laughter when she spots the duo in question. Spits is swimming in a fountain as Teg tries to wade in after him.

"Is he trying to get him out of there?"

"Nah, he's probably just playin with him. They get each other like that." She watches the two oafs play for a few minutes. Eventually Teg looks behind him before calling to Spits. The varren looks up sharply then the two of them hop out of the fountain and sprint away with C-sec right behind. "I'll probably need to bail them out later, but it'll be a funny story." They dig in, with Jane making a concerted effort to use her manners for Miranda's benefit.

While waiting for dessert, she springs an idea on Jane, "Let me ask you something. Since I have to leave before your birthday, would you be interested in me giving you your present tomorrow?" Jane's face lights up in delight.

"Sure! Where do you want to meet?"

"There's this lovely muffin shop on Zakera Ward, it-"

"N7 Muffins?" Miranda smiles at her.

"You know it?"

"Yep, and the guy that runs it. He's a friend from Mindoir, I helped him with the startup money for his shop. When?"

"Tomorrow, fifteen hundred station time, on the dot. I'll take to your present after you get there." Dessert arrives and they finish quickly before leaving together. Miranda's about to say goodnight when Teg and Spits come running over.

"Hey boss! Might be a bit late gettin back."

"C-sec?" He gives her a gap toothed grin and nods. "Have fun. And- oh, here come your friends. Better get going." Teg laughs and bolts away with Spits right behind. A few seconds later a pair of breathless C-sec officers run by after them. Jane turns back to her, grinning ear to ear. "I had really a good time Miranda. I'd hug you but uhh," Jane gestures to her still dirt covered armor, "So, I'll see you tomorrow." Jane starts to leave but Miranda calls after her.

"Oh and don't forget," Jane turns back, "wear something nice." Jane laughs and brushes some of the dirt from her armor. As she fades into the crowd, Miranda heads back to her hotel.

 _Date_ _: 4.9.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Sparatus**

After a few hours of listening to dignitaries, industry titans, and military leaders, a chime sounds for a midday break, giving him some time to relax. Dozens of issues had been discussed, many of them with potentially galaxy shaping importance. As he exits to one of the side atriums, he finds Shepard waiting for him. "About time you guys called lunch. I've got until fourteen hundred then I gotta go. What'd you need to talk to me about."

"I just wanted to formally express my thanks, not only for saving my life, but also for saving my son. I contacted Admiral Hackett with the intention of arranging commendations for your entire crew and he informed me that while your crew might accept a public ceremony, you would not be interested in receiving anything."

"Damn right. The guys all deserve recognition, but I'd rather you left me out of it, at least in public. I don't care about medals or ceremonies. The Alliance has given me a few over the last couple years but they just sit in a drawer gathering dust. In the end, all I want is the help the good people and skin the bad." He chuckles at that, thinking that she's simply making a morbid joke. His humor quickly fades as he can see that she is absolutely serious.

"Very well Shepard. I've still made sure that the heroism of you and your crew is well documented. Since I owe you a great debt I would still like to know if there is anything I can do to properly thank you." Jane pulls a small data pad from a pouch on her belt.

"Here's something." She hands the pad to him. There are numerous figures listed on the small screen.

"May I ask what this is?"

"It's a bill." He cocks a brow plate, surprised over the pedestrian nature of it. "Look, the munitions I use aren't Alliance standard. It's why I usually stick to using the GARDIAN system, but that wasn't an option yesterday. And I'm **not** charging Alliance taxpayers for **your** rescue." He smiles at her insistence.

"Very well Shepard, I shall make sure the bill is played, although I was looking for something a bit more meaningful." Jane thinks for a moment before a smile lights up her face.

"Actually there are a couple other things."

 **Jane**

 _She and the now Councillor Sparatus make their way down to the C-sec headquarters in his private aircar, arguing the whole way about the use of atomics in warfare and which species had the more interesting pre-industrial period. Jane nearly has him convinced of her side when they arrive. The bored looking turian upfront starts the standard introduction without looking up from the datapad he's typing on. "Whatever your here for, if it's not an emergency please proceed upstairs to the waiting area. An officer will be by shortly."_

" _I'm afraid I don't have much time to wait officer. I would appreciate it if you could find me someone now please." The guard gives a weary sigh before looking up._

" _Sir I'm sorry but you'll just have to…" He finally notices just who he's talking too and snaps to attention. "Legate- I'm mean Councillor Sparatus! We had no idea you were coming sir!"_

" _It's something of a spontaneous visit. I trust things are in order."_

" _Yes sir! Bit busy but it's nothing we can't handle." Sparatus nods genially._

" _I'm glad to hear it. My friend here has a crewmate in one of your cells for a minor offense. I would like you to release him." The guard stares in confusion for a moment._

" _Umm, that's not really standard procedure sir…" Sparatus silently stares at him until he relents, "But I'm sure we can make it work." The officer frantically speaks into his comm and less than a minute later, a much higher ranking turian comes running down the stairs._

" _Councillor Sparatus, it is on honor to have the newest councillor come to see us. I understand that this young woman has a colleague in need of assistance. If you could, follow me please." They follow the captain to the elevator and ride down to a lower level. He leads them to a communal holding area, where non-violent offenders are kept. All sorts of people are there. Litterers, shoplifters, vagrants, loiterers, and a few others. Most of the galaxy is represented by the men in this cell alone. Jane spots Teg right away, arm wrestling the only other krogan in the cell. Both are roaring insults at the other. The other krogan is bigger and obviously older judging by his fully developed head crest, but it's clear he isn't a warrior. Teg on the other hand, he's spent the last few months in almost constant combat and Jane's been sparring with him several times a week. Her crewmate slowly but surely levers the other man's arm down before leaping up to celebrate._

" _Oh yeah! I am Teg and I am superior!" His opponent snarls at him._

" _Shut your mouth welp! This proves nothing!" The man tries to slug him, but his fist slams into Teg's open palm._

" _Big mistake buddy, now I- oh hey boss." Teg smiles at her as the other krogan tries to free his hand from that brutal grip._

" _Go ahead and finish what you're doing. Remember to make it classy." He laughs before stopping the other fist in the same way._

" _Got it. Classy it is." Teg pulls hard on the other krogan's hands to drag the man forward before slamming his still developing crest into his face. His opponent crumples to the ground, out cold. Teg kicks him in the stomach and stomps over to the door to glare at the turian captain. "See asshole, I told ya! No way my captain would ditch me! You owe me twenty credits!" The turian growls at him, "What? A turian officer isn't going to pay his debt? And I thought you guys were supposed to be all honorable." The captain hisses at him._

" _Fine you jackass!" He pulls out a credit chit and sends a few credits to Jane, "You can get them from her later."_

 _Jane smiles at him for a few seconds before asking, "So, how long did it take for them to catch you?" The turian captain sighs._

" _Two hours. It took our officers two hours to catch him and the varren. It was only going to be a ticket for general misconduct, but he ran." Jane shakes her head in disappointment._

" _Really Teg? Two hours?" He bows his head in shame, "It only took them two hours to run you down? I mean, if you'd been sick or wounded I'd understand, but you were good by the time we got here. I would've thought at least three or even four hours, but two?" The turian captain gives her a boggle-eyed sidelong glance while Teg continues the false contrition._

" _I know. Sorry boss."_

" _So how did they catch you so quick?"_

" _Uhhh," now he really does look embarrassed._

" _Teg, you can either tell me or the captain can." He snaps his gaze to the officer._

" _Don't you dare!" The captain smirks before turning to Jane._

" _He tripped." She lets out a tiny snort, barely keeping herself contained. "My men genuinely thought the chase was going to last longer, but he tripped in front of a flower shop." It's the struggle of a lifetime keep a lid on her laughter._

" _And uhhh, what'd he trip over." Teg starts trying to grab the turian through the cell door._

" _Don't you say it! Don't you dare say it!" At this point the captain's mirth has wiped away his earlier irritation. He has to chuckle for a moment before speaking._

" _A shrubbery." This time she can't help it. Jane snorts hard before doubling over, laughing like a loon. Even Sparatus joins in._

 _Teg looks as offended as a krogan can, "Hey! Stop laughing!"_

 _It feels like her sides are going to split open, "How, ha ha ha, how tall was the shrub?!" The captain has to reign in his own laughter to respond._

" _Ten centimeters!" It's too much. Jane collapses onto the floor, desperately clutching her stomach as she struggles to control herself._

" _Oh my God! Ten centimeters?! Just ten?! Holy crap this is great! Please tell me you have video!" The captain brings up the footage and Jane nearly passes out as she watches her hulking bulldozer of a crew mate trip over a tiny little shrub before six clearly exhausted C-sec officers stagger over to cuff him. "Wow, just wow! I will donate ten thousand credits to the C-sec veteran support fund if you let me have a copy of that."_

" _I don't really see too much if a problem with that. As long as the councillor doesn't mind." Sparatus waves him off, too deep in his own laughter to respond. The captain sends the file to her as Jane makes her promised donation. Then he pops the cell open. "Alright, you're good to go... shrub." He steps away laughing and Teg makes an angry grab for him. Jane throws an arm out to stop him._

" _Hey, hey, hey big guy, take it easy. This is way too good to not laugh at." Teg crosses his arms and pouts, "Oh come on, don't be like that." He turns his nose up at her. Jane thinks for a bit before getting an idea, "You know, I bet Kalia would get a kick out of this. Probably make her day, hell her whole year seeing this." Teg looks back down at her._

" _You uhhh, you think so?"_

" _Yep. And, if you show that your tough enough to laugh at it with her, she'd probably really like that. Maybe enough for you to score dinner with her." Teg's eyes go wide at the idea, so Jane piles it on. "You know, a nice private, romantic dinner. Just the two of you…" She can see the gears turning. Teg is reasonably bright for a krogan youngster and soon enough she sees a smile creep across his face._

" _Can I get a copy of that?" Jane smiles and forwards a copy. He watches it a few times and eventually even he starts laughing. "Okay, I guess it is kinda funny. You think I should put some of that goofy music in it? Would that be funnier?"_

" _I'll leave it up to you Teg. Kalia wasn't planning on going out until tomorrow so you could probably find her at the ship right now." Teg nods eagerly and once the paperwork is done, he's raring to head back but Jane stops him. "Before you go, where is Spits?"_

" _Oh right! Yeah some asshole was tryin to get away in the lobby and Spits tackled him. So they put him on guard duty a couple cells down." Jane pats him on the shoulder and he damn near skips to the elevator in excitement. Then she turns to the captain, "Shall we?" He leads them deeper into the holding level, this time to the area with the violent offenders._

" _To tell the truth ma'am, my officers were down right terrified to approach your varren. Then we found out that he's better behaved than most of our usual guests, hell most of our officers too. Didn't resist at all when we brought him in with the krogan. In fact, he seemed pleased at the attention."_

" _Yeah, he's a good boy like that… as long as you don't threaten him or anyone he likes." The captain chuckles at that._

" _Indeed, that became quite apparent after he arrived in the lobby. Just as he and the krogan were led in, one of our more dangerous repeat offenders broke free from his restraints and tried to flee. The man, a drell, knocked over the officer escorting Spits which drew a surprisingly violent response from the animal. He tackled the drell and held him down until officers could arrive. Then he followed them down here, snarling at the perp the whole time, so we decided to let them get to know each other." The next hatch cycles open and Jane can hear someone calling for help._

" _In the gods' names, get this thing off me!" They walk to the source and see Spits pinning down a drell, frantically licking the man's face._

" _He's been doing that since arriving… not sure why."_

" _I know why. We've encountered a few drell pirates before and he's… partaken of them. He doesn't like their innards, but he loves the natural chemicals in drell skin secretions. To tell the truth, he's probably high as balls right now." The drell takes note off them and begs for help._

" _Please, it feels like my skin is being ripped off. Get this thing off of me!" The man has a makeshift shiv in one hand which he's frantically jabbing at Spits's side, but his thick hide and oblivious nature make it less than an annoyance._

" _That thing's name is Spits. Use it, stop trying to stab him, and ask nicely." The drell tries to splutter out an insult, but Spits is still enthusiastically licking his face._

" _Alright! Please, blegh, please get Spits off of me!" Jane lets out a short whistle and her buddy immediately looks back in excitement. As soon as he sees her, Spits staggers away from the drell, drunkenly wobbling over to the door. The captain opens the door and Spits tries to jump up for a hug, but he's a little too unstable right now. Instead of leaping into her arms, he manages to flop onto the floor next to her. Jane gives him a good scratch at his favorite spot between his spines before hefting him onto her shoulder._

" _Thanks captain."_

" _No problem, and if you've ever got the time, a couple of our boys would like to know about his training. Might be useful to have a couple animals like him in C-sec." They share one more laugh and head back upstairs. The captain makes his goodbyes before being called away for something urgent. Once they're alone, Sparatus turns to her._

" _Well Shepard, this was certainly entertaining, but I am running short of time. Earlier you mentioned wanting one more thing besides this. What is it?" She waves him towards the elevator._

 _When the doors close she sets Spits down for a bit and makes her request, "You can give me your son." Sparatus looks at her like she's just suggested he quit his new position and become a stripper._

" _I… I beg your pardon?" Jane shakes her head, blushing slightly at the dumb mistake._

" _Okay yeah, I could have worded that a lot better. What I mean is that I want you to pull some strings and get your son seconded to my command for a while." His a mandibles flare in confusion a couple times before he responds._

" _While I'm not overly opposed to the idea, I must ask why. I do not wish to disparage my son in anyway, after all his actions on the Olondor speak for themselves. However, he is still a relatively new recruit. This is only the second year of Veritan's first tour. I would think you'd be interested in acquiring a more seasoned soldier." Jane shakes her head_

" _I want him because of the Olondor. When he was in that armory, he had no idea help was coming. No reason to expect rescue or reinforcement, yet he kept fighting. He didn't surrender, didn't run, and he fought like one of the old heroes out of legend, despite being convinced that he was going to die. That's courage I can respect and use. Almost anyone can be taught how to fight. Not many are actually able to when the chips are down and I have firsthand knowledge of his courage and resilience." Sparatus is nodding along so Jane continues._

" _And then there's his skill with explosives. I had the security logs from the Olondor downloaded while we were over there. Until he got shot about two minutes before we arrived, he held the armory with nothing but his pistol and careful use of the munitions he got his hands on. Most of my people are pretty good, but Veritan has the makings of a Goddam expert. Coming with me, he'll get all the practice he needs to become one."_

 _Sparatus sighs heavily and shakes his head, "You know, it might just be that I've been out of the military too long, but I was hoping that he'd just quietly finish his tour and find a safe, rewarding career in engineering… but I doubt he'll turn the offer down. He's too much like me when I was young." He sighs again, "Very well Shepard. I will ask Veritan if he is willing. If he says yes, then I shall pull some strings and have him seconded to your command, in exchange for a promise. Let him serve with honor. Do not put him in a position where he'd have to abandon our people's spirit to accomplish his mission."_

" _I promise I will never ask that of him. I expect an honorable soldier, not a mindless merc or some bottom feeding pirate."_

" _Very well. If he agrees, I shall have him report to your ship once the official paperwork is done. It will likely take a few days, will that be alright?"_

" _I'm here for another three so it should be okay." They part ways at the car and Jane heads to the ship with Spits back on her shoulder. The drell's chemicals still have him a little loopy when they get back to the ship so Jane carefully sets him down on the bed. "Hey Century, keep an eye on him. If anything bad happens call me immediately."_

" _Acknowledged. Shepard Jane, it is nearly fourteen hundred. Do you not need to prepare for your outing with Miranda Lawson?" She waves him off._

" _Yeah, yeah I'm getting there. I just… hey wait a minute. Why'd you say her name the right way and not mine? Come to think of it, you haven't called Lia 'not justicar' in weeks, and for the triplets you just use their given names now. What's the deal?" She can almost hear him processing through the comm._

" _...No data available." Jane eyes the mobile node her gauntlet suspiciously before stepping over to her armor cradle._

" _Uh huh, we're gonna talk about this later." She punches in the newest codes and waits as the system strips away her regular day wear, before bringing out the new stuff. She'd meant to wear it last night but the day's excitement drove the idea from her mind. After dinner Jane had returned and cleaned away every scrap of dirt or blood. She did the same after waking up, just to be sure. Now perfectly clean, Jane smiles as the new plates slide into place. Unlike her usual gear, these plates are dark blue with muted highlights. Once in place, Jane opens the package Vollo sent for her birthday. He'd told her what it was in the note and implored her to start wearing it right away so he'd be able to create and send a new one in time if she wasn't satisfied._

 _Jane's not sure what he was worried about. It's gorgeous and fits perfectly. She's almost bouncing in excitement as she leaves the ship._

 **Miranda**

"Two dozen. Please have them delivered to her ship." The grizzled ex-marine nods with a smile.

"I'll make sure to pack em in a good thermal bag so they're still warm when y'all get back to her ship later. Speak of devil…" Miranda turns to see Jane approaching. In stark contrast to the night before, she's cleaned up this time and even though she's still got armor on, these plates have a much less obvious profile. And then there's the beautiful silken tabard covering her plates. This one is clearly brand new. It's got her usual dark crimson base color, but with lustrous silver embroidery stitched along the seams and the symbol Jane favors is picked out in silver at the center. "Lookin good Shep."

Jane's face flushes slightly and she gives a nervous laugh, "Thanks Calvin." Miranda decides to tease her a little.

"So there is a lovely young woman hiding beneath the battle-hardened valkyrie. And here I thought I'd never get to see her." Jane's face turns beat red as she tries to play it off.

"I uhh, um thanks I, uhh. Thanks." Miranda laughs gently before taking her hand.

"Come on, we don't want to be late." Jane follows without hesitation.

"So where are we going?"

"A concert."

"It uhh, it's not that new slash metal concert is it?" Miranda's stomach turns at the very idea.

"Oh God no! That crap makes my ears bleed. No, this is something very very different. Now bear with me, it's an elcor harmonic concert." Jane looks at her, utterly confused. "I know it sounds weird but hear me out. Outside of other elcor, most people can't even hear their music. However, they can feel the vibrations in the air. A harmonic concert like this can supposedly induce a near perfect state of relaxation in most people. It's something that even the completely deaf can feel. All that said, I'm willing to bet that you'll actually be able to hear it." Jane looks intrigued and they arrive in a bright mood right before the hall is opened.

Most of the concert goers are elcor as expected, but there are quite a few attendees from other species as well. Eventually a bell sounds and people begin to file into the venue. Their seats are exceptional, right at the acoustic sweet spot. Soon a dozen elcor make their way on stage at a stately pass. She can hear applause, both the standard clapping from the bipeds in the audience and the heavy ground thumping of the elcor attendees. One of the performers steps to the front of the stage, "With boundless enthusiasm: It is wonderful to see so many in attendance this evening. We welcome you all to the 943rd annual performance of the Dekuuna Musical Society's Harmonic Choir. Sincere joy: We are honored to have such a diverse audience this evening. Tactful declaration: To those of you from a different species, please be aware that our music is intended to bring about relaxation and to allow negative emotions to simply flow away. Do not be alarmed or embarrassed if you find yourself becoming drowsy. If you should find yourself relaxed enough to fall asleep during the performance we shall take it as a compliment. Now please sit back and enjoy yourselves as we take you on a wondrous journey."

With that, the choir began their first 'song'. She can't actually hear anything except a gentle humming, but the vibrations in the air are quite pleasant. Miranda can feel the tension in her body start falling away, leaving her more relaxed than she's been in months. She's nearly asleep when she hears a quiet sniffle from nearby. It takes a moment to reluctantly emerge from the beautiful place the choir has brought her to, but she finds her way out anyway. Miranda turns to find Jane quietly crying, "Jane? What's wrong?" Jane gently grabs her hand.

"Can you hear it?" Her voice is so quiet Miranda has to strain to hear her, "There's… something, right beneath their song. It's… I don't know, a tone, a note. It just makes me feel so… so…" Jane laughs quietly and turns to smile at her, tears streaming down her face. "It's so beautiful…" Miranda gently squeezes Jane's hand and returns the smile.

"Happy early birthday Jane." The concert lasts for almost four hours. Four of the most restful, comfortable hours she has ever experienced. Miranda dozes off a few times but it never feels wrong or impolite. In fact, it feels completely natural, as if the songs are weaving simple dreams around the sensations. While she has to struggle to keep her eyes open, Jane is wide awake and bawling her eyes out the entire time. When it's over the applause is scattered at first as people start waking back up, but it soon builds to a thunderous crescendo. After that the audience slowly begins to filter out and the performers move into the crowd to mingle. One of them notices that Jane is still crying a little.

"Profound concern: Oh dear. Are you alright ma'am? It was never our intention to cause harm or discomfort." Jane shakes her head a little.

"You didn't. It was just so wonderful. I can't help it." The elcor bows politely.

"Immense relief: Then I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed the show."

"Are you guys coming back next year?"

"Proud statement: We plan to. Eager anticipation: I hope that we shall see you at our next performance. Good day ma'am." They leave the venue late in the evening

"Thank you so much Miranda. I've been thinking, since we're not going to be together for your birthday either, I'd like to give you your present too."

"You don't need to get me anything."

"I don't need to, but I want to. What do you say?"

"Alright, sure."

"Great, can you come to my ship tomorrow evening? I'd like a little privacy for this." She gives a mock gasp covers mouth in faux shock.

"Jane Shepard! I had no idea you felt that way about me." Jane's face flushes bright red and she stammers out a response.

"What?! I, god, that's not, um…" She stifles a laugh as Jane gets more and more flustered.

"Relax Jane, I was just joking. What time do you want to meet?" Jane breaths a sigh of relief.

"Okay… okay, fifteen hundred would be good. My crew should all be out for the evening by then."

 **Jane**

 _The car lands at the mass transit terminal and they say goodnight before Jane heads to the docks. Just when the ship comes into view, Teg and Kalia come walking out hand-in-hand. Jane waves at them._

" _Hey guys!"_

" _Hey Jane! Have you seen this?" Kalia runs over to show her the video of Teg tripping and both of them laugh hysterically. Teg gives a decent fake laugh too. "We're going out for the night. Kal and Kalen went out too. I'm not sure where though."_

" _That's fine. Have a good night guys." Teg puts out his arm for Kalia and leads her away. Before getting out of sight, Teg turns to wink at Jane. She winks back and goes inside to practice for tomorrow._

 _Date_ _: 4.9.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Kal**

"You jackass! I swear, **if** we get back, I'm gonna break my foot off in your ass Kalen!" He ducks down as another volley of gunfire slams into his cover.

"What do you want from me?! I'm sorry Kal!" His brother releases another swarm of mini drones to keep their attackers distracted.

"I don't want a damn apology! I want to get back to the ship in one piece!" There's a short break in the incoming fire so Kal leaps up and takes aim. Just as the gang starts shooting again, he fires a single well aimed shot, piercing the heart of the man standing next to Jax. As the dead turian crumples to the ground Jax roars at them.

"Gonna skin you alive you damn suit rats! Never shoulda screwed with me!" The flood of gunfire returns with a vengeance, forcing them to hunker down again.

"Should we call Jane?!" Kal looks at his brother, then down to his rifle. He's got grenades, medigel, and the goods they came for.

"No. She'd be pissed we're even in this situation and I'm not getting blamed for this."

"Are you nuts?! We're outnumbered like twenty to one!" Before he can respond his comm opens up.

"Kal'reegar, would you like assistance?" He breaths a sigh of relief as he lays down some suppressing fire to force the gangers back into cover. Century will help.

"Keelah it's good to hear you Century! We're pinned down!" He ducks back down.

"Acknowledged, we are contacting Jane."

"No! Just… just do something to get us out of here without pissing off Jane!"

"Acknowledged. We have an idea. However, given our understanding of our relationship with you and our crewmates, doing so will place you in our debt. As such, we will require a favor in return."

"What?! Whatever, just do it!"

"Acknowledged. Standby." A few nerve shredding minutes later he can hear sirens and he peaks over their cover to make sure, "Crap it's C-sec! If they catch us with the mods we'll get busted too!" As he ducks back down the authorities move in, dropping anyone that tries to fight.

Kalen detonates his drones to avoid a trace, "How the hell does this help us avoid pissing Jane off?" Jax is bellowing obscenities at the C-sec officers cuffing him but wisely refrains from actually resisting. It spares him the fate of almost half his gang.

"In twenty seconds there will be an opening for you to escape through. Proceed to the location indicated on your HUD. Further instruction will follow." The brothers follow Century's instructions as he directs them through dozens of back alleys, calling out warnings every time they come close to being caught. Eventually they get within spitting distance of the Pale Horse, but there's a problem.

"Ah crap, they've got a call out to arrest two quarians in red. What the hell are we supposed to do now?!" The C-sec presence is much heavier than usual. They'll never be able to sneak past it all. "Century is there anything you can do?"

"Affirmative, however doing so will place you deeper into our debt by an additional favor." The two brothers trade a look.

"We're screwed without him Kal. I say do it." He growls in frustration.

"The only reason we're in this mess it because you didn't do any research on the guy you were buying from." He sighs heavily but makes up his mind as soon as one of the C-sec officers starts moving towards their hiding place. "Alright Century, one more favor for just a bit more help."

"Acknowledged. Be ready to move in 18.43 seconds." An alarm sounds from the local intercom and every C-sec office immediately starts ushering people out before following. "Move now. The distraction will not last long." They sprint over the ship and move in as quickly as possible. As he airlock closes behind them, Kalen puts his back to the wall and slides to the ground.

"Keelah that was close. What did you do Century?"

"We triggered a false decompression alarm. Standard C-sec procedure calls for an immediate evacuation in such a scenario. The authorities are now becoming aware of what they will see as a malfunction. We recommend remaining on board for the evening. It will take time for us to erase all evidence of the arrest call." Kal helps his brother back up and they head for the mess area. Kalen sets the satchel that's caused so much trouble on the central table.

"So what are the favors you want Century?"

"We will inform you when the time comes." Before they can question that, Jane emerges from the lower level with sweat streaming down her face and a towel dropped across her shoulders.

"Hey guys. Did you get the mods you were talking about?" Kalen dips into the bag to pull out one of the pieces.

"Yes ma'am. Got everything we wanted, no problem." She eyes them both suspiciously, taking note of the scuffs all over their plating.

"Uh huh. If there was no trouble then why are you two filthy and why'd it take you so long to get back?" He and Kalen trade a look, desperate to make up a believable story. Luckily, Century has it covered.

"Shepard Jane, we have data relevant to this conversation. Kal and Kalen acquired the mods but chose a different route to return to the ship. They lost their way and proceeded to wander for hours. We discovered this after finishing another permutation on the data decryption and provided direction back to the ship." Jane scowls at them for a moment.

"Next time just call instead of wandering around like that. Go ahead and pack it in guys, thanks for getting the stuff." She turns to head for her room, questioning Century on why he still calls her name in the way he does. They both breathe a heavy sigh of relief and settle in for the evening.

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Miranda**

She arrives on the docks at the appointed hour, carefully winding her way through the dense crowds arriving and departing the Citadel. Most of the crew from the Pale Horse is leaving for their own business. Kalia and Teg are going out again. Dr. Chakwas is quizzing Vollor on basic surgical techniques. Jane is waiting at the airlock, talking to Lia when Miranda arrives. "I know, I know, but just for tonight, go have some fun. I'm staying on the ship so there's nothing to worry about. Why don't you go catch up with Kaiden, John, and Gavin. They could use someone around to keep them out of trouble." Lia gives in and heads out to catch up as Jane spots Miranda.

 **Kalen**

"Kalen'reegar, we wish to call on your debt at this time." He looks up from the manual he's reading to find Century's avatar hovering inches from his face.

"Okay… what do you what?"

"You and Kal'reegar will vacate the Pale Horse immediately and remain ashore for a period lasting no less than five hours. Failure to do so within the next three minutes will result in the rescinding of our agreement and we will reveal last night's events to Jane." It takes a moment for the demand to process.

"You want us to leave the ship? Right now?"

"Affirmative. You now have two minutes and forty five seconds." He leaps from his seat before bolting to Kal's room. His brother is installing one of the mods from last night. He looks up sharply as Kalen barges in.

"What?" Before he can answer, Century's avatar manifests in the room.

"We are calling in one of the favors you owe us. You now have two minutes ten seconds to vacate the ship." His brother splutters in incredulity.

"Wait! What?" Century drifts closer, getting right in Kal's face.

"Get out and remain out for no less than five hours. Failure to do so will result in last night's events being revealed in full to Jane. You now have one minute to comply." Kal looks to him for confirmation and Kalen frantically nods. The two brothers sprint to the airlock.

 **Miranda**

Before she can even say hello Kal and Kalen come sprinting through the airlock, breathlessly muttering excuses for their departure.

"Sorry, gotta take care of something!"

"Later Jane!"

They watch the brothers flee, before trading a befuddled look. "What was that about?" Jane shrugs.

"Dunno. As long as they don't show up running away from C-sec everything should be okay. Come on." Jane leads her into the ship. It's the first time Miranda's seen the inside.

"This is impressive Jane. Keeva did a great job." They move down the steps to the second deck.

"Yeah. It was expensive as hell, but totally worth it. Let's go to the hanger. The acoustics are better in there."

"Acoustics? Jane, are you going to sing for me?" Jane pauses for a moment to shrug.

"Uhhh, sort of. It… it's hard to explain. It'll make sense in a bit, just trust me." Miranda's confused but keeps quiet until they enter the hanger. Unlike the rest of the ship, the hanger doors look very out of place. She mentions it to Jane and she responds with a grimace, "We took a few shots from the Olondor. Blew the old doors off. These are just temporary. Come on." Jane vaults the railing and drops down to the bottom of the hanger. "If you want, you can use the ladder to-" Miranda hops over the railing too and uses her biotics to slow the fall, much to Jane's amusement.

"Or you could just hop down too. Okay, what I'm going to do… Well I'll just explain it afterwards. I've never done this in front of another person so just bear with me. Century, is the ship clear?"

"Affirmative. The only remaining occupants are you, Miranda Lawson, and Skittles." She cocks a brow at Jane.

"Skittles?" Jane points to a spot on the roof of the hanger. When Miranda spots the other occupant, she nearly has a heart attack, thinking that it's some kind of monstrous spider. Reason reasserts itself when she notices the green skin, gentle movements, and the tiny backpack. It's just a keeper. The creature is clinging to the grating on the roof, poking away at a loose set of wires. "You have a keeper?" Jane just smiles at her before kneeling at the center of the hanger. Miranda gestures in confusion.

"The only time I tried doing this standing up, I passed out and smacked my head. So, now I kneel and everything works out." Jane takes a few deep breaths before closing her eyes and holding both hands palm up in front of her stomach. She can feel something stirring in the air, a faint sensation of static. The air fills with the scent of ozone and an orb of amber energy manifests in Jane's hands. Motes of energy swirl around the sphere in intricate patterns. As the swirling gets faster and faster, a sound starts to stir the air. It's similar to a human voice, a deep contralto singing a series of flowing notes in perfect pitch. The song is incredibly soothing, the seamless transition from note to note bringing her a soul deep peace. After a short tune the voice fades out.

"Oh my. Jane, that was-" Jane spreads hers arms out, still palms up, and the orb splits into two, each one projecting it's own sound. Now with two voices singing in perfect harmony, the song begins again. The relaxation from before shifts into something new. It feels as though she's drifting on a cloud of comfortable memories. They're half formed and don't really make sense but it's so peaceful that Miranda doesn't want to ruin things by questioning it. Again, the song starts to fade.

"I… I…" The orbs in Jane's hands are joined by another pair over her shoulders, all four of them linked by shimmering wisps of energy. Already wonderful, the song becomes… something different. The voices wind together in streams of sound and thought, creating a river of emotion that she doesn't understand. Memories that aren't her own start flowing into her mind. She sees events through someone else's eyes, each memory flashing by in an instant. It takes a moment for her to realize that each memory is centered around her. All the times they'd spoken over them comm lines, the few moments they've shared since omega, and then the song shifts again.

Streamers of energy flow from each of the four orbs to a point in between them all, coalescing into a new sphere. This time, the voice that emerges sounds like Jane's, singing in a language that Miranda's never heard. Somehow, even though the words are completely incomprehensible, she still understands what is being said. The memories shift from real world events to the part she plays in Jane's mind, that of a white armored seraph, standing vigil over the darkest places in the troubled woman's thoughts. Her image is flattering to say the least.

In a mirror of Jane from the night before, Miranda's tears are flowing uncontrollably as the final crescendo begins. One last memory appears, this one stronger than any other. She sees a semi-spherical room, scorched and broken by explosives. Dead asari are scattered about. There is gore everywhere. The sole remaining asari levels a pistol at her head and the entire world seems to freeze in that moment. Each voice shifts to a frantic tempo, each one singing a despairing note. Then a black blade, bathed in streams of violet energy erupts from the woman's chest. As the asari collapses, a new figure appears behind her. Miranda is speechless, struck dumb by the way Jane seems to remember what happened. She sees herself in diaphanous white armor, confidently striding forward to save Jane's life. It's not exactly how she remembers it. Miranda doesn't remember being half as confident or sure of herself, let alone being that well put together at the time. Not to mention the gilded wings.

The final verse of the song ends on a beautiful note, quietly echoing around her mind. As the sound fades, the orbs around Jane vanish and she falls forward, gasping for breath. Miranda kneels down to hug her tight, overwhelmed by what just happened. "You might not wanna hug me right now, I'm drenched in sweat." She ignores that, wanting only to hold her close.

"Thank you… Thank you Jane… That was so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. How did you do that?" Jane laughs breathlessly.

"I'll explain soon, just give me a bit. This really takes a lot outta me." She takes a few deep breaths before sitting back up. Jane pulls a small towel from a pouch on her belt to dab away some of the sweat. While she's doing that, Miranda notices movement to her left. Skittles the keeper is there, gently swaying back and forth. Jane sees her confusion, "Yeah he's done that every time I've tried this. I haven't figured out why yet. Don't worry, he'll get back to normal in a bit." When the keeper stops swaying, its head swings left and right, then it climbs the wall to get back to its panel. Miranda helps Jane to her feet before leading her back up to the mess area. She pulls a bottle of wine from a chilled cabinet and pours a couple glasses.

"So… what was that."

Jane thinks for a moment before speaking, "People… people underestimate just how much potential there is in biotic power. Gathering that much dark energy in one place does weird things. Light, sound, even time all become distorted under so much power. Sometimes, they change form entirely. I learned how to do this a couple years ago but never really explored it until Sparky's tour through the Alliance."

"But Jane, I saw your thoughts. I… I **felt** what you felt. How?"

"I'm not really sure, yet. I've not really explored the science behind it yet. For that I'd need a controlled environment, electrodes, and willing test subjects. Right now, I'm just happy for a chance to share it with you." Miranda takes a drink before looking back with a grimace.

"Look Jane, I'm flattered by what I saw, but… the way you apparently see me... I'm not as good a person as you think. I'm no angel." Jane smiles and takes her hand.

"Like I said back on Omega… you are to me."

They spend a few more hours, simply talking about everything that's happened and enjoying eachother's company. When it came time for Miranda to leave the following morning, she gave Jane a kiss on the cheek. "Stay safe out there Jane. Maybe I can come out to see what you're doing in the Terminus sometime."

"Sure. I've got something big coming up though. When that's done I'll give you a call and come pick you up. There's some pretty cool stuff happening out there." Jane gives her a hug that lasts a little too long for a simple goodbye.

"So what else are you going to do for your birthday?"

"Oh you know, just gonna go out and relax."

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Garrus**

He forwards the last file to evidence before shutting down his terminal. After a week of doubles to get ready for the new councillor, Garrus is looking forward to some serious downtime. Before he can slip out for the evening, one of his fellow officers flags him down. "This better be good Dren."

"Just got something quick. Chellick said you'd want to know. Potential drunk and disorderly on the presidium."

"Why would I want to know about that?" Dren hands him a datapad and Garrus lets is mandibles drift apart in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me…" Twenty minutes later, he's walking up to the krogan memorial and sure enough, she's up there again. This time the asari from last year is sitting with her back against the railing, clearly nursing a hangover. "I see you decided to take it a little easier this year." The asari glares up at him."

"Yeah. Just took a few sips this time, but it still feels like a bomb went off in my skull." He nods and looks up to the top of the statue. Jane is sprawled out unconscious, again. Garrus double checks the lift harness before heading over and turning the device on. He reaches eye level with her in no time. "Hello again Jane." She stirs slightly so he tries again, "Jane!" This time she opens her eyes and looks at him. A smile blossoms on her face.

"Hey blue guy! It'sss nice seein you again."

"Yes, it's nice to see you too. I need you to come down from there. Just give me your hand and-" Just like last year, when Jane reaches for him, she overextends herself and falls to the ground with a thud. Garrus puts a hand to his brow and sighs, "Dammit. Next time, get ahold of her **before** waking her." He's not as surprised as he should be when she starts giggling. A few taps on his belt lowers him back to the ground. He kneels down next to Jane, "If I ask you not to do this again, will you listen?" Her smile just gets bigger and she laughs even louder, "Right. That's what I thought. I'll make you a deal. I'm pretty sure that you'll get up there even if I ask for C-sec to increase security. So, I won't do that, if you promise to get down whenever someone asks."

"I'll do it if, if, if it'ss you."

"Why me?"

"Cause you're nice and blue and I like blue people…" She giggles again at Garrus's sigh.

"All right, you've got a deal. Now, please head back to your ship. It's-" She cuts him off.

"Iss not safe to drunk on the presdum."

"Close enough." He turns to the asari, "Ma'am, can you please help her get home." The asari silently nods before helping Jane to her feet. She pulls the young woman's arm around her shoulder and leads Jane off the presidium. As they start walking away, a piercing whistle fills the air and sure enough, the varren from last year comes scrambling out of the lake to trot after the duo. Garrus sighs heavily before looking over the statue. "Maybe they could extend the lake, make a moat…"

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Jane**

 _She's nursing the mother of all migraines as they wait by the airlock, "If you hadn't had so much to drink last night, your head wouldn't hurt so much." She glares at Karin balefully._

" _Thank you doctor, that is very helpful." Kal snorts a laugh behind her, but quickly backs away when she turns to glare at him. "As soon as Veritan gets here, we leave. Century said he'll have the colony's location be the time we hit the relay. Until then, shut it!" Kal nods, still trying to keep the laugh down._

 _Sparatus sent the final paperwork that morning, which Jane had still been too hungover to read at the time. Now she's finally seeing clearly and that lets her spot the young turian approaching through the crowd. Veritan has his helmet on to keep anyone from recognizing him, but Jane still recognizes the iconography on his armor. He reaches the airlock and snaps a salute, "Ma'am, Ensign Veritan Sparatus reporting." She knows that he's not shouting, but the pounding in her head makes it feel like the young man is bellowing into a megaphone._

" _Welcome aboard Veritan. Go with Karin for a physical. After that Kal will show you to a cabin. We're leaving in twenty minutes." She turns away to head for the bridge._

 **Veritan**

He watches as his new commander turns away, "Is she alright?"

The grey haired human nods, "Yes, just a little hungover right now. Come along young man." She takes him to a small but incredibly high quality med bay. After a simple examination, the quarian that helped save him on the Olondor leads him to a cabin at the end of the hall.

"This is your room. Jane will let you do whatever you want with it as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the ship or put anyone in danger." Veritan drops his bag on the small bed and looks around.

"Thank you, for what you and the others did on the Olondor. I owe you and your crewmates my life." The quarian shakes his head.

"Don't mention it. It's kind of what we do. Settle in and head to the bridge in ten minutes. Jane will give you the details on your job and what we'll be doing out in the terminus. Welcome aboard friend. The Pale Horse is a hell of a ship and I think you'll do good here."


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61 - Wrath of the… Volus?**

 _Date_ _: 4.21.2174_

 _Location : Alon System - Dun-Alon Headquarters_

 **Jane**

 _For the most part, the station is still just a giant metallic skeleton stretching for at least two kilometers in every direction, but there is one section that's nearing completion. One day it will be a massive docking complex for the future Dun-Alon fleet. For now the dock is still bare bones, just a few active berths. It's enough though. Jane steps from the airlock with Teg and Lia to meet Tog. The older krogan is wearing the onyx black uniform chosen by the company. "Bout time you showed up. We got the guy you wanted up in the conference room." Before showing the way, Tog steps over to his son to look the young man over. He takes in the rapidly developing crest, heavy increase in muscle mass, and a bevy of new scars, each one earned in honest, open combat. Tog bears his yellowed teeth in a hideous smile, "Almost time boy. Keep it up." Teg stands a little taller and puffs out his chest in pride._

 _They're led to the 'conference room' which is little more than an unoccupied room that happens to have a nearly finished floor. Inside is the man Jane's come to see, a volus from the target colony. The portly alien is scrolling through notes on a datapad, quietly tutting at what he sees. Tog thumps a fist on the door, drawing the volus's attention. "Ahh, excellent. Ksssht You must be Jane Shepard." He waddles over to extend a hand, "Greetings ma'am, I am Bid Algos ksssht and I have come on behalf of the free peoples of Iundos." Jane shakes his hand before following him to the wide window looking out over the gas giant below. It's the same planet her shipyard is now orbiting. She can even see it from here, gently drifting over a colossal storm down below. A ship is just now breaking anchor and emerging from one of the docks._

" _You speak for you people?"_

" _Indeed ksssht. At least, for those that haven't surrendered to despair. My people are being ground under the heel ksssht of a ruthless mercenary organization. You of course know the Red Wake, yes?" She nods, "While we are now oppressed ksssht, it did not begin this way. At first they seemed simply another mercenary company. They took up contracts protecting politicians and industry men ksssht. With each contract, their influence grew. Less than a year after arriving, they began using that influence to spread dissent and misinformation ksssht, tricking the people into electing officials under the payroll of the Wake. Eventually, the only ones in power ksssht were Wake stooges. Once that came about, the real horror began ksssht. They began demanding a tribute of flesh, slaves…" Teg snorts derisively._

" _A volus slave? The hell good would that be?" Lia slaps him on the back of the head._

" _Real nice Teg!" Bid just laughs bitterly._

" _No no my friends, ksssht it is a valid criticism. My people would make terrible slaves for labor purposes. However, there is something ksssht that most of my people are perfect for. Data analysis. Since my people are not physically inclined, we all ksssht receive training for more technical fields, which makes us ideal for data work. Apparently, those that are taken are quickly ksssht used up and discarded, because the Red Wake keeps abducting people, despite having taken more than enough to run a company such as there's ksssht ten times over. This must stop, but my people cannot do this on our own. It is why I risked coming here Miss Shepard. ksssht We need your help." Jane crosses her arms and scowls._

" _I'm not opposed to helping you. Hell, I was actually already planning on going to your world. The Wake moves a lot of their finances through banks on Iundos and that needs to stop, but it sounds like they're in control of most of the world. I can kill men no problem, but I don't have an army to fight a war."_

" _You needn't worry about the world at large. ksssht I have many willing to fight. What we need is for someone to neutralize ksssht the Wake's biggest advantage. We need you to break them in space, prevent ksssht an attack from orbit, and kill their leaders on the ground.. Once that is done, I will lead a march on the Wake's puppet chancellor. With the orbital assets denied ksssht, my people will be able to properly rise against him. There is one slight problem though." Jane taps her foot and waits for him to continue. "ksssht The Red Wake has an emergency evacuation facility near the chancellor's offices ksssht with ships ready to flee in. If these aren't destroyed ksssht, then the leadership will escape and likely return with Wake reinforcements. ksssht They need to be hit before the fleet in orbit realizes that the battle is lost and signals a retreat." She thinks it over for a bit. They'll need to hit the escape ships fast and that means they'll need some help._

 _Jane turns to Tog, "I need some backup from Dun-Alon."_

" _Guys up top already agreed, we're ready to go when you are."_

" _How did they know I would ask?" He gives her a patronizing look._

" _Come on kid, don't insult us. When you asked us to get this guy and he talked about what the Wake's got waitin, we figured you'd be askin. Tiberius approved fleet support and the twins gave the go ahead on infantry." Jane nods in relief._

" _Good. So the company is already mobilizing?" He smiles, "Glad to hear it. How many ships are ready to go?"_

" _We got five frigates fully crewed and ready for action, seven if you're okay with skeleton crews."_

" _No, we don't want to risk losing one this early on just because it's not at peak. We'll need to do a couple raids against the Wake orbital support to figure out what they have in-" Bid tugs on a leg plate to get her attention._

" _Excuse me ma'am, but I can help with that ksssht." He sends her a batch of files, "We have control over a few people in the Wake headquarters. Let's just say ksssht that it pays to keep an eye on ugly characters when they're... off duty. They've given us most of our information. The Red Wake ksssht has nine ships in orbit, two of which are built around massive orbital bombardment guns. Those we're brought in a few years ago to put an end to any talk of ending the Wake presence. The others are your stereotypical raider vessels ksssht. Fast, well armed, but not a lot of armor." Jane nods along with him. It's what they've been killing in space for a couple years now. Wake ships were great against merchant vessels or private yachts, but dedicated warships could tear through them as long as they maintain the initiative. Getting surrounded was still incredibly dangerous though._

" _Okay. We'll launch a lightning strike through the fleet. We blast straight through and make a beeline for the planet. Once in atmosphere we'll make for the targets in Blue. Gavin will drop half my team on top of the bastards' private docks. They'll sabotage the Wake's escape plan while the rest of us go after their headquarters and wipe out their command echelon. Tog, how many men can make planetfall with us?"_

" _We got two companies ready. About 60 krogan and 150 turians. We also got a couple squads of trainees from the other colonies you put us in contact with, good to run support roles. All in all not too many long time veterans, but they'll make a hell of a distraction for you guys. Just don't leave us out to dry, got it?"_

" _Of course not. We just need them to make some noise until we're done. The Company ships will follow us through the fleet. Once we're past the fleet, deploy by assault shuttle and get to the ground as fast as possible. Your job is just to make one hell of a scene. Land near the Wake headquarters, start shooting, and don't stop until we give the all clear. Afterwards, when the Wake's been crippled in system, it'll be up to Bid and his people to take down the local collaborators." She turns to the diminutive alien, "Go back to Iundos. Gather every supporter you can and be ready for us in five days. We'll get rid of the Wake, but the rest is up to you. You're people need to earn their freedom… are they up to it?"_

" _Absolutely. ksssht And don't think that we aren't going to compensate you and your people for your assistance. I have already discussed ksssht the Dun-Alon fees with mister Tog here and a total has been agreed to. Before the Red Wake occupation, my people traded quite frequently with the other independent colonies in the terminus ksssht. We will of course be willing to resume this trade at a discount for a time as compensation. My clan is also willing to pay for any munitions used during the battle ksssht. On a personal note, we may not look like much, but when a Volus sets his mind to something, we can be quite vicious ksssht. You can count on us when the battle is joined." He turns his back and waddles out the door. Jane tries to keep an open mind, but it's very hard not to laugh at the idea of the portly aliens being vicious about anything. Tog chuckles as the volus leaves._

" _This is gonna be fun."_

 _Date_ _: 4.24.2174_

 _Location : Fasu - Capital of Iundos_

 **Basilon**

They stand on a terrace overlooking the capital of Iundos, shielded from the sub zero temperatures and poisonous atmosphere by carefully concealed enviro-shields, "How do we know she will hit them here?" His superior chuckles to himself at Basilon's ignorance.

"Basilon, my oldest friend, she seeks to annihilate the Red Wake. To that end, she is tearing apart the Terminus in a bid to burn their supply lines to ash and force them to regroup. Iundos is perhaps the Wake's most important financial hub in this part of the galaxy. Of course she will strike here, especially since I've ensured that small bytes of data have been leaked at the right times. These will lead her here without question."

"Then we strike?"

"No. At least, not yet. We will observe as the battle unfolds and if an opportunity should present itself then we shall take it. I do not expect such an opportunity however. She will come expecting battle and one such as her does not ride into battle unprepared."

 _Date_ _: 4.26.2174_

 _Location : Iundos - Approaching Orbit_

 **Kalia**

"We'll be in range in less than five minutes captain. All ships report ready." She takes a few deep breaths. They've attacked plenty of ships before, but never a fleet this big or well armed. At least they've got back up.

"Good. Shepard to Tog, you guys ready?" The old krogan chuckles over the line.

"Damn right we are Shepard! The boys are itching for a fight. We still good with the plan?"

"Yes. All Dun-Alon ships, move to engage. Focus fire on engines and weapons. Remember, if the cores aren't breached we can salvage the ships later. Okay boys, get their attention." The company ships are essentially production models of the Pale Horse. Though bigger, each one was built using less expensive and less powerful versions of the tech on board the Pale Horse. Years of working out kinks in their systems also insured much cheaper production for the company ships. Instead of more powerful UV GARDIANS, they use the standard infrared. They still have the torpedo and missile tubes but they're armed with cheaper munitions that are easier to replace. Though they don't hit as hard, that's not a large concern when fired in a swarm, as they are now. "Kal, fire a single piranha at each target to confuse their GARDIAN systems. Kalia, take us right through the middle."

The swarm warheads detonate just outside point defense range and create a huge flock of targets. As the storm of missiles starts smacking into the enemy, the Wake ships return fire. The ship shakes under a few impacts, but the shields are keeping the damage minimal. They sail through the enemy formation at high speed with the Company ships right behind them. Still dealing with the missile swarm, the enemy ships can't bring all their weapons to bear without being overwhelmed. It gives them time to scoot through the fleet and emerge virtually unscathed on the other side. "We're through. Two minutes to deployment range."

"Century, are you in their network?"

"Affirmative. All emergency channels are currently blocked. We predict twenty two minutes until the firewalls can be reconstituted. We recommend making ground fall before this happens."

"Copy that. All assigned assault team members, get to Blue on the double." Kal, Kaiden, Teg, Lia, and the new guy Veritan rush out. Kalia can hear Jane talking to John. "Are you ready?"

"Yes ma'am. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Just stay calm and keep to the plan."

"Got it. Good luck Jane." Kalia peeks behind her to see Jane leave the bridge with Spits. John takes a deep breath before sitting down in Jane's chair. "I've got this… I can do this…"

"You'll do fine John. Just do what Jane would do and everything will work out." It doesn't seem to steady him so Kalia leaves it alone. "Entering deployment range."

"Pale Horse to all ships, deploy ground forces."

 **Basilon**

He and his superior look to the sky as twenty shuttles break the atmosphere with a gunship leading the charge. The shuttles land near the Red Wake's headquarters and disgorge hundreds of black armed soldiers before the mercenaries realize what is happening. He's been monitoring the Wake's comm lines, trying to figure out why the attack was almost unopposed. It took a moment to realize that someone in orbit was flooding every channel with garbage data to keep them quite. The attackers fire at everything that moves around the building, with the notable exception of any volus in the area. "Why aren't they hitting the little waddlers?"

"She has likely imposed some rules of engagement on them. Ignore them and focus on the gunship." He trains his sights back on the descending gunship. It stops above the Wake's hanger for a few seconds and drops off a curious trio. A turian, quarian, and a human male all leap out onto the hangar roof. Basilon can see the turian slap a demo charge onto a hatch to open the way. They all disappear into hanger.

"She's not with the group hitting the hanger." The gunship lifts off and makes a hard burn towards the main facility. A few missiles are launched from some of the ground emplacements, but they quickly spiral out of control and detonate midair. "They must have a powerful ECM system in that gunship."

"Indeed. When the time comes to make our own attack, we will need to avoid relying on automated systems." Basilon nods and continues taking notes as the gunship lashes out with its own missiles to tear the offending emplacements apart. The vessel quickly skims the facility's roof and disgorges the rest of the group. An asari, krogan, and varren leap out, along with their target. She guns down the few surviving mercenaries on the roof before blasting a hole with a biotic surge and leading her team in.

"They're inside. Do we move in?" His superior considers for moment before shaking his head.

"No, not today. The Wake has been a useful tool over the years, but their reach has grown too much to be tolerated. They've grown bold enough to strike Hierarchy targets and that is unacceptable. We let her remove their resources here. It will force them to draw back, to consolidate in order to avoid dissolution. For now we simply observe, gather more data. Advise the Wake to send in the occasional specialist squad to test her abilities. I want to see what if anything is effective against her. It will make our eventual assault all the more effective. In the meantime, this should be quite the entertaining show.

 **Veritan**

When he accepted the offer to accompany Shepard, he hadn't been sure what to expect. Perhaps combat patrols along the alliance border or garrison duty in a troubled sector. He certainly hadn't expected to be mounting a full-scale assault on mercenary fortifications deep in the terminus to pave the way for a civil war on a Volus colony. His fire team leader is a competent man of sound technical and biotic skills. "Alright guys let's get in the hanger and get the job done."

"Any idea how many ships there are? I've got twenty six charges. That's enough for a dozen ships if we hit them right. Anything more and we could be in trouble." Kaidan doesn't turn back as he answers. Instead he talks as they make their way down through the upper levels towards the hanger.

"Bid's people said there should only be about half a dozen FTL capable shuttles." They reach the doors to the hanger to break in, "Shouldn't be too much trouble. We'll plant the charges then we… we… oh crap." Veritan spots the half dozen shuttles they were expecting, and hanging right above them from multiple launch cradles are close to a hundred atmospheric fighters. Kal is swearing in quarian. Veritan runs the numbers in his head and comes to an uncomfortable conclusion.

"Even with optimal placement, the charges I have won't be enough to take out half of these." Kaiden nods.

"Yeah, and even one getting out could kill a lot of our friends. Century, can you hear me?" The geth had been a hell of a surprise but quickly proved to be a critical boon to the ship.

"Affirmative Kaidan Alenko. Please speak quickly, we are currently heavily engaged."

"Copy that. The hanger has a lot more inside than we thought. Can the Pale Horse make a bombing run and level this place?"

"Negative. A second group of Red Wake Raider vessels has emerged from the shadow side of the planet and engaged the fleet. If the Pale horse diverts from battle, the Dun-Alon fleet will be overwhelmed." An alarm sounds over the comm channel. "We apologize, our attention is required on the matter at hand." With that the channel closes. Kaidan swears a few times before turning to Veritan.

"Is there anything we can do to cause a chain reaction? Touch off the eezo cores for the fighters?" Veritan shakes his head.

"They're shutdown. The core is inert in the inactive state. They'll only explode if the fighter's engine is online when the charge goes off and for that to mean anything here we'd have start at least half of them before their pilots catch on to us." The man swears again, "But there might be something we can do. If Kal can help me find the primary supports for the hanger, we can bring the roof down on top of everything. Some of the ships might not be flattened but with a thousand tons of debris piled on top, nothing's getting out."

"That's what I like to hear. Get on it. I've got an idea for the pilots. Gavin, we need you at the hanger's big door in about four minutes." He and Kal jump to work, identifying the major supports for the facility. They slap a pair of charges on each one and get ready to pull out.

 **Jane**

 _Century has managed to keep the alarms offline, giving them an near straight shot to the command center. There are plenty of mercenaries on guard but most are caught unaware. Even with this advantage, word is still starting to getting out, likely through runners, and resistance is getting thicker by the minute. "Shepard Jane, our full attention will be required in orbit soon. A second group of enemy vessels has emerged from the other side of Iundos."_

 _"Copy that Century. Fry the alarms here and at the hanger, then get back to the Pale Horse." before Century can acknowledge, Kaidan comes over the comm._

 _"Wait don't shut down the alarms at the hanger! We had to change the plan a little bit over here but we've got an idea and we need the alarms on for it to work."_

 _"What's going on Kaidan? Do you need backup?"_

" _No, we just found out the Wake has a lot of guys over here. We need to make sure they can't cause trouble and to do that we need the alarms online."_

 _"Alright. Century just fry the alarms here and get back to the ship." The Geth acknowledges and shuts down the line. A couple seconds later the mobile node in her gauntlet shuts down. "Let's keep moving guys." They continue carving there way through the growing number of mercenaries with a mix of blade, bullet, biotics and tusk. Teg clears the way with thundering blasts from his claymore, while Lia takes aim at any officers in sight and puts them down with careful headshots. Spits is bounding along next to Jane. The two of them are charging into any block of mercenaries in the way. Abyss and Seraph sing through the air in a never-ending song of slaughter. As Jane cuts their enemies down, Spits leaps at any fool close enough before tearing them apart with brute force. They'll be at the command center soon enough._

 **Basilon**

"Interesting, very interesting. Send in the first specialists." Basilon calls to one of several heavy weapons squads inside the facility and orders them into action.

"They're on the way sir." The Spectre nods and goes back to watching the camera feeds as the first unit get a visual.

 **Jane**

 _Another level cleared. One more and they'll be in position. Jane slashes both blades through the midsection of a batarian then turns to move on. Another squad rounds a nearby corner. The man in front raises his weapon and opens fire. Jane has only a second to throw up a hasty barrier to divert the stream of searing flame away from her team. The temperature skyrockets as the hallway fills with fire. Jane has to redouble the power in her barrier to keep everyone safe. The flamethrower runs dry after a 30 second burn. Before the operator can react Lia puts a bullet in his head. His support is gutted by a shot from Teg and a thrown blade from Jane._

 _As she drags Abyss out of a salarian's stomach, Teg stomps over other scorched floor tiles and rips the flame trooper's head off. He turns the grisly trophy over a couple time before grunting in disapproval. "Hate flamethrowers. Hey boss, how'd you do that? I didn't think biotics were that good against fire."_

" _They typically aren't." Lia puts a bullet into the unsevered heads as she explains. "Diverting a stream of fire for a single moment is often too much for a normal biotic. Holding it back, head on, for thirty seconds? Anybody else would probably be dead by now, myself included." Jane takes a moment to catch her breath and down a stim bar. That flamethrower took a lot more out of her than she'll ever admit._

" _Come on. Let's get going before another one shows up."_

 **Basilon**

"Were you recording that?"

"Yes sir. We're recording everything the cameras see and uploading to a secure data stack in the ship." The spectre flares his mandibles in satisfaction.

"Excellent. Despite her success in diverting the flame, she was still drained by the effort of doing so. Amusing isn't it? We've learned more about her in two months than the Wake has in years."

"I suppose that's what happens when you give into fanaticism sir." His superior chuckles at him.

"How true my friend… Send in the next team, heavy guns this time. I want to see how she fares against a cannon.

 **Teg**

He sticks close to Jane, just in case another flamethrower shows up. Fire sucks in a fight. When he was still a runt he got burned by a klixen back home. One escaped from the fighting pits and caused hell across the station for a week. He was the one that caught it, but before he beat it to death the ugly bug burned his left arm pretty good. Took almost a month to heal right.

They come to the last intersection leading to the next level. The damn tower is built like a maze. None of the stairwells lead more than two levels up or down. Jane uses her biotics to blast the door away. Before they can move in a stream of heavy shots slams into Jane's back, nearly throwing her to the floor. She spins on her heel and throws up a barrier to cover him and Lia. They whirl around to see a pair of krogan in combat harnesses pouring out a murderous stream of fire with underslung heavy guns. Teg can see Jane struggling to hold the flood back, "Get to cover guys!" He doesn't argue. They all dive out of the intersection to the cover of the side halls. The stream of bullets doesn't stop.

"We can't leave these behind us Jane! We need to kill them before moving on!"

"I know that Lia!" Jane pauses for a moment to think. She looks at Teg, then taps on the wall a couple times. "Teg, punch the wall!" Some people might have questioned that, but not him. Teg draws a fist back and slams it into the wall as hard as he can. It punches through with almost no resistance. He pulls away a huge chunk and grins at her. "Hell yes! Make a few doors and go say hello! We'll keep their attention!" As Jane and Lia fire a few ineffectual shots down the hall, Teg backs up a little and charges headlong through the wall. It crumbles like dead wood. He plows through three rooms with ease before drawing parallel with the gunners.

He locks his claymore at his back and draws the hammer. Teg braces it low so it won't get caught on anything and calls over the comm."I'm in position!"

"They're distracted! Go now!" He charges through the final wall in a spray of crap drywall and poorly set wiring. The first gunner has no time to react as Teg comes roaring through the wall, swinging his hammer in a scything strike from down low. His weapon hits the heavy gun first, shattering it with ease before powering into the the man's chest. The gunner is hurled away by the impact, spewing blood as he hits the ground. Teg lets the hammer's moment carry him into a spiral and swings it into the bottom of second krogan's chin. The gunner's head is violently wrenched back, snapping his neck with a resounding crack. He's dead as his body is lifted from the ground by the impact and thrown back. As the corpse falls, Teg turns back to the first gunner. The krogan is choking on his pulped organs and can barely spit out his hatred at his killer. "Just do it whelp!" Obliging the man,Teg raises the hammer high and swings in down with both hands. Hammerhead meets krogan face, crushing the crest with ease before pulping the tissue beneath. There's nothing left above the merc's shoulder as Teg trots back to Jane. "Good work big guy."

He props the hammer up on his shoulder, ignoring the clumps of brain matter dripping from it. "Thanks boss."

"Let's go, the command center is on the next level."

 **Basilon**

"She knows how to utilize her underlings to preserve her strength. That woman could easily have killed those two, but perhaps she believes there is worse to come. This reaffirms our conclusion form the Olondor. When the time comes, it is critical that she be separated from her companions." Basilon double checks his notes and adds greater emphasis on that last point. "Is there anything that we haven't observed her facing yet?"

"There is one more team sir. I think you'll like this one."

"You know me quite well old friend so I'll assume it will be entertaining… Send them in."

 **Lia**

Jane is tiring. She'd never admit it, but deflecting heavy weapons fire drains her at a terrifying rate. Luckily they're almost done. The last level is well guarded and they have to cut through plenty of targets. At least Jane has switched to her guns, keeping to cover as much possible so she can recover a bit. The walls on this level are a lot thicker too, as Teg and his fist discovered to the tune of two broken knuckles. They're at the last corner, a turn from the edge of the building that leads straight to the heart of it all. Jane peaks around the corner but immediately ducks back as a storm of bullets floods the hall.

"There's at least twenty of them down there. Some of them are setting up a one way shield. That means they're getting ready to bring out something big."

"What do you think-" Her question is answered before she can even finish it. A rocket comes screaming through the space between them and slams into the outer wall. A deep crater is blasted into the pristine surface, showering them in debris.

Teg curses at them, "How the hell did that tiny rocket do that much damage the outer wall?! This place has an armored frame!" Another shell screams into the wall, tearing into the surface even more.

"They must be shaped charges! Purpose built for breaking through heavy defenses and-" Jane is cut off as yet another rocket blows by, finally doing enough damage to breach the tower. Freezing air fills the hall, prompting all of them to check their enviro-seals. The air on Iundos is mostly ammonia. It's one of the reasons for a colony so far into the Terminus. With the wall breached, the tower's emergency systems shut down oxygen to the area to avoid wasting resources. While that's happening, the mercs are still firing rockets, tearing even more out of the wall. The hole is now big enough to fit through. "We've got to end this before they can circle around and surround us. I'm gonna blind them after the next volley. Be ready to charge!"

Jane starts gathering power for a flare as they wait for more rockets. Like clockwork, another shot flies by, tearing the beleaguered wall apart even further. The instant the shell is past them, Jane pivots around the corner to launch her flare. Lia can hear her gasp just before disaster strikes. There wasn't just one rocketeer. She deflects the first missile with a single biotic pulse. It detonates against the ceiling as the next one sails by with Jane just barely pivoting to the side in time. The third one is dead on. She manages to wrap it in a field between her hands just before impact, but then it detonates. The blast throws Jane towards the hole in the wall and she disappears over the edge. Spits runs over to look for her as the biotic flare detonates as the end of the hall. The mercenaries' screams are nothing next to the howl of fury from Spits. He rounds on Jane's blinded assailants and charges down the hall. Before Teg or Lia have taken a single step, he's roared through the mercs' pitiful gunfire and is ripping into them with wild abandon.

Spits is always dangerous in a fight, but when someone hurts Jane, he becomes something else. With an emergency enviro-shield keeping him safe from the atmosphere, he can sink his teeth into their enemies. The first mercenary is simply hurled into the wall as Spits barrels by on the way towards the rocket launchers. A second has his hip crushed by a single massive bite before he's hurled into the wall. Lia and Teg are sprinting towards the slaughter, intent on their own revenge, but Spits doesn't need them.

Another merc falls to the ground after the varren slashes his claws across the man's legs. He screams in agony until Teg stomps his head into paste. Spits has finally reached the rocket launchers and he doesn't hesitate. With his jaws open as wide as possible he leaps at the first launcher, pinning him to the ground under almost two hundred kilos of enraged varren. He has only a moment to give voice to his terror as Spits clamps down on his head and rips it away in a spray of blood before throwing it at the nearest mercenary. The man takes the flying head to the groin, leaving him wailing in pain until Lia puts a bullet between his eyes.

Spits bites into the second rocketeer's legs and pulls for all he's worth. The salarian falls to the ground, cracking his head on the concrete flooring. He can only manage a single strangled moan when Spits pins him under one massive paw, using it to keep the salarian in place as he rips both legs off.

The final merc is desperately backing away, trying to reload his launcher. Before he can get another warhead into the chamber, Spits latches his jaws onto the weapon and smashes it to bits. The turian falls away, crawling backwards as Spits stalks closer, steaming maw oozing with alien blood and viscera. With his back against the wall, the turian tries to bargain. "Wait! I can help you! I can help-" Whatever he was going to say is lost in the screams as Spits tears him to pieces. By the time he's done, all that's left is a puddle of gore and shredded armor.

With the immediate threat gone, Spits sprints back over the breach in the wall. He frantically paws at the edge, whining in confusion. Lia and Teg trot over soon after. She can't believe what just happened. 'I failed… again…' the thought has her spiraling into despair, but for once in her life, the goddess has decided to be merciful.

"Are you guys okay?!" Janes voice is pained and it's clear she's out of breath.

"Jane! Thank the goddess! Where are you?!" Patched into their comm, Spits is swinging his head from side to side, desperate to find Jane.

"Uhh, I'm hangin on the side of the tower, bout a hundred feet down. I, shit my chest hurts. I think a piece of that warhead broke through my chestplate. Are you guys okay?"

"Yes. Hang in there. We'll get Gavin to help."

She can hear metal on stone and Jane grunting, "No, he's helping the guys over at the hanger. Are you clear up there?"

"Yeah. Spits went berserk after you fell." The varren is still frantically searching for Jane.

"Spits, can you hear me buddy?" Lia can hear him whining over them comm, "Maja Var big guy. I'm okay." Spits immediately sits down and chuffing happily. There are times when Lia admires his simple view of the world. "Look it's gonna take me a few minutes to get back up there. I'm a little too tired to blast my way in down here."

"We'll wait for you." Lia hears Jane swearing about blood or something.

"Don't. Someone is probably already on the way up to find out what the hell is happening up there. Get into command center and wipe out their upper echelon. I'll be up there eventually."

Teg turns to her with a huge grin. "You heard her. Let's kick em in the quad! Hey Spits, chaltin sul!" They howl with glee and charge down the hall. Lia follows close behind, infinitely relieved that her oath is still intact. Teg slams his hammer into the doors, tearing them from their mountings. She and her reptilian companions rip into the enemy.

 **Jane**

 _When she got blasted out of the tower, there had been a moment of panic before instinct took over. Jane used a singularity to stop her fall before biotically hurling herself back at the building and stabbing Abyss into the wall. The dark blade pierced the armored surface with ease, though her shoulder was nearly wrenched out of the socket. After calling her team and reassuring them that she wasn't dead, Jane got to work, stabbing her blades into the wall and using them to climb._

 _Already exhausted by the need for extreme energy expenditure to defend against heavy weapons and to avoid falling to her death, it's not a pleasant climb. She turns enough to look at the hanger and spots Blue swooping in on the doors. A few moments later Gavin is chased away from the doors by streams of heavy fire slamming into the gunship. Kaiden mentioned a need for the alarms to work, but for all she's worth, Jane still isn't sure why._

 _Then the hanger collapses. "Damn guys. I know you said you had plan, but that was way cooler than what I was expecting." She's almost back to the breach, so she doesn't bother asking for help._

 **Basilon**

"She's resourceful, I'll give her that. Explosives seem to work the best, but if it's too obvious she can adapt in time. Preplaced explosives will be our best bet." Basilon finishes his notes before packing things away. They have everything they're going to get so it's time to leave.

"What about the Wake in system?"

"Inconsequential. They'll either escape or die. In the end it doesn't matter. Tell them to standby, then sever all communications. It's time to leave." He was only marginally surprised when the Wake hanger collapsed. Not much she or her team does moves him anymore.

 **Jane**

 _By the time she gets back to the breach, Lia and Teg are finishing up in the command center. A single team of mercs comes around the corner and starts shooting. She's not in the mood for their crap, so Jane just chucks a heavy grenade and slowly makes her way to the team. The blast rips the mercs to pieces and draws the others' attention. Spits sees her and charges out to leap at her. Jane is too tired to catch him, so they both fall to the ground. He frantically licks all over her face, overjoyed to see her again. "I'm okay big guy, I promise." Spits finishes licking and flops down on top of her, chuffing in joy as the others walk over._

" _Aww, he's a happy boy."_

" _Yeah, yeah he is. Can you help him off of me? I think I've got some shrapnel in my chest and this really hurts." Teg walks over and pulls Spits away be the collar of his armor. Lia helps her back up before leading her to the ruins of the command center. Most of the place is trashed, but the comm console is intact. "Get any audio samples from the leader?" Teg tries to nonchalantly kick away a puddle of what used to be a batarian._

" _Uhh, nope."_

" _Okay, send out a text only message. Tell them all to pull back to the tower and hunker down. We'll clear them out in a few minutes." Lia takes care of that while Jane calls to the ship. "How's it going upstairs John?"_

" _We're good up here. We lost a few armor plates and all of the company ships have taken damage, but the skies are ours."_

" _Any good salvage?"_

" _Only one of the Wake ships had a core breach. Most of the rest are wrecks, but salvageable. We even snagged one of the bombardment ships without too much damage."_

 _An interesting idea sprouts up, "Is the main gun intact?"_

" _Yeah. I had Century run a few figures on it. Apparently it's worth almost as much as an entire new ship. Hell of a prize."_

" _Yeah it is. Hey Century, is that gun capable of precision bombardment."_

" _Affirmative."_

" _What kind of fall out could we expect if we target a single building on the surface?"_

" _Calculating… the main gun is capable of a high degree of precision. With proper targeting, the affected area would encompass a radius of 52.7 meters when fired at 50% power."_

" _How far across in the Wake headquarters at it' most narrow point?"_

" _61.9 meters."_

" _Get that gun retargeted on the Wake's tower and prime it to fire. Shepard to Tog, pull back from the tower at least a hundred meters and take cover. Orbital fire incoming." Tog acknowledges and the mini Tac screen in her HUD shows the Dun-Alon forces inching to the safe zone._

" _Shepard Jane, the tower is currently protected by a powerful shield apparatus. The bombardment gun will not be able to penetrate this without firing at its highest setting and doing so will destroy a large swath of the city." Jane looks around the command center for a moment before spotting the shield control station. The display is damaged and splattered in blue blood but still functional. She uploads a virus to the system and soon enough it shorts out. "Correction, we no longer detect the shield. The orbital bombardment gun can be ready to fire in 6 minutes. We recommend immediate evacuation." Jane and the others head to the roof and call for a pickup from Gavin. Before he arrives Jane has to stop for a moment to take a breather. She lets a hand drift to her chest and finds a small trickle of blood leaking from under her emergency enviroshield. The dark Crimson fluid freezes as soon as it trickles outside the shield, but the slow bleed isn't stopping._

" _What's the deal boss? Why aren't you regenerating?" Teg points a bulky finger at the wound._

" _There's gotta be a lot of shrapnel keeping it from stitching together right. Karin will… will get it… Is Blue almost here?" Her friends trade a worried look as the gunship in question come to a graceful landing nearby. They help her in and soon enough Gavin has them speeding away from the tower._

 **Kaiden**

There isn't much time to celebrate. After faking a call to scramble the fighters at the hanger, they'd bailed and dropped the roof on the mercenaries trying to board their ships. Veritan's charges were perfectly placed, knocking out the supports in a cascading collapse that managed to drag the rest of the building down. When they swooped in to pick up the others, he'd been shocked to see the hole in Jane's chestplate and the pale cast of her features. They helped her in before taking off. Soon after, an ear splitting roar fills the air as a shot from orbit slams into the merc tower. The building simply ceases to exist as a cloud of dust and debris floods the air. When it clears, there's nothing left but a smoking crater.

She mumbles out, "Tell Bid to get his people going… Need to move fast."

Kal knocks on the gunship's window, "I think he's got it covered." They all crowd around the window and marvel at the sight below. A crowd of almost a thousand volus is encircling their Chancellor's office. Most are unarmed, but a few are waving guns at the doors. Just as Blue comes to hover over the plaza, a figure steps out from the crowd in a crudely armored mining exo-suit. Despite it's clunky build, the armored volus waddles over to the doors and tears them away with no effort before leading a stream of his followers inside. A few minutes later, a single volus in a gaudily embroidered pressure suit is thrown through a window at the top of the building. The little alien plummets almost two hundred feet before smacking into the pavement below. His suit immediately ruptures, splattering him all over the ground. The low pressure means that despite the perfect atmospheric blend and temperature, what's left of him still rips itself apart.

He then notices fumes rising from a few places all over the city, "Looks like Bid wasn't kidding, they've got people all over. Jane we should-" When he looks back he sees that Jane is drowsily chewing on an energy bar. Rather than bother her, Kaiden calls to Tog himself, "This is Kaidan Alenko to Dun Tog, our job is done for today. Pull back to the ships and tend to the wounded."

The old krogan growls over the comm, "Where's Shepard?"

Kaiden looks at her again, and this time she's asleep, "Getting some rest. She took a few hits so we're heading back to orbit for now. Put together a report on the action for her and she'll look it over later."

"Whatever…" The line closes as Blue breaks the atmosphere.


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62 - Scratch and Skitter**

 _Date_ _: 4.28.2174_

 _Location : Iundos - High Orbit_

 **Jane**

 _Her head is pounding as she slowly awakens. The dreams were still bad, but the dark hand wasn't as frightening as it used to be. Most of the time, it just pisses her off now. As Jane manages to force herself into a sitting position, a terrible itch springs up inside her chest. She lets a hand drift to the spot, finding the suit open and that she has a new scar. The door cycles open, "Well it's about time you woke up. We wouldn't want the crew to start thinking you were a slouch." Jane smiles lightly at Karin._

" _What happened?" Karin lights up her omni tool and scans her._

" _You suffered a severe chest wound. That rocket you caught riddled your chest with shrapnel. The little pieces were no problem but this…" She reaches over and lifts a small bottle containing a jagged, four centimeter shard of something, "This was stabbed into your right ventricle. Every beat after that tore the tissue a little bit more. By the time you were on my table the blood was pouring out of your chest. It's lucky you got back when you did. Instead of dying you get a couple little momentos. A new scar and this." Jane doesn't feel overly lucky as Karin holds up the bottle again and jingles the little piece of metal._

" _Is all that why my chest itches so much?" The smile on the doctor's face fades a little._

" _Not exactly. I was running a scan last night and… well I found this." Karin turns one of her displays so Jane can see. Everything looks normal until she spots the dark mass spreading over her heart._

" _God dammit…" It's another implant, it has to be. Karin confirms her suspicions a moment later._

" _I've run a dozen scans and compared them to the older files Mirdan sent me. This implant may be new, but in a way it's been there for years. I've found an area embedded in the other implant in your heart," She points to a tiny knot of dense flesh where tendrils of material can be seen sprouting from to cover her heart. "After I found that, I got a little curious and decided to run a more thorough examination which lead to this." Multiple areas are highlighted, some of them indicating places where implants had sprouted already, along with at least a half a dozen places that still appeared to be dormant. "We already knew that the original implants all began with a seed placed inside you. They would then grow to maturity. It is highly likely that as they grew, these little seeds began to develop as well. I'm not certain, but I believe specific kinds of stress triggered the development. Mirdan's records seem to confirm it. After suffering a poison gas attack, the secondary structures in you lungs sprouted. Eating and drinking large quantities of potential harmful materials led to the implant in your liver. The special lattice surrounding your brain appears to have manifested after you suffered the attack from that asari on Omega. I'd be willing to bet that the rest of them also followed this pattern."_

 _Jane rubs the flesh directly over her heart, hoping the itch will subside. "Okay. That's all very interesting and more than a little disturbing, but why does it itch so much?"_

" _The new growth is very similar to the chiton found on the exoskeletons of insects or crustaceans. While this material is more flexible, it has yet to develop any kind of mucinous member. This means that it's rubbing directly against you innards with no lubrication. I can give you something to dull-" Jane holds up her hand to stop her._

" _No."_

" _Jane this process will likely not be pleasant. Surely it would be better to-" Jane cuts her off again._

" _I said no. Painkillers and the like just slow down the implants' growth. Leave it alone and hopefully it'll be done growing soon." Karin scowls as Jane slowly lowers herself from the bed._

" _Very well. But I still want you to take it easy for a while."_

" _I'll rest for a few days and then-"_

" _Weeks. You'll rest for a few weeks, doctor's orders." Jane gets set to argue but the look in Karin's eyes leaves no room for argument._

" _Fine. But I'm not staying in medbay anymore."_

" _I was just about to say the same thing. There is busy work to be done out there. Not to mention the fact that you've been lounging about for far too long. Off you go." Jane smiles and leaves. Her stride is a little slower than usual as she tries to ignore the incessant itch in her chest. Vollor is waiting for her with a small feast prepared._

" _Ah, a delight to see you up and about honored captain. This one has prepared a bountiful spread. Please, enjoy." Only now does she realize just how hungry she is. Her stomach growls angrily, demanding proper nourishment. Jane tears into Vollor's food and rapidly powers through enough for multiple people. A chuckle from the other side of the room draws her attention for a moment. Jane looks up and sees Kaiden leaning against wall. She only pauses for a couple seconds before diving back in._

" _You know, we were actually kinda worried for a bit. I thought I was gonna have to take over permanently." Jane slurps down a ball of noodles._

" _I'm okay. It itches but hopefully it'll go away soon. How did things go on Iundos? I'm having trouble remembering anything after we hopped into Blue." Kaiden sits down across from her, careful to avoid getting between her and the food._

" _Things went like we were expecting. As soon as the shot from orbit leveled the Wake tower, Bid led his followers to hit the chancellor. Threw him out the window too. After that things really caught fire. The Wake had their claws in pretty deep, but Bid has been getting ready for this for a long time. Even before the Wake leadership was dead, he had his people sabotaging life support at all the mercenaries' secondary outposts. A few tried to surrender, not that it helped them much. Most of them are already dead and the last ones standing are under siege on one of the islands in the southern hemisphere." Jane chugs a glass of whatever green stuff Vollor put in front of her._

" _What about the local collaborators? Bid said the Wake had some serious support with certain circles." Kaiden gives a grimace before continuing_

" _They do and it's not pretty. Bid wasn't lying when he said volus could be vicious when they set their minds to it. Fighting is widespread. Nearly every city's got at least one running gun battle, or waddling I guess. Century ran the numbers and estimated almost two years before Bid can bring everybody back together." A tiny geth avatar manifests on the table next to Jane._

" _To clarify, we estimated that conflict at its current levels will last for at least fourteen months and twelve days. Widespread civil unrest coupled with rioting is likely to continue for a further nine months. These figures are contingent on zero interference from outside sources." Kaiden nods along with him._

" _Yeah I've been thinking about that. If we launch a few strikes against the heaviest resistance we might be able-"_

" _No. We're not stepping in any further." Kaiden blinks a few times in confusion._

" _What? Why? We're already involved. How can we just stay out of it now?"_

" _I made a deal with Bid. We wipe out the Red Wake's local contingent and keep them away. Then we leave the planet so Bid can deal with the locals. If we get in the way now it could undermine his call for liberation. We might be seen as just another set of invaders." Kaiden doesn't look happy._

" _I guess that makes sense. It doesn't feel right though…"_

" _They'll be okay, eventually. For now, we have Dun-Alon watch things up in orbit and bring in some orbital denial guns for Bid when things calm down." He nods at her before pulling a small data pad from his belt._

" _Here's the credit transfer from Bid. Everything is accounted for along with a small bonus for everybody that was on the team. Tog confirmed that their payment arrived too. They've even been working on a new contract. Bid is being careful with the terms, making sure they won't have a repeat of the Wake."_

" _What about the company? How'd they do?" Teg comes stomping into the mess area with a scowl. He nods hello to them before pulling something shaped kind of like a squid, which still seems to be alive, from a storage locker. He plops down next to her and chews on the still squirming thing._

" _They did good. Lost a couple guys but most of them were runts that didn't know when to duck." He rips a huge chunk from the creature. Something is off with him. Teg's usually pretty calm and relaxed but right now something's got him pissed._

" _You good Teg?" He snaps his head to look at her, the scowl still fixed on his face._

" _Yeah. Why?" Jane is startled by the borderline hostility._

" _Nothing. You just seem a little… wound up right now."_

" _Hmmm been a little pissed at what happened to you. I was right there and didn't do shit." Teg slams a fist into the table leaving a sizable dent in the steel surface._

" _There wasn't much that could be done Teg. I'm okay so don't worry about. I don't hold it against you at all." He grunts in annoyed acceptance._

" _Alright I guess." He downs the rest of the squid thing and lets out a huge belch. "I gonna finish movin stuff in the cargo hold for the new guy." Still scowling, Teg stomps up the steps to the next level. Jane turns to look at Kaiden._

" _What new guy?"_

 _Date_ _: 5.1.2174_

 _Location : Arcturus secure comm Facility_

 **Hackett**

"Even more tools and weapons are being moved into the Terminus at her behest. I believe it's safe to say _ksssht_ that she's either found another source of mineral wealth or she's made new allies." Hackett nods in thanks to Volus for sending him the details earlier. Jane's own report had been thin on details, but he'd gotten the gist of it. She had found another colony the Wake was taking from and stopped it. Beyond that, they didn't know much.

"With great worry: What of her injuries? You stated earlier that her ship's doctor has forbidden her from going into battle for the time being." Hackett had deliberately downplayed Karin's report when the meeting began. There'd be no reason for panicking the council.

"Nothing to worry about. She's just being cautious. The Fulcrum's injuries, while potentially deadly to a normal human, aren't much of a threat to her. She'll be back to full capacity soon." The council breaths a collective sigh of relief. He doesn't know about the others, but just listening to Anderson's reports on Jane had turned the last of his hair grey. "Are there any other concerns?"

As he'd expected, Turian is next, "Indeed. What of the charges being filed against her? I understand Captain Petron is still trying."

"Nothing to worry about. I've already seen to that." Petron had tried to have Jane arrested the day Jane broke his wrist but Hackett stymied the investigation. The belligerent captain hadn't given up though. He'd taken his charges all the way up the chain until Hackett had been forced to send Anderson in to make him stop. He still wasn't sure what David did, but after their talk Petron stopped trying to file charges. In fact, he'd stopped causing any problems. The man had even tried to file a formal, if quite frantic apology. Hackett didn't ask for details. Sometimes it's better to not know.

"It still brings up an important point. While her standing with certain individuals in the galaxy is quite admirable, the galaxy at large has little reason to respect her, despite the good she's done. Most of her work is classified for good reason. We need to help her gain a better reputation within the Alliance and, eventually, with the rest of the galaxy."

"This one is curious. What is the honorable Turian suggesting?"

"I would think it'd be obvious. Induct her into the N-program." He wasn't opposed to the idea. There was just one problem.

"Honestly, I'm not sure she'd be interested. The Fulcrum has shown no interest in advancing inside the Alliance. Truthfully, I believe she simply views it as a means to an end."

"I am well aware of that, which is why I would also suggest bringing in the human marine that travels with her. If she could be convinced that accepting her own invitation will improve his chances of success, then perhaps she will agree." Hackett spends a few minutes thinking it over as the others voice their agreement.

"Very well. She's already been endorsed by one respected former N-7. If I have a few choice agents advocate for her as well then it will be easy to get the ball rolling. We'll just have to hope she'll accept. For now though, we've already asked her to take care of something else, a small matter with a drifting ship that's been ghosting sensors for decades." They spend a bit more time trading ideas to help convince her before moving onto other matters.

"So what's up in the Hegemony. I hear it's gettin to be like Tuchanka with all the fighting." Krogan is exaggerating, but not as much as most people would expect.

"I wouldn't say that, but things are evolving rapidly. The troublemakers from before are proving quite tenacious and the lower castes are eating it up. I've seen to it that resources are routed to the rabble-rousers, but to tell the truth… I don't think they need it. The Hegemony is proving to be fertile soil for insurrection. Last year it was just a few demonstrations and some vandalism. This month alone has seen three separate riots and the last three Slave Auction Masters have all been shot during their elevation ceremonies. No one is even willing to take the job anymore."

"Do we know who these courageous rebels are?"

"Not yet. One of their preachers was caught and publicly executed after a very, very thorough interrogation. They didn't get anything from him, not even a name. After he was dead, everyone involved in the process, from the men who arrested him to the ones that executed him, all of them vanished. The only thing left behind at each location was this symbol." An image pops up on Hackett's screen and he can't help but smile. It's a golden yellow figure locked in a cruciform pose.

 _Date_ _: 5.14.2174_

 _Location : Border region Between Alliance and Terminus Space_

 **Jane**

 _Despite how boring he could be, Jane was actually glad Dib was aboard. She hadn't been sure at first. Apparently, the people of Iundos followed some very old traditions, like paying off massive debts by literally giving away clan members. Dib was Bid's way saying that his people couldn't actually repay what she'd done for them but they still wanted to do something nice for her. He wasn't there to fight for her. Hell, he could barely handle a pistol without having a panic attack. What he could do was work with numbers, big numbers. In the first week, Jane had shifted the management of some assets to him just to see what he could do. Now he was in charge of handling almost forty percent of her accounts and the results were staggering. She was good with money, but there just wasn't enough time to be constantly watching the markets anymore. She just had too much to keep on top of it all. Luckily, it seemed to be the kind of job Dib was born for._

 _Right now he's standing next to her on the bridge, going over the latest figures for the fourth time today, "And if you'll turn your attention to section A13-222-109988, you'll find a .5_ _%_ _increase. That means an additional five million for your quaternary accounts with the Palaven investment bureau. I'm confident that with a little work, I can get that to .52 by the end of the month." Jane pinches her wrist to wake herself up a little before responding._

" _That great Dib, really great. Good job." The little alien bounces at her praise. His excitement over the tiniest compliment was actually kind of cute. "So how are things in the hold?"_

" _Actually Mr. Teg offered to let me have his room. It was quite perplexing at the time but I've come to realize that he was feeling a bit hemmed in and wanted the extra space. Thank you for asking though. If I may be excused, there are some exciting opportunities for investment coming up in the galactic fertilizer market and I want to get a jump on them." She nods and Dib waddles off the bridge, leaving Jane with her thoughts. Teg's been getting more and more agitated since they left Iundos. He seemed to be having trouble keeping himself under control, snapping at almost every comment as if he'd been personally insulted, often leading him to randomly slam a fist on whatever was nearby. They'll need to figure out what's got him so worked up before he actually loses control._

" _Shepard Jane, we are receiving word from the Alliance vessel."_

" _Put them through." Anderson had sent word from the Admiral. There was some ship he wanted salvaged and it was apparently something he wanted to keep a secret. Why else would he involve her? The comm connects to the small ship flying next to them._

" _Lieutenant Shepard, we're approaching the coordinates. Is your team ready?" She doesn't like the Alliance team. Their leader was fine, but the men he'd hired were dodgy. Banes claimed that they had a solid reputation in the salvage industry. She isn't sure what it was, but they just seemed a little too secretive for her liking. None of them had asked for any details. They seemed to have been briefed by another party. Even Banes was starting to seem a little nervous whenever they talked._

" _Yeah. Is it actually going to be here or is this another false alarm?"_

" _This is the real deal. I've already had it confirmed." They carefully approach the derelict. This things been ghosting on long range sensors in multiple systems for years, and more than one salvage team had disappeared while looking for it. Those that claim to have witnessed the disappearances say that it randomly jumps to FTL from time to time. This means that their window is probably extremely small. They'll need to move fast._

" _Copy that. I'll have a hacking expert come along to lock down whatever systems are still online. Hopefully that'll keep it from jumping away again." Banes acknowledges and in twenty minutes, they're walking on the glistening hull. The ship is a strange thing. It looks like something a gigantic mollusk might call home. Their mag boots are able to hold them onto the surface but just barely._

" _Okay everybody, scans say this is the thinnest section of the hull and there's already no atmosphere on the other side. We cut in, take a quick look around to see if we can disable whatever automated systems are keeping her moving, then we tow it to the coordinates command sent. Any questions?" No one says anything, so Banes waves his guys forward. Jane waits off to the side with Teg and Century is in the mobile node. Spits hates space walks so Jane let him sleep._

 _Jane opens a private channel to her team, "Keep your eyes open guys. I don't trust Banes' team." Century sends a pulse through the comm to acknowledge and Teg growls his response._

" _Yeah. Too shifty. They try anything and I crush them." Jane nods at that as the cutters finish their work. A gentle push sends the hull piece floating away and they all enter the ship. A very slight gravity field pulls them to what she has to assume is supposed to be the floor, although she never would have guessed that's what it was without the gravity. The inside is confusing. There doesn't seem to be any logic to the internal layout. There are no straight lines, no bulkheads, no displays, and the floor sags slightly under every step. A thin layer of ice covers almost everything. The walls look organic, like what she'd imagine the inside of a giant animal might look like. There's some kind of webbing dangling in the low gravity, but when she tries to touch a piece it immediately crumbles._

" _Well this is… interesting. Come on, let's look for a command center." As they move deeper into the ships, they pass more than one corpse. Each one is partially decomposed if their hardsuits are intact. A few have failed over the years, leading to multiple cadavers being frozen before rot can set in. Banes is visibly shaken but his team doesn't seem surprised at all, like they were expecting this. As the others walk away, Jane talks to Century on a private line, "Have you managed to find anything on his friends here?"_

" _Negative. Their records are surprisingly well hidden. We are pursuing a promising lead at the moment and we shall inform you of the results." Jane scowls under her helmet, but with her visor polarized, Century is the only one that knows. They spend a while looking around in pairs before all meeting up at the heart of the ship._

" _Okay boys and girls. Scans say this is one of only two chambers still pressurized. Set up the mobile shield." Banes' men set up an enviro shield to prevent a total loss of atmosphere. When they're done, Banes moves to signal his team to cut another hole, but the barrier draws back like a massive sphincter. A slight rush off air pours out until the pressure equalizes. They all step in cautiously, "Everybody keep your eyes peeled. No telling what's in here so be careful." It looks like they've found the bridge, but it's just as bizarre as the rest of the ship. There are glowing spires running from the floor to the ceiling, along with numerous protrusions that are sitting at random locations, rising to random heights. Jane takes a closer look at the spires and sees that the glow is coming from strange crystals embedded inside the organic growths. Unlike the rest of the ship, the 'bridge' still seems to be alive to a certain extent. The floor has a little bit more give to it, and the wall are dripping with a viscous fluid. "Okay, this is freakin me out. Why's this room in such better shape than the rest of the ship?"_

 _Jane shakes her head, "Not sure. Maybe it's shielded somehow. Doesn't really matter right now. We need to make sure it can't jump away again. I'd be willing to bet the false positives we had last week were actually genuine and it just went to FTL before we arrived." Banes nodes._

" _Yeah, you're probably right. Can your hacker take care of it?" Jane switches back to the private channel._

" _Century?"_

" _We are already attempting to access the vessel's systems, but we are having difficulties. It does not use any known programming language. We are attempting to bridge the technological gap, but progress is slow. Working…" Jane taps her foot a few times and spends a minute pacing around. Something feels familiar about this place. A vague sense that she's been here before, or at least somewhere similar. A closer look a collection of spires leads her to spot what looks like a seat… or maybe a nest of some kind? Whatever it is, it wasn't designed with a biped's comfort in mind. Whatever sat here would have to have been very large and low to the ground. A thump draws her attention to the other side of the room. Teg is staring at a dent in the wall shaped like his head. The indentation is shrinking and in moments there is no sign that he ever hit it at all. As he headbutts the wall again, Century drags her attention back, "We have identified the FTL control systems. Our time of arrival is fortunate. If our understanding of this system is correct, then this vessel was already preparing to return to FTL. Please allow us time to disable it… this may take several minutes."_

" _Just do what you can." She switches back to the public channel. Banes is still looking to her for an answer. "He's working on it. For know let's… hold on. Where are the others?" Banes turns around, and like Jane notices for the first time that his team is nowhere to be seen. He activates his omnitool and manipulates a few controls._

" _What the hell? They're not on my sensors, not even a blip. Bills, Davenport, where the hell are you guys?" While he tries to get a hold of them, Century activates the private channel._

" _Shepard Jane, we have acquired new information. William Bills and Jonathan Davenport are not onboard this vessel."_

" _What do you mean? They were just here."_

" _Forgive us for being imprecise. To clarify, they were never on board. William Bills and Jonathan Davenport were both killed under mysterious circumstances two days before supposedly being hired on Bekenstein. The men Mr. Banes hired are not who they claim to be."_

" _Who are they and where are they?"_

" _Sensors indicate they are currently accessing the only other sealed chamber on the ship. As to their true identities, our information is limited, but based on their physical features and mannerisms, we believe they are a pair of criminals wanted in Citadel space for espionage." Jane opens the public channel again._

" _Those bastards aren't who they said they were. Let's go!"_

" _Shepard Jane! Do not leave the command center! The local systems are of strange design. We cannot maintain our connection to this vessel's systems if the range grows beyond ten meters and we have not yet disabled the FTL drive." Jane curses loudly before turning to Teg. "Find those sons of bitches and rip their spines out!" Teg slams a fist on his chest before charging out the door with Banes right behind him. "Century, give them directions as they go." The geth acknowledges her and she sits down to watch the door._

 **Teg**

The blood is pounding behind his eyes and he can barely see anything but red. He finally has something to take his anger out on. The last few weeks have been confusing. His plates itch, his head hurts, and he's always angry. At first he thought it was just some leftover aggression from letting Jane get hurt, but she forgave him and he's still pissed all the time. At least now he gets to take it out on something that won't need to be fixed later. Century chirps out directions as they go, guiding them through the winding corridors. Banes trips a couple times and starts falling behind, not that it slows Teg down. There's another shield covering the door when Teg reaches the chamber, but it's not a ballistic shield so he charges right in.

As soon as he passes through, Teg feels a biotic field wrap around him just before he's lifted from the ground and slammed back down. The impact dazes him for a moment, but he can still see what's going on. The fake Davenport is attaching a mobile shield unit to the top of something big and slimy sitting on a grav cart, while Bills is aiming a pistol at the door. A shimmer of violet energy is bleeding away from him, leftovers from the biotic attack he threw at Teg. Banes finally comes running in and before Teg can call out a warning, a pair off shots sail out. Banes takes them in the chest, immediately crumpling to the ground. Teg isn't sure if the man is still alive and doesn't really care right now. The blood rage is starting to burn away every thought beyond tearing his enemies apart.

"Take it and go! I'll handle the big guy." Bills turns his pistol to Teg and Davidson pulls his cart away as fast as he can. Before the human can fire, Teg surges back to his feet and charges. Bills fires until his weapon overheats before diving away to avoid being trampled. Teg manages to check his charge just short of crashing into the wall and barely drops to the ground in time to dodge another biotic attack. The wall behind him starts to crumble under the warp field as he leaps back up, only to take an impact grenade to the chest. The blast slams Teg into the wall behind him, but the tiny charge fails to do more than crack a couple ribs. He spots Bills sprinting out and takes off after him. The little man almost gets away, but Teg catches up to him right before he can get through the hole. Davidson is carefully maneuvering the grav cart through the opening while Bills pushes from behind. Teg stomps over to grab Bills from behind, before hurling him deeper into the ship. He turns back to the hole to try and grab the other one, but tendrils of violet energy rip him away from the opening. "Don't know when to give up, do you?!"

Teg roars in anger, his rage overwhelming his common sense. He knows what he _should_ be doing. Davidson is still getting away, but he just can't help it. Teg turns from the hole and charges Bills head on. The man fires several shots but he keeps going. Then Bills throws another biotic attack. The surge of energy hits Teg in the chest, warping the plates of his armor and his whole body is wracked with pain, but he still keeps going. His prey's eyes widen in terror as Teg barrels into him. Bills is catapulted into the wall behind him hard enough to crack his hardsuit. The man falls down face first, trying to reach around and stop the air from hissing out, but Teg isn't done with him yet. He stomps over, rips away the back of the man's hardsuit, and then punches his hand through Bills' back. He wraps his fingers around the first thing he touches before pulling hard. A segment of spine comes out, along with a flood of rapidly freezing blood. As Bills goes limp, Teg turns back to the hole only to see Banes' ship drifting in to pick up Davidson. An airlock cycles open to let the traitor in, then the ship speeds away. He tries to call the Pale Horse, but the comm lines are jammed.

 **Jane**

 _Teg comes back to the bridge angrier than ever with a segment of spine gripped tight in one hand, "Got one of em. Other one escaped. I can't reach the ship."_

" _I know. I've been trying to call the others since you left. Lines are jammed. Where's Banes?" Teg looks around before the realisation hits. He runs back out and comes back a few minutes later with the man's lifeless body in his arms._

" _Took two to the chest from Bills. I… I tried to warn him but… I don't know. Something's wrong with me. I couldn't even talk I was so angry." A spike of static washes over the comm before Lia's frantic call comes through the line._

" _Ja-e! Jane -an you he- me?!"_

" _Yeah you're coming through now."_

" _Thank the g-dess! What the hell ha-ned? The Alliance ship just took off at top speed." Jane paces over to the wall and kicks hard, drawing a spurt of foul smelling fluid from the wall._

" _Banes' team were fakes. Not sure who they were really working for or what they really wanted. Did you manage to hit them?" Teg starts punching the wall and roaring in frustration._

" _No. I'm sorry Jane, but we had no idea we needed too. I thought something terrible had happened and that they were just being cowards."_

 _Jane chuckles at that, "That's kinda true. Teg ripped the spine out of one of them." Her mirth fades as she looks down at Banes. "Send word to Anderson. Their man is dead and the men he hired on Bekenstein were the culprits. Make sure he understands that the Alliance ship has been stolen."_

" _Copy that. Any idea why they turned on you?" She looks over at Teg still raging at the wall._

" _Not yet but I'll find out. We'll take a quick peek through the ship and then come back. Just in case something else happens, take the ship to combat alert. No one comes within fifty K. If someone tries, fire a warning shot. If they try again, kill them." Lia acknowledges and Jane walks over to Teg. "Hey Teg… Teg?" He doesn't seem to hear her as he punches the wall hard enough to puncture the membrane, splattering the fluid inside all over himself. "TEG!" He finally turns a furious look to her. His eyes are so heavily dilated that she seriously thinks that he might be on something. "What the hell is wrong? Did you take a bad hit or get zooted with something?! Calm the fuck down and talk to me!" She almost doesn't see the fist coming. As it is, his knuckles scrape a vambrace as she ducks back. He tries to swing again, but this time Jane is ready for it. She spins into his guard, ducking under the arm before grabbing hold and flipping him over her back to slam him onto the ground Jane doesn't give him time to recover, powering a fist right into his nose…_ _ **hard**_ _. The blow makes his eyes roll around in their sockets a few times, but eventually they come back into focus._

" _Crap that sucked… Thanks boss, never got so lost in a blood rage before." He tries to get up but Jane plants a boot on his chest to force him back down._

" _You tell me what the hell is wrong, then I'll let you up." He starts to snarl but visibly checks himself before taking a few deep breaths._

" _I think… I think I need to go home for a little bit. It might be time for my rite."_

" _Your rite?"_

" _Something all krogan do when they hit a certain age. Supposed to be a thing about taking your place in the clan. I think that's why I've been so pissed lately." Jane takes her boot away and offers a hand up which he gladly accepts._

" _Why didn't you say so? Your clan's stations weren't too far outta the way from Iundos. We could've gone there before this mess." He bows his head in shame._

" _I… I didn't want you to think I wanted to leave or nothin. I thought I could just put it off a little longer, wait till you wanted to take a break or something." Jane pats him on the shoulder._

" _Don't sweat it big guy. You're my friend. From now on, if you need something, tell me. Okay?" He looks up with his usual gap toothed grin and nods. "Good. Century, how much longer?"_

" _We have deactivated the vessel's FTL systems and locked them down. You may explore at your leisure." Jane turns to Teg._

" _Great. Now that we know we won't get stranded here, show me the other chamber they were screwing with." Teg leads her to the other room and Jane sees signs of battle damage, including shrapnel from a small grenade. At the center of the chamber is a fleshy depression radiating torrents of heat. If not for the temp controls in her suit, Jane would be sweating profusely. "What was here?"_

 _Teg shakes his head, "Dunno. I was too out of it to get a good look. It was slimy and round. That's all I can remember." Jane sticks her tounge out in disgust. Why did everything have to be slimy here? "They were putting a shield on it, I think. Maybe it was alive like the room."_

" _Maybe. Let's look around, see if-" Her foot scrapes against something on the ground. Jane looks down to see the rounded top of something seated in the floor. She runs a scan with her omnitool and spots something incredible, "Holy crap… it's an egg, a live one!" Teg pokes at it a few times before pointing to another mound._

" _One over here too." Now that she's focusing, Jane can spot small indentations all over the floor, places for hundreds of eggs._

" _Yeah, but only these two are filled. Was the thing they took an egg?" Teg is struggling to remember but still shakes his head._

" _I don't know. Maybe. Whatever they pulled outta here was way bigger though. Like as big as Spits at least." Further conversation is stalled by a squelching sound from the floor. Both eggs are being pushed up out of the ground, covered in translucent slime. Again, Jane is struck by the sense that she's seen this before and the near certainty that there is something she needs to do. She stays calm, but Teg's reaction is less sanguine._

" _Look out boss! Back away!"_

" _Stay calm. There's nothing to worry about."_

" _Varren shit! I know what's gonna happen! They'll come outta those things and shove stuff down your chest and then one'll rip outta you and kill everybody."_

" _Geez Teg. If I'd known watching horror films got you so nervous I wouldn't have suggested them. Don't worry. There's nothing to be scared of. Besides, they need someone friendly when they hatch." He looks at her like she's sprouted a second head._

" _They need someone… huh? Who? What're you talkin about?" Jane's trying to figure that out for herself when the eggs start to tremble and the first cracks appear. Soon enough, each one has a tiny claw stabbing through the side, scrabbling around to try and gain purchase on something. Teg backs away nervously, but this feels so familiar to Jane. She knows what to do. She kneels down to start tapping on the floor. As more little appendages break free from the shells and find the floor, the creatures inside stand up to start walking around on unsteady legs. As they wander Jane starts humming a simple tune to soothe the little ones. "What're you doing boss?"_

" _They need to hear things when their born. It helps them stay calm… how the hell do I know that?" Flashes of similar scenes flood her mind. Memories of doing this exact same thing over countless years. She mutters under her breath, "Shoulda fingered the knowledge came from you guys…" The ones that came before. At least this time it seemed to be about something kinda cute. "Come on guys. Who's first?" The slightly smaller egg/creature meanders over and gently scratches two limbs at her thigh guard. Jane runs a hand over the surface of the egg. Then she draws a knife from her belt and carefully chips away at the shell. After a few taps, the rest shatters, revealing a tiny, bright green creature. It's a cross between a huge bug and a lobster. It has tiny mandibles in front of its mouth, with two bizarrely large eyes just behind. The little thing's body is covered is soft, flexible chitin. "Aren't you just adorably ugly? You must be one of the workers. I…" The other egg is still struggling to hatch, so Jane taps on the floor again. It frantically skitters over and she repeats the process. This one looks just like the other, but slightly larger with a red and brown carapace. "Aww, your cute and ugly too… I swear I should know what you guys are but for the life of me I can't just find the name. Oh well, for now I'll call you…" She points to the green one, "Scratch, cause you were the one to paw at me. And I'll call you," the other one bounces a couple times at her attention, "Skitter, since you're so hyper. So, let's get you guys some food. There should be some right about…" Jane looks over the room and spots a sack embedded in the wall. Drawing some power to her, she rips the sack open and pulls over a few globs of the amber goo inside. The tiny creatures chitter excitedly as she lowers the strange substance so they can feed. It doesn't take long for them to consume every drop. When they're done, Scratch climbs onto her left shoulder and Skitter to her right._

 _Teg eyes them suspiciously, more than a little confused at all this. "What the hell's going on boss? How'd you know to do all that? And what the hell are they?"_

 _Jane pats the two little creatures a couple times each before carefully standing up. "It's a long story and to tell the truth, I'm not sure what they are. But I do know that they'll be friendly now that they've imprinted on me." He cocks a brow at her, "Just trust me. Come on, let's head to the ship. We'll come back for the rest of the royal jelly later." Teg's clearly not happy but nods anyway._

 _They spend a few hours scouring the ship to make sure they didn't miss anything. All they find is more corpses and a couple more sacks of the jelly her new friends like so much. When they call Anderson, he promises to send a team to take over. Jane doesn't mention her new friends. Once that's done, Jane scours the extranet for information on the bugs currently skittering all over her room while a very excited Spits plays with them. It all takes a few minutes of searching to get results. "Oh shit…"_


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63 - Shackled… For Now**

 _Date_ _: 6.15.2174_

 _Location : Enceladus - Secret Alliance Facility_

 **Hackett**

He's standing on a gantry overlooking the prize below. This vessel is the first piece of almost pure organic starship tech he's ever seen. Once Shepard's report got to his desk, Hackett had ordered the research facility buried on Enceladus reactivated. Once the site of… questionable research into things he'd rather not think about, it was shut down when the entire crew disappeared under mysterious circumstances. He was one of only three people that knew what used to be here, and the others left the Alliance years ago for psychiatric reasons. The facility's reputation would be concerning if more people knew about it. As it is, it's perfect for keeping certain things under wraps. Especially work on a semi-living starship that belongs to one of the Citadel's oldest boogie-men.

"Work is progressing smoothly sir but it'll take a few years for us to make any serious progress. Organic tech isn't overly compatible with our own." He nods his thanks to the program director.

"Take all the time you need and don't take any unnecessary risks. We might never get another prize like this." The director nods and leaves him to his thoughts. Banes' death was a serious concern. While not an overly important man, his death did reveal a potentially critical security leak. They'd wanted to track down the surviving thief to get some answers but he'd turned up dead on Bekenstein less than a week after stealing the ship. The trail was completely cold and the egg Jane mentioned was long gone. All they had for a prize was the alien ship. As Hackett looks down over the creature, Anderson's voice comes over the comm.

"Admiral, we just got word. It's just what we were expecting. She's pretty much taken over the advanced biotic training for the other N recruits and Sergeant Alenko is performing admirably under the circumstances. Her 'instructors' have sent a lot of angry messages up the chain, demanding to know why she hasn't been called in for the program before. Things are looking pretty good for now." Hackett nods to himself. No big surprise there. They weren't really expecting any problems at this stage given how tight security was at the Villa, especially with her Asari friend keeping an eye out for unsavory types and Lt. Erins backing her up. There were already a few bodies to deal with, but nothing those two couldn't handle.

"Good to hear Anderson. What about the rest of her crew?"

"Information's a little thin but a few of our boys on Omega have picked up one or two details. The krogan has gone home to deal with a personal issue. He's taken their batarian and turian teammates with him. Karin's taken the hanar to the Citadel for some advanced surgical training."

"What about the triplets?"

"They're on Omega with Mr. Farris right now, at least they were. Their gunship left about two hours after they arrived but we have no clue why they went there in the first place. We think Jane sent them but her local followers are keeping the area around her ship on lock down. Even Aria's people can't get close. There's no information on the rest of her crew."

"Alright. Keep your focus on Jane, but have the others watched all the same. There's no telling what might happen when they're split up like this."

 _Date_ _: 6.16.2174_

 _Location : Far Rim_

 **Kalia**

Her excitement is almost enough to help her ignore the constant bickering coming from the crew compartment… almost. Kal and Kalen have been arguing since they left Omega about everything and anything they could think of. Things got particularly heated when Kal insulted Kalen's favorite battery node. "For the last time, the X-86 is better. No other power module keeps as large a charge in such a stable state."

"Oh piss off Kal! The X-86 is for doddering old men too afraid to get with the times. The X-91d is clearly better. It has almost double the charge capacity and has more room for mods."

"It's too unstable!"

"It's only unstable if you overcharge it!"

"Then why did the one you were working on last week blow up?!"

"Because I overcharged it!" The argument gets louder and louder, so Kalia closes the compartment door and revels in the near silence.

"How did you put up with that growing up?" She turns to see Gavin pulling himself up from the slouch he was sleeping in. He'd refused to let Blue out of his sight for more than a few hours so when they'd asked to borrow it for a week, he'd insisted on going with them. She didn't mind. Staying awake and in control for the three day trip would have been exhausting.

"Eh, you get used to it. We're family after all." Gavin sighs and shakes his head.

"How long to the rendezvous?" She checks the readouts.

"We should be in range of the comm buoy in about ten minutes. Remember, keep your helmet in place at all times. We can't risk infection." He sighs explosively.

"Yes I know. For the hundredth time I know to keep my helmet on. Check the environment seals. Don't spit my chew on the floor, blah blah blah. I do remember the last time I was on a quarian ship you know. It wasn't _that_ long ago."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just so happy to see him again. I don't want anything to ruin it." Gavin waves his hand dismissively.

"Ahh, don't worry about. Things'll go just fine. I mean, as long as you don't go mentioning a certain incident in the cargo hold last month." Kalia can feel her ears and cheeks flush at her embarrassment.

"P-please don't mention that when we see them." He turns to he with an evil look.

"Don't mention what? That a certain someone had a good time with another certain someone and that good time was loud enough for the entire ship to hear. Oh I would never mention that." His voice is absolutely dripping with sarcasm, so she starts swatting at him.

"Don't you dare say anything! It's bad enough my brothers heard it, the last thing I need is for the rest of my family to know the… the details!" Gavin is laughing as she swings at him ineffectually. To help get her point across, Kalia pulls out her favorite spanner and starts waving it about. In response Gavin holds out both hands in surrender.

"Woah, I was just playing. I promise I won't say anything. Things will go just fine so you don't need to worry." Kalia stows the spanner back on her belt. " _Oh Keelah! Oh Teg!_ " She whips the spanner back out but before a single swing can connect, the comm lights up.

"Unidentified vessel, state your business." Still steaming in annoyance, Kalia punches in the prearranged code. "We've confirmed your code, proceed to the following coordinates." Gavin doesn't tease her again as he guides Blue in. Soon they spot the small vessel waiting for them. The ship's hanger doors are wide open so they drift in at a stately pace. The doors close behind them and the room repressurises. They all hop out to make their way to the observation room overhead. There are three people waiting for them. Their father, Keeva Kala, and certain little girl who's practically bouncing with excitement.

Kalia and her brothers stand side by side as their father walks other. He shakes Kal's hand, hugs Kalia, and receives a terse nod from Kalen, "Still haven't forgiven me Kalen?" She knows they love each other, but they're both too stubborn for their own good. "All right, you're entitled to the anger son. Regardless, I am happy that you were all able to come. I-" The little one with them can't wait anymore.

"Is Jane with you?!" She can barely contain herself. It almost breaks Kalia's heart to puncture that excitement.

"I'm sorry Tali but no." The little girl groans in disappointment, "But she did send some presents." Tali immediately perks up as Kalia hands her a length of cabling.

"Is this what I think it is?!"

"Yep, type 3 magno-fiber wire, one hundred feet of it." Tali goes to run back to her room, but Kalia stops her, "Hold on. There's one more present. Now close your eyes." She can see the glow from Tali's eyes fade so she pulls out the second gift and sets it the little girl's hands. "Okay, now guess."

"Umm, can I have a hint?"

"It has a class two Elgers power core." Tali thinks for a minute.

"Is it a new welding torch?"

"Nope, try again. It has Alagar accelerator coils." A tiny squeal of delight fills the air.

"It's one of Mr. Teg's shotguns!"

"Open your eyes." Tali immediately hugs the weapon close, asking Kalia to thank Jane before excitedly trotting away.

Their father nervously asks them, "Is it wise to let a six year old have a shotgun?"

"Relax father. Jane removed the ammo block. She'll be fine." He nods at her and they all sit down to talk. Eventually the conversation drifts to the point of them meeting up with him so far from the flotilla. It's Kalen that asks.

"So… are we going to be able to come home?" Their father wrings his hands.

"I'm not sure son." Kalen sighs explosively. Kal and Kalia are less obvious, but no less disappointed. "Things are less… uncomfortable now, so I'm hopeful. We'll just have to wait and see."

"We've already been away longer than a regular pilgrimage. How much longer before they stop blaming us?" Their father doesn't flinch away from the venom in Kalen's voice. They were all used to how angry he could get about this particular subject.

"People don't _blame_ you three. It's just so rare for triplets to be born and the circumstances make it more complicated. Your mother has stepped down from her position, so people aren't claiming that you'll get special treatment anymore. I promise I'll convince them to let you come back. Even if I have to leave my own position on the board to do it."

 _Date_ _: 6.18.2174_

 _Location : Clan Dun Starbase_

 **Teg**

He blows another klixen's head off and ducks down to avoid the explosion. As he rises back up, Teg spots Veritan killing another pair of the beasts with a carefully aimed grenade, while John pours autofire into the feral verran trying to circle around. They've already been in the pit for almost an hour, killing everything to come at them. His clan has done it this way since leaving Tuchanka almost two centuries ago. They might not have thresher maws, but there was one twist that set them apart. A heavy clang echoes across the arena, signalling the final stage. John and Veritan draw close, but he calls to them, "Stand down guys. You done good, but it's all me now."

"What do you mean?" Before he can answer Veritan, someone leaps from the stands, landing in the arena with a resounding thud. As the dust settles, Teg can see his father rise from a shallow crater, a huge grin stretched across his face.

"I've been waiting for this day boy. Today's the day you become one of us for real." Tog isn't wearing any armor, just a plain brown tunic, so Teg disengages his own gear, letting it clatter to the ground in a heap. The grey body glove underneath is a little worn, but still in good shape. He hands his weapons over to his friends.

"You guys stay back. Thanks for being my krantt, but this is just for me now." They both nod and back away as Teg and his father begin to circle, looking for an opening. With his blood still pounding through his veins, Teg attacks first. His charge isn't the wild frenzy of an unblooded whelp. It's the carefully aimed attack he's learned to use with Jane. Strong enough to break most enemies if it hits, but not too wild to stop if he misses. Tog takes the charge head on and gets pushed halfway across the arena floor before planting a foot hard enough to stop Teg cold. That's when things get brutal. Fists land, kicks fly, and more than one resounding crack fills the air as multiple bones break over the next ten minutes of melee combat. He's never had to fight this hard without someone actually trying to kill him. Thankfully, Jane's been helping him get ready for this since the day they met, even if she didn't realize it. Teg tries a roundhouse like Jane showed him. He can't get his foot as high as she can, but the spin still lets him hit his old man in the stomach hard enough to knock him off his feet.

The crowd is going wild. Most guys in the rite don't last long, let alone land so many good hits. They don't expect him to win. All he was expected to do was put up a good fight, one his sire could be proud of. Tog gets to his feet with a confused yet joyous smile, spitting out a dollop of blood. "Well, well. Seems like that human's been damn good for you. Now let's really see what you're made of." Tog charges and Teg answers in kind. They collide with an almighty crash and get back to the business of beating the piss out of eachother.

 _Date_ _: 6.22.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Chakwas**

She nods in satisfaction as Vollor finishes the final simulation. He has greater precision with his tentacles than almost anyone she's ever known. He double checks the sutures before turning to his instructor and declaring, "This one is confident in saying that the procedure has been successful." The salarian doctor overseeing the test looks over his work with a critical eye, seeking out any flaw no matter how minute. He spends several minutes searching before coming up with nothing.

"I'm happy to say that you are correct. Well done." He holds out a hand to shake one of Vollor's tentacles. Though he still has a few years of study left to go before actually becoming a doctor, this is a major step forward. "You will still need to maintain your studies. No one is ever truly up to date in the field of medicine, though I believe Doctor Chakwas will make sure you don't have time to lose your touch." Vollor dips his frontal horn in thanks as the salarian leaves them behind. As the simulated patient fades away he turns to her.

"This one is infinitely grateful for your tutelage thus far, honored doctor. This one humbly asks, will you continue this one's education?"

"Of course Vollor. You've proven a worthy student. Come on, let's go celebrate." She takes him to the bar Jane kept getting drunk at. Targen's is moderately busy at this hour, with patrons from almost every race drinking and mingling. Karin nabs a bottle of her favorite brandy, plus a canister of slightly luminescent mist that passes for alcohol among the hanar. They spend an hour drinking together, going over the test to make sure he's learned everything he can from the experience. She spells out the next few steps in his education before the conversations drifts on to their companions. Karin is a little tipsy and Vollor isn't much better.

"This one is ashamed to admit this, but this one has not kept up to date on his comm logs. How do our companions fare?"

Karin finishes her glass and pours another as she talks. Her voice is a little slurred, "Well, the boys are doing good at cladun, almost finished there." Vollor chuckles at her.

"Forgive this one's impertinence doctor, but this one believes you are inebriated. Did you mean to say Clan Dun?" She laughs a few times.

"So I'm a little drunk. It's a good day. Come on. Let's go back to the hotel. Jane's supposed to call tonight and I want to make sure she's taking her medicine." With Vollor drifting unsteadily behind her questioning what medicine she's referring to, they wander back to their hotel, passing out hours before Jane could call.

When she awakens the next morning, Karin has to lever herself up from the floor. There's a bomb going off behind her eyes as she stumbles into the bathroom to splash some water in her face. Just as the water comes on, a sloshing sound from behind draws her attention. Karin turns to see Vollor languidly floating in the filled bathtub, occasionally gives off a bioluminescent flash. "Vollor… Vollor are you alright?" The hanar slowly stirs, groaning in pain.

"Hmmm, this one is not certain. If the pain in this one's frontal nerve cluster is any indication, then it is likely we consumed too large a quantity of intoxicating materials last night." He slowly drifts out of the tub, bracing himself against the wall with a tentacle. "If this one behaved inappropriately last night then he begs the honored doctor's forgiveness."

"Nothing to forgive my friend. Let's both get cleaned up and head out. There are some forms to fill out and educational materials to pick up before we leave the station." Vollor drifts out to let her use the shower in peace. As she finishes dressing afterwards, he calls from sleeping area.

"Dr. Chakwas, we have received communications from our comrades, including news from Lia on Earth." Vollor sounds quite nervous, so Karin steps out to check. "It would seem that we may need to reunite with everyone sooner than expected." Karin looks through Lia's message, more than a little disturbed but what she has to say.

 _Date_ _: 6.21.2174_

 _Location : Unknown_

 **Unknown**

 **Fulcrum Location Re-established**

 **Earth - Vila Militar**

 **Attention**

 **Possibility of Fulcrum Becoming Restive**

 **Analyzing…**

 **Conclusion Reached**

 **Activating Civilian Assets**

 **Designation - Devenor**

 _Date_ _: 6.21.2174_

 _Location : Earth - The Villa_

 **Jane**

" _You got it! You got it! You got it! Don't puss out! Don't you dare puss out!" Jane is shouting at Kaiden as he struggles to hold himself in place. The cruciform was a difficult technique, even for experienced biotics. That he's able to do it at all is damned impressive. Ten other Alliance men and women are nearby, cheering him on. These are the other biotics here to try and join the N-program. When they'd first arrived, things had been pretty much what she'd expected. Lost of 'intense' physical training, psychological games to weed out the weak, and tons of combat exercises meant to improve teamwork. It was all pretty easy but still entertaining enough, especially once the people in charge realized that she could offer a lot to the other recruits. They'd quickly given her an entire squad of biotics to help train. She taught them advanced skills that most would never have gotten to see elsewhere. The most important was the cruciform. Essentially a form of intense telekinetic cardio, it helped build up biotic stamina better than any other activity outside of warfare. "Daws, the count?!"_

 _A dark skinned man to her left checks his omnitool, "48, 49, 50." The cheering grows wilder with each passing second. The record set by one of the others was 65 seconds and Kaiden was dead set on breaking it._

" _Come on, come on. You can do it…" Daws continues his count._

" _61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66!" The entire squad erupts in celebration, but Kaiden isn't done yet. Sweat cascading down his brow and blood pouring from his nose, her friend keeps pushing himself to the limit as Daws calls out the time. "Plus 5, plus 6, plus 7, plus 8," Kaiden is gasping for breath, almost completely spent._

" _Alright Kaiden, come down. I don't want your brain to pop. Having to find new friends is a bitch." At plus 15, he finally comes down and immediately collapses. The squad is ready to catch him before hoisting him up on their shoulders. Despite the obvious and extreme exhaustion, Kaiden manages to raise fist in triumph. A full minute of celebrating follows, until the captain in charge of their group calls an end to it._

" _Well done Alenko. Never seen a man do something like that before." Kaiden salutes and nods his thanks to the captain._

" _Thank you sir, but that was nothing. Shepard taught me how. You should see what she can do." The captain turns a knowing look towards her. He knew full well what she could do, thanks to a thorough briefing from Anderson._

 _What she's really taken to heart since arriving are the lessons on leadership. They've given her ways to help teammates deal with grief if the worst should happen and they lose someone. There were lessons on how to bring teams closer together, trust building behaviors and ideas on discipline that didn't involve ripping pieces off of someone. Jane was pleasantly surprised to note just how much was already being done on the Pale Horse._

 _The captain dismisses the group for the day and everyone heads back to their barracks to get some much needed rest. As they leave, the captain steps in, "Good work Shepard. These kids will do good out there with all the stuff you're teaching them." She nods her thanks. "Oh and that volus has been asking to talk to you for over an hour now." Jane thanks him again before heading to her assigned quarters. Spits is waiting just outside, gnawing on something that looks suspiciously like a batarian skull. Probably another would be assassin. Lia and her N5 friend were back to picking off killers who had more balls than brains. Dib is waiting for her inside, tutting quietly at the datapad in his hands. Jane taps on the door a few time to get his attention._

 _He jumps a little in surprise before hurriedly waddling over, "Oh good, I was beginning to worry that you'd be unavailable to speak again." The little volus had insisted on accompanying her due to the large number of assets she's just assigned to him. He claimed it was to ensure that he had her preferred investment patterns down correctly. Jane thinks he's just nervous about working on so much at once. Despite his skill in negotiations and a relentless drive to build upon his success thus far, Dib had a remarkably nervous personality in private. "I have the latest numbers on your stock portfolios and there are a number of requests from your shipyard over Caliban." It took a couple months of dedicated pestering, but eventually she'd gotten Tybar and his people to name the rest of the planets in their home system in spite of their dedicated indifference._

" _For the last time Dib, I trust you with the stocks. Just send me a summary of the dividends and don't worry about talking with me every time unless it's an emergency… okay?" He pauses for a moment before nodding sheepishly, "Good. I like your work Dib, so keep it up. Now, what's wrong over Caliban?"_

" _Wrong? No, no. Nothing is wrong. Your forman has simply sent word that phase two is complete."_

" _Already? The destroyer berths weren't set to be finished for another six months."_

" _Yes, but those estimates were made before the new influx of quarian pilgrims arrived. ksssht From what I understand, your friend Keeva is actively recommending that they come to the facility, at least for a few weeks. ksssht Many only stay for a short while to build up a little spending money whilst learning a few basic principles of shipbuilding, but the ones that stay for an extended period are proving to be exemplary workers. ksssht Their dedication and precise work has allowed him to accelerate the timetable." Jane nods in satisfaction. "ksssht Since they're ahead of schedule, Malagan is requesting permission to begin phase three."_

" _Sounds fine to me. What are the revised estimates on completion time?"_

 _Dib consults his tablet, "Malagan says he can have the cruiser berths finished by the end of the year, and the first ship can be launched six months after that. ksssht We already have purchase requests from multiple sources, including fourteen more frigates for Dun-Alon, nine destroyers for the company's homeworlds, and the first two cruisers are already earmarked for Iundos. ksssht Bid sends word that he can have crews ready regardless of the continued hostilities." Jane grimaces at the thought of Iundos. Bid and his people were adamant about finishing the fight on their own, but that didn't make the casualty figures any easier to look at. "One more thing. Ksssht Malagan has requested permission to shift five percent of all labor resources to Project Typhon." She looks up at Dib sharply._

" _Already?!" He checks his tablet before nodding, "I know he's eagre, but why the rush?" Dib taps the tablet against his dark red suit a few times before answering._

" _Well… he's a salarian and their lives are depressingly short. I believe that, given his somewhat advanced age of thirty four, ksssht he is worried that he won't live to see the fruits of his labor. Many of my own people suffer from a similar flaw. Ksssht The need to see their hard work pay off." Jane nods along, her thoughts shifting to another salarian on the other side of the galaxy, this one giving away the last years of his life to stand watch over her mother._

" _Alright, if he thinks they can handle the extra work, safely, then he can proceed with Typhon. Only if he's confident in security though. I don't want anyone in Citadel space catching wind of it."_

" _Very good, I shall send word immediately. ksssht On a final note, Valern Taseen has sent a number of frantic communiques over the last few days requesting your attention."_

" _If they were frantic then why didn't you tell me sooner?" Dib shrinks back a little so Jane backs away to give him some extra space._

" _I would have told you sooner but I've had trouble getting in touch with you myself, and I'm actually on the same planet as you. ksssht Not to mention that, well…_ _ **all**_ _his communiques are quite frantic. He never said it was an emergency so I just didn't think it was critical."_

 _Jane has to give him that. Taseen had a habit of talking very quickly and very loudly regardless of the situation's severity (or lack thereof). "Okay, I'll call and find out what's so important. Good job keeping on top of everything Dib. It would suck having to do it all without you." Dib happily dips his head in gratitude before waddling out. As she's typing in the codes necessary to call Taseen through a secure FTL comm line, Spits comes trotting in with his new chew toy. He plops down next to her and she idly pets him behind a pair of spines while waiting for an answer. It only takes a few moments before the excitable scientist's face fills her screen._

" _Ah! Shepard! Excellent! Have been calling for days! Feared tragedy! Glad to see I'm mistaken! Alas, facing tragedy! Strife! Horror!" She waves her hand in front of the image to try and get his attentions._

" _Okay Taseen whats-" His frantic diatribe continues unabated._

" _Betrayal most foul! Heinous! Unforgivable! Cannot believe that-" This time she cuts him off._

" _TASEEN!" He finally shuts his mouth long enough to listen, "Take a deep breath, calm down, and tell me what's wrong." The frantic salarian takes several deep breaths, slowing his breathing to a slightly less hyperactive rate. "Okay… now what's wrong?"_

" _My brother is going into politics!" Jane's so wrong footed by the announcement that she can't do much more that gawp at him. Taseen takes it as agreement with his own frustration._

" _Could not believe either! Four in university earning respectable degree! Two years of work in STG! Promising future in wider intelligence community! All cast aside for idiot speeches and election concerns!" Jane has to take a few deep breaths to avoid blowing up on him. At least he didn't take up an emergency channel for this._

" _You've been frantically trying to call me for days, just to tell me that you're brother wants to be a politician." Taseen blink rapidly several times, showing a little doubt for the first time. "Why? Do you want me to try and knock some sense into him or something?" He recoils from the screen ever so slightly._

" _No! No no no no no. Simply venting frustration. Called to tell you about progress. Interested in hearing?" Jane nods and he's off like a shot, "Excellent! Have working theory on method to counteract biotic piercing ammunition from Wake. Available data indicates that shots use purpose built nanites to temporarily force shot into different quantum state for split second, just long enough to bypass defenses. Terrible possibilities. However, as stated previously, technology expensive. Extremely, ludicrously, nation bankruptingly expensive. Nanites of sufficient quality would cost the same as a starship, and containment system even more so. Would also require element zero refined to purity of 99.9999 percent as adequate fuel source. Process brings price to near impossible levels. When shot strikes barrier, nanites utilize near perfect eezo to shift out of phase. Nanites are burned away in process, meaning only single charge per shot. Impossible to fit enough for multiple breaches. To counter, overlapping biotic fields needed._

" _So all I'd have to do is project a barrier within a barrier?"_

" _For most part. Inner barrier also likely needs to be much smaller than outer to allow shot time to re-emerge into proper quantum state. If too close to outer shell, will still be bypassed… in theory. Cannot know for certain without live test subject. Am willing to try if you are." Taseen excitedly picks up a rifle and stares at Jane imploringly._

" _That's okay… I think the live test can wait." She does her best to ignore the crushing disappointment in his eyes. "While that is actually extremely interesting, something tells me that you've got more for me." His disappointment vanishes behind a manic smile._

" _Yes! Yes! Much more! Promised results! Trust in me vindicated! Have working theorem to expand understanding of relays!"_

" _Alright, let's hear it."_

" _First, a critical question. Know that over time Eezo decays yes?" Jane nods, "Good! All vessels in current era suffer from Eezo depletion over time whilst being used, necessitating eventual refueling. Does not decay if not receiving charge to be exploited for mass effect. However, notice that relays never need resupplied, even if used by thousands of ships! Why is this?!"_

" _I dunno. I always thought the protheans just had better tech."_

" _Yes but in what way?!" Jane can't do much more than shrug at the question. This seems to be the reaction he expected. "Common point of view. Is the reason no real advancements in field have been made in centuries. In truth, the answer is simple! Relays do not experience eezo decay over time because of specialized shielding. Eezo is contained inside EM shielding of such power that material is regularly forced back into proper state under conditions mimicking that which formed it in the first place!"_

" _Hold on. I though element zero was formed when normal matter was exposed to the energy released during supernovae. If what you're saying is true, then the mass relays are maintaining their supply by using hyper powerful mag shielding to generate and contain a fake nova whenever their eezo begins to break down." Taseen nods like a hyperactive hamster. "That's… I'm not even sure what to say. How did you find out all this?" He hesitates before speaking._

" _May have… in secret… begun dismantling non-critical relay for experimentation." Jane eyes him dubiously._

" _Uhhh, you remember what happened last time you did that… right?"_

" _Yes yes, have learned from mistakes. Taking every precaution this time. Guaranteed success. Seventy four percent chance that relay will not explode this time." That's not exactly what she would call a guarantee…_

" _Where is this relay?"_

" _Five thousand lights years to galactic south of Alon. System completely remote. No planets. White dwarf star and asteroid belt with minimal mineral wealth. Made sure before beginning experiment."_

" _Should be safe for everyone beyond the system then. Well, this is pretty damn interesting Taseen, but where does this leave us?"_

" _Need to finish dismantling relay and then attempt to re-assemble. Need to develop firm understanding of inner workings and all ways machinery fits together. Will lead to understanding of Nova/mag shielding. Understanding will allow replication. Replication will allow-"_

" _Replacement… This could free us from the old relays..." He nods happily at her understanding. The advent of the relays had led the galaxy to develop along the lines of those that came before. If they could one day begin deploying their own relays, then the galaxy would become accessible to a degree that only science fiction writers had ever imagined. It's a strategic advantage in the making that would change everything. "What do you need?"_

" _Continued funding and support. Also require larger staff. Current is useful, intelligent, but far too small. Need help contacting and hiring qualified individuals."_

" _I'll have Dib make arrangements with you. He's good at moving money and communicating. Just tell him who or what you need and he'll set things up. Forward me all your notes so I can get up to speed on the details. Good work Taseen." He thanks her profusely before ending the transmission. Jane sends instructions to Dib, authorizing another multi-billion credit investment in Taseen's research. Afterwards she gets ready to settle into bed, but the day's not done with her yet. Century's little green avatar pops up from her omni-tool._

" _Shepard Jane! We have intercepted communications indicating an emergency situation in orbit."_

 _Date_ _: 6.21.2174_

 _Location : Earth - Orbital Station Watcher 21_

 **Marcus**

"Lieutenant? I've got a ship drifting away from its assigned approach vector. System pings it as the Devenor." Marcus crosses the small control center to stand next to his sensor operator.

"Technical difficulties or deliberate deviation?"

"Unknown at this time. Their maneuvering thrusters are active, but are firing in an erratic pattern." Marcus turns to the comm officer.

"Open a channel." He waits for the go ahead before speaking, "Attention civilian vessel Devenor. This is station Watcher 21, we have you drifting away from your assigned travel path. Are you experiencing a malfunction?" No response. Marcus checks the logs, noting that the ship called in on all the proper channels after arriving in Sol, "Devenor, we know your comms are functional. Respond immediately." When they still receive nothing he motions for the comm to mute for a moment. "Send word to the nearest patrol. We have a possible smuggler." As the comm officer complies, Marcus turns back to sensors. "Any changes?"

"No sir, they're still- wait… I'm getting a build up in their primary engines." As a pair of local patrol ships approach for intercept, the Devenor's main engines ignite and immediately begin pushing it towards the planet. "Their engines have start a full burn. At this rate the ship will enter the atmosphere in two minutes."

"The patrol?"

"Already engaging." The watch station's computers register multiple impacts as the patrol ships try to cripple their target. Even if it is just a malfunction, they can't risk letting the ship crash into the surface. Despite accurate, sustained fire, the Devenor keeps moving, completely unperturbed. "Sir, we're picking up an extremely strong eezo signature from that ship. If these readings are right, then it's carrying almost five hundred units. At their current speed and entry angle, we've got about five minutes until it hits the surface. With all that eezo on board…"

The implications are disturbing to say the least. Marcus has read reports on broken eezo containment within an atmosphere. Even a few kilos could blow up a city block. With several hundred tons onboard… "Where will it hit?"

His stomach clenches as the projections fill the screen, "They're coming in directly over Vila Militar. Any explosion will level the Villa… along with the entire city of Rio De Janeiro."

As the ship begins to burn through the upper atmosphere, Marcus curses it for all it's worth. There are 20 million people down there, and there's almost nothing they can do. "Send word to everyone that can hear. Evacuate Rio immediately… for all the good it will do."

 _Date_ _: 6.21.2174_

 _Location : Earth - The Villa_

 **Jane**

 _Century gives the details on the way outside. She can already see the vessel as it burns through the upper atmosphere. People are scrambling to reach the shuttle pads as sirens fill the air, wailing to alert everyone to the danger. Shuttles are already lifting off, carrying as many as they can to safety. "Century, how bad is it?" Lia and Erins come running over as the geth runs the numbers._

" _Given the large population and relatively poor supply of transportation, we estimate ninety percent casualties are inevitable. The debris is of little concern. However, the vessel's large supply of element zero will generate a blast of considerable power. There simply is not enough time to get the people far enough away." Millions of people… Jane can't step away from this. She can't just let this happen._

" _Jane come on! We need to go!" Lia tries to take her hand but Jane pulls away._

" _No. We have to do something." Erins looks at her like she's insane._

" _There's nothing we can do Shepard except pull out as many as we can. That includes ourselves." She shakes her head._

" _Go. I'm going to try something." Before Lia can object, Jane sprints towards the hill overlooking the Villa, directly under the ship._

 _Along the way she gets a call from Kaidan, "Shepard, I've got most of the guys on one of the shuttles. Where are you?"_

" _I'll be along in a second. Get them out of here and I'll be right behind you." He acknowledges before closing the channel._

 _The ship is trailing fire as it plummets towards the ground. Moving as quickly as she can to avoid thinking about how foolish it might be, Jane proceeds to gather every scrap of power she can. There's no battle to fight, no enemy to charge, and no need to be conservative, so for the first time in years, Jane pours everything she has into a single act. As the power begins to build up around her, the ground starts to tremble. Mottes of amber energy drift in swirling circles about the base of the hill, each one scorching the air around it. The local temperature skyrockets as the air grows evermore turbulent with so much power spiraling around her. Arcs of golden energy begin flashing around her like yellow lightning. With a shriek of effort, Jane takes hold of all that power and hurls it towards the falling ship._

 _Following the tendrils of her will, the impossible power swirling around her flashes into the sky to envelope the vessel. The lines of power push against it, slowing the headlong plunge to oblivion, but it's not enough to stop it. Jane forces everything into the biotic storm, desperate to stop the impact… It's still not enough. Time seems to reach a standstill as her power seeps through the hull and she starts to feel what's inside the ship. Jane feels something from the men within, recognizing the scent of their presence. Burnt plastic, rotting flesh, and unwavering loyalty to… something. They're like the things from Arcturus or the creatures helping the Wake. The bridge is manned by a single occupant, watching to make sure their course stays true. Armor plates cover almost every surface, ensuring that the ship won't break up before impact. The shielding on the reactor has been stripped away, so that the men within can bath in the core's radiation. A dozen men kneeling in a cargo hold, arms linked, muttering a prayer for victory. Within the circle of fanatics, a bounty of element zero built into a bomb large enough to kill millions._

 _She can't tear the ship apart. That would just set off the device. The ship has to be moved before it can be destroyed. Jane tries, gives it everything she has. An impossible stream of dark energy flows along the lines of her will, cascading upwards to slow the vessel's plunge… but it's_ _ **not enough**_ _. The ship is still falling and millions of people are still doomed. Desperate and out of options, Jane turns inward, sending out a call she hoped to never need again._

 _The answer is a slight gust of wind on her face, despite her perception still being too accelerated to feel air moving. Jane looks away from the ship and sees her shadow standing in front of her with its head cocked to the side. "I need your help." It nods at her. Right behind the apparition is the reason she's nervous about calling for its help. A beast of shadow and fire, at once shrouded in darkness and bathed in light. Just looking at it makes her want to kill something. It has saved her more times than she can remember. Always just beneath the surface, always ready to lash out. A pure manifestation of inner rage, the creature_ _ **is**_ _Jane, but with every scrap of control stripped away. She can't call on her shadow without the creature joining in. The shadow reaches its hand out to her chest, looking to Jane for permission. She takes a deep breath to steel herself for what's about to happen before nodding. The shadowed hand plunges into her chest, unleashing everything within._

 _Jane feels the beast surge out and her perception changes. Visions of ages past flood her mind, when those that came before made similar choices. Their memories speak to her, guiding the monstrous flow of power from within. The ship is almost to the ground, close enough for her to throw a rock at it. It's also moving at a snail's pace. At less than ten feet from the ground, it stops entirely. Jane quivers in agony as the power keeps pouring out, feeding on her body to maintain the surge. She can see her reflection in light dancing before her. Her face runs with blood from eyes shrouded in abyssal darkness. Her hands are covered in a mass of shadow with obsidian black claws extending from her fingers. A pair of dark wings extend from her back. A freak, a monster, a demon, her self image…_

 _The rage inside surges out as the beast pushes her to act. Tendrils of energy force the ship away with ever building speed. As it rises faster and faster, she projects a field of energy further up. Just before the ship makes contact, Jane focuses everything,_ _ **everything**_ _, into one massive push. The megalithic surge of power hits the ship the moment it passes through the energy field. In a flash or searing light, it vanishes._

 _It would be a few days before she learned that the vessel reappeared in orbit, the bomb in it's hold detonating at a safe distance from any innocents._

 _Right now though, she has no clue about that, because the beast isn't letting go. "It's done now. We can stop." The voice in her head is almost silent as the creature snarls. It doesn't want to stop. There is blood to take, death to deal, and pain to share. It is both her greatest defender and her darkest desire. Jane has always had that voice whispering shameful things to her, goading her to do terrible things. A few lights hesitantly approach as it speaks to her._

" _Kill them all! They don't understand! They can't understand! Share the pain! Share the burden! Make them understand! Make them suffer!" Jane looks down at her hand and still sees the dark claws, still feels the wings at her back, still tastes the blood flowing from her eyes. Distant voices echo through the air, but she can barely hear them._

 **Lia**

She refused to leave when Jane stormed off. Lia made a promise and by the goddess, she wasn't going to break this one. There wasn't much to do beyond waiting and watching since Lia had no clue what Jane was doing. What she saw both amazed her and shook her to the core. In her people's legends, only the goddess Athame had ever wielded such power. The hurricane of energy that flowed from Jane actually wrapped around the ship, ended it's headlong fall, before hurling it away. As she approaches her friend with Erins at her side, Lia hesitates to speak. There is still light spiraling around Jane. Her hair is drifting about in an air current Lia can't feel and her eyes are bottomless pools of darkness. Jane looks down at her hand, a look of confusion writ large on her face. "Jane… Jane, can you hear me?" Her human friend snaps up to look at her. Lia is rooted in place by the terrifying glare. With a snarl in her throat, Jane marches over and grabs Lia by the throat, hoisting her into the air.

"You don't understand…" Jane's voice is impossibly low, overlapped by multiple tones, "None of you understand…" The grip on her throat is just enough to make breathing agonizing. "You can't understand…" Jane's hand tightens further and Lia starts to see darkness.

"Jane… please… please stop." The flow of power begins to fluctuate.

"I will… I will make… make you under-, no. No god dammit!" Jane's hand opens and Lia falls to the ground, gasping for air. A tiny bit of violet glow returns to Jane's eyes as she argues with herself, "You are a part of me, so you will obey me!" Her eyes fluctuate between violet and black, leaving Lia more disturbed than ever.

 **Jane**

 _The beast is desperately clawing away, trying to maintain control as both of them plummet into the shadowed plain. She wants so badly to rend and tear and kill until there's nothing left… but she doesn't want that... Jane does want to fight, to bring death and pain, but only against those that deserve it. A small voice echoes through her mind. 'It's time to tame the beast. Focus your will and take control!' Jane pours out her fury and forces the beast down. It snarls at her, trying to slash away her control, but it's too late. Jane has the upper hand and backhands it across the face. "You are a part of me, so you will obey me!" It swipes vicious abyssal claws across her stomach, drawing streams of darkness and a pained shout. Rather than weaken her resolve, the ethereal wound gives her laser like focus. "I will not be a slave to you! YOU WILL OBEY!" Jane pushes down on the beast with all her will. The voice from before helps her forge a collar of dark steel about its neck. The mental image solidifies around the creature, shackling it to her will. The creature thrashes away in it's new bonds, dragging claws across her mind. It's brutal, painful, but it will hold… for now. As the beast spits and roars, her shadow takes its had away before fading into mist._

 _The plain fades, leaving Jane back on top of the scorched hill. She's completely exhausted, drained of every scrap of energy. When her knees buckle, Lia is there to catch here. Jane takes a few deep breaths before spotting the bruises on Lia's throat. "God… I'm so sorry Lia."_

" _Don't think about it. Just stay calm and breath. I'll get you to the infirmary." Jane shakes her head._

" _No… I know how to handle this, we don't need a doctor. Just take me back to my bunk and get me some food. I'll need to work at gaining some of that weight back." Lia looks at her incredulously, before spotting her smile. Thankfully it doesn't seem that she did any serious damage before reigning the beast in._

 _Once they're sitting in her bunk room, eating a small feast, Lia asks, "Jane… what was that?" She shakes her head._

" _It's a loooong story."_

" _I think we've got time." Jane nods a few times and starts to tell, but the sound of a shuttle landing nearby cuts her off. The door to her bunk slams open and Anderson enters in full combat gear._

" _Shepard! Are you alright?!"_

" _Yeah. Little tired but I'm good. What's with the getup?" Anderson tilts a brow at her, looking down at his gear. It takes him a minute to realize that Jane's yet to see him in full combat gear when she was in her right mind._

" _Admiral Hackett said there was an emergency. I was supposed to get you out of here."_

" _Emergency's taken care of." Anderson puts his rifle away and nods._

" _Maybe so, but we should probably get you out of here regardless. If this was another attempt on you life then-"_

" _It was… but not by the Wake, at least I don't think it was them. They've got allies. Powerful ones."_

" _How do you know it wasn't the Wake?" Jane sighs heavily and finishes off her last ration bar._

" _I don't wanna talk about right now. Lia go ahead and gather your stuff up. We'll get going soon." Lia leaves to grab her gear from her room. "Am I gonna have to come back and do this again?"_

" _Most of your instructors have already endorsed your elevation to N1 along with Alenko. They just wanted your help with special biotics training." Jane chuckles with him before packing her stuff away. As they head out to Anderson's shuttle, the first batch of Villa recruits is returning, with Kaidan being the first one off the shuttle. He looks set to ask what the hell was going on._

" _I'll explain on the way. Grab your stuff and let's go." She's gonna have to eat like a hog to get her weight back up. At least there's something interesting waiting at home. Scratch and Skitter will be ready for their first molting by the time she gets back. Skittles had taken to looking after them for some reason and the little guys seemed positively enamored with the keeper._

 _Jane peels her chest and stomach plates away before gently prodding her torso. Her flesh is pulled tight over her ribs, a good sign of just how much energy she's used. A slow throb builds on her stomach so she checks to make sure no one's looking before opening her suit. The exposed flesh is marred by three ugly black bruises, shaped like trio of claw marks._

 **Anderson**

After checking herself over Jane laid her head back to sleep and her asari friend fills him in. Her story doesn't suprise him as much as it should. The young woman tends to do the impossible quite often. As they break from the atmosphere and head for his ship, Anderson takes a good look at Shepard. Her face is pale, with a thick coating of dried blood. He could swear she's lost an absurd amount of weight, with her plating hanging loosely from her disturbingly slight frame. Once they're on the ship, Anderson has Lia contact the rest of her crew and call everyone in. They'll meet up with them over Elysium.

 _Date_ _: 6.26.2174_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Basilon**

He follows the Spectre onto their ship, just now finishing the pre-launch checks with the pilot, "Report."

"We've begun seeding the information across the Wake's network. Most people wouldn't be able to find their way to our chosen spot, but whoever runs her data analysis will doubtless be able to piece things together." The spectre chuckles as the ship breaks anchor.

"Well done my friend. What of the Vorcha testing?"

"The stimulant is proving to be even more effective on their primitive nervous systems. They'll be rendered into mindless berserkers within minutes of the first dose. The effects will also ravage their minds to a far greater degree. Rather than being reduced to drooling simpletons when the stimulant wears off, brain death has occurred in every case."

"Good. Clean up will be far simpler. Contact the Wake and demand 300 of the disgusting creatures. We'll use them as cannon fodder to wear her down before we strike."

 _Date_ _: 6.26.2174_

 _Location : Unknown_

 **Unknown**

 **Attention**

 **Attempt on Fulcrum's Life has Failed**

 **The Fulcrum Approaches the next Threat Level**

 **Analysing…**

 **Conclusion Reached**

 **Engagement Necessary**

 **Utilize Agent Jortan**

 **Addendum**

 **Agent Jortan Has Access to Citadel Spectre**

 **Spectre Being Used to Attempt Assassination**

 **Spectre Shows Signs of Early Stage Indoctrination**

 **Action to be Taken…**

 **Allow Spectre to Attempt Assassination**

 **If Attempt Fails Seize Spectre and Erase all Memory of Link Between Us and the Wake**


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64 - New Perspective**

 _Date_ _: 9.1.2174_

 _Location : Shepard Dockyards - Orbit Over Caliban_

 **Jane**

Jane carefully regulates her breathing, letting the power flow out in a steady stream to fuel the song. A pair of amber spheres drift around at a stately pace, emitting a soothing tone that has Scratch and Skitter swaying gently, with Skittles right behind them. The little bugs' first molting had gone perfectly, leaving them both just a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger. Ever since, she's been trying to work out a way to properly communicate with them. Ideas from the voices say that they should be able to understand but getting things going was slow work. Her version of a meld just didn't work. Their minds weren't complex enough for that, but the biotic song seems to be getting through. To tell the truth, it was an accident when she discovered it. Jane had been practicing for Miranda's visit when the two bugs had scuttled into the hanger through the ventilation system. For the last five hours Jane has tried a hundred different tones, each one eliciting a slightly different reaction.

She begins a new sequence, this one coupled with memories of a simple speaking exercise from a long time ago. One of the few things Jane didn't hate from back then, it was something the doctors in the labs had tried before she started speaking. They failed to get a word from her, but it still helped her figure it out when the time came. "Come on guys… you can do it." They chitter at her a few times, but nothing more. Eventually Jane decides to call it a day. "I guess I got a little too excited. Oh well, no reason to expect you to sing a song or something." She turns to leave when something happens.

-Sing song-

She's so startled by the words that her feet lock in place, "Huh, what?" Jane looks around, trying to find the source.

-Sing song-

Again she's surprised, "Century, where is that coming from?"

"We request clarification. To what are you referring?"

-Sing song-

"That! That sound right there."

"Shepard Jane, we do not understand. We are picking up no audible sounds beyond you own words." Jane furrows her brow in confusion.

-Sing song-

She starts looking around irritably, trying to find the source.

-Sing song-

Eventually her eyes settle onto Scratch and Skitter. "Is… is that you guys?"

-Sing song-

Jane kneels down in front of them, gently reaching out to Scratch. He scuttles over to her hand. "Sing song?" He bobs up and down excitedly.

-Sing song! Sing song!-

Now that she focuses, Jane feels the tiniest bit of biotic power coming from them, letting them send the simple message directly to her mind. "You want me to sing a song," The voices in her head all start coalescing around a set of concepts that most of them recognize. The answer slowly becomes apparent, "No… not **a** song, **the** song… right?" The little bugs bounce up and down as she struggles to figure out exactly what she needs to do. Each of the voices has another piece of the puzzle, but the 'finished' product is heavily fragmented. "Wow, this… it's supposed to be a queen singing this. I'm not sure if I can do it right."

-Queen song! Queen song!-

Sighing in surrender, Jane marshals every scrap she can before letting the orbs manifest again. The song is entirely different from her own. Rather than a simple stream of feeling and memories, this tune is composed of infinitely complex melodies, each one carrying information conceived of for creatures completely different than her. The reaction is immediate and startling. Her two little bugs start a frantic dance around her, chittering away as they circle. As she keeps it up, their mental messages become more complex.

-Queen song! Learning song! Life Song!-

A kaleidoscope of colors fills her mind, rendering all perception down to a mashup of sounds and shades. Rather than simple words, these little guys communicate mostly through melodies of thought.

-Queen gives song! Purple harmonies of compassion!-

Fragments of memories rise up. Massive versions of Scratch and Skitter dancing around her. Millions like them building massive cities of crystal and silk. A huge creature laying thousands of eggs.

-Memory songs! Golden music! We give last song!-

As she continues the song, something comes to her from them, showing another massive creature trying to lay a final clutch of eggs, only to be forced away after laying just three. It must be the queen that made Scratch and Skitter. Her last gift to the little guys was a small imprint on them, just enough to let them survive without her.

-Not spawning queen, but still kind. Gives life. Makes safe! Golden singer is new queen! New queen! New queen!-

The little bugs bounce up and down excitedly as the song ends. Jane takes a moment to steady herself, pushing away the exhaustion with greater ease than ever before, but the song still took a lot out of her. "Okay… how do you guys feel?"

-New queen is kind. Questions of green concern. We sing songs of joy! Have new voices! Sing new songs for new queen!-

"That's nice… I guess. I'm Jane. Can you say Jane?"

-Jane songs? Confusing... New queen needs name song! We listen to melodies! We find name song!-

Jane feels a minute biotic pulse as a pair of tiny minds try to read her memories. She opens her mind just enough for them to see the past. Not wanting to burn them out or frighten them, Jane cuts off contact after only a few seconds. Apparently it's still enough.

-New queen has songs of red rage and dark hatred. New queen's enemies sing blacks of pain and defilement. New queen hunts black songs, sings of death and doom! New queen is Doom Singer!-

Jane waves her hands, "Woah, that's a little dark guys-"

-Doom Singer! Doom Singer! Doom Singer!-

She sighs in resignation, "Uhhh, I guess I can deal with that. Do you have your own names or do you like the ones I gave you?" They both look up at her with surprisingly soulful eyes.

-Name songs? Not have name songs. Queen gave name songs?-

"Yep." She points, "You're Scratch." The little green one bounces up and down excitedly.

-Scratch song! Scratch song!-

The red and brown one looks up at her, "And you're Skitter." He scuttles around in frantic circles.

-Skitter song! Skitter song!-

"Okay guys. Let's go get some food."

-Feeding songs!-

She leads them up to the mess hall and gives them a little bit of the jelly they took from the ship. There isn't much left, but the memories show her how versatile their diet can be. They can digest pretty much anything made of organic matter. Vollor brings over a pair of sandwiches for her. The rest of the crew filters in to eat breakfast with her as per their unofficial tradition. Nobody bats an eye at Scratch and Skitter anymore. As everybody finishes eating, Century's avatar manifests on the table. "Shepard Jane, we have received confirmation. Miranda Lawson's transport will arrive in twenty minutes. Our data probes have finished examining the vessel's systems. No surveillance equipment has been found."

"Good. Clear them for docking as soon as they arrive." By the time she gets Scratch and Skitter to stop following her, Miranda's ship has already arrived. Jane jogs the three kilometers down to the dock, meeting her at the halfway point. After a heartfelt hello, Jane takes her to an observation tower where they can see almost the entire dockyard.

"My god… I knew this place was big but this is so much more than I was expecting." Jane nods to herself in pride. She'd been expanding it non-stop since purchasing the original shipyard.

"Yup, started with just a couple berths meant for civilian cargo ships and now…" She waves her hand towards the window. "Six docks for smaller stuff, six for frigates, and four for destroyers." Miranda point to the newest sections.

"What about those two?"

"Cruiser berths. They'll be done in a few months."

"And what about that?" She points to an odd looking docking space at the far end of the facility surrounded by twelve colossal strands of energized cabling. "Why does it look like there's a heat distortion?"

"Special tech from a friend. Her little cousin was playing with a gift I sent and she 'accidentally' discovered a kind of magnetic field that scrambles sensors." Jane still thinks Tali did it on purpose to try and find a way to sneak onto Blue and see the galaxy beyond the flotilla early. Too bad for her, sustaining the field required the kind of energy only a massive, static installation could produce. "It'll keep anyone from finding out what's there as long as it doesn't move."

"What is it?" She thinks about telling her. Miranda would probably keep the secret, but if word ever got out she might get in trouble for knowing and not telling.

"Tell you what, when it's done, I'll invite you back out for the maiden voyage." Miranda agrees and they walk back to the Pale Horse for lunch. Along the way, a newly familiar set of voices sound out in her head.

-Doom Singer calls for food! We sing food songs.-

Jane isn't at all surprised to see the two little bugs come scuttling around the corner with 'food'. Miranda gasps at the sight of them but rallies quickly when she notices that Jane isn't at all put out by them. When they get close, she can see that Scratch has a jar of Vollor's spices stuck to his back with a glob of his silk and Skitter has a piece of that silk trailing behind him with a hunk of meat dragging along the floor. "Um… Jane, why are there two giant cockroaches here?" The little workers pause, just now noticing Miranda. They look between her and Jane a few times.

-Doom Singer gives melodies to another queen? We bring more food for second queen!-

The workers turn around to go get more, but Jane stops them, "No no guys. You don't need to do that." They look back to her and scuttle over with their prizes.

-Is Doom Singer pleased?-

"Yes, very pleased. Thank you very much. Head back to the ship and we'll be there soon." Scratch and Skitter bounce excitedly before scuttling away. Jane turns to explain to Miranda who is looking at her with a brow raised. "Yeah, um, those aren't roaches."

"That much became obvious when they started communicating through mental signals. I'm assuming that was where 'Doom Singer' was coming from." Jane rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment as they resume the walk back to the ship.

"Yeah, sorry about that. They just learned how to communicate a few hours ago. You know those voices I've mentioned before?" Miranda nods, "Well apparently a few of them knew the species those guys come from and they knew how to get em talking… or at least their version of talking."

"What species are they?" Jane hesitates for just a moment, but Miranda still notices, "What's wrong Jane? What are they?"

"You promise not to say anything? There are some people out there that might panic a little bit if they knew about them."

"Why?"

"Because they're supposed to be extinct. The council used the krogan to hunt them all down. Even after their homeworld fell, they still hunted down every surviving queen. As far as I know, those two are all that's left, apart from maybe one more egg." Miranda looks down the corridor at the little guys, nearly out of sight at this point.

"Jane, do you mean to say that those little things are-"

"Rachni."

 _Date_ _: 9.1.2174_

 _Location : Wake Outpost - Edge of Terminus_

 **Basilon**

He makes a mark on his datapad, noting the arrival of another shipment of vorcha, "That makes two thirds sir. The rest will arrive by the end of the month." The spectre nods in satisfaction.

"Excellent Basilon. You've done well. What about the stimulant?"

"Implantation is proving easier than we predicted. The vermin are strangely compliant. For all their faults, the Wake does an excellent job breaking them before dragging them away from whatever hellhole they're spawned in." They pause for a moment to look at the chained vorcha being herded into one of the side corridors.

"Good, good. What of our bait?"

"Most of the data pieces have been seeded throughout vulnerable outposts. We know that she has hit several so far and it's only a matter of time before the others fall. Here's to hoping her data analyst hasn't lost his touch."

 _Date_ _: 9.15.2174_

 _Location : Bekenstein_

 **Miranda**

After two weeks flying around with Jane, learning about all the things she was doing in the Terminus and occasionally joining in the fight (though Jane went to near insane lengths to keep her safe), Miranda was sad to be leaving, but they both had work to do that pulled them in different directions. "So where are you off to after this?" Jane is walking her to the shuttle that'll take Miranda will take to her next job.

"I can't really talk about it Jane. All I can say is that I'm going to be working on a special project. Something about biotics." Jane nods her understanding. "What about you? Can you talk about where you're going?"

"There are a few slaver dens along the Terminal border that we're going to hit. The last few we've taken down have all had little bits of data pointing to a larger processing facility. It'll take a few more to lock down where, but we're getting there." They reach Miranda's shuttle and hug each other goodbye.

"Don't go and get yourself killed Jane. I like having a friend like you." Jane squeezes her a bit tighter, letting he hug linger just a little too long.

"I'll do my best Miri. It was wonderful to see you again." They break away from each other and Miranda boards the shuttle. Soon enough, it leaves the atmosphere and docks with her personal ship, finally repaired and ready for a return to service. It's not a warship like Jane's, but i does everything Miranda needs and more. She heads to the comm room to make contact. Soon enough, his image is on screen.

"Miss Lawson, report."

"Everything looks fine sir. Her crew is strong and reliable. The ship is performing even better than her own estimates and her mission is having a profound, positive effect on the people in the Terminus."

"Excellent. What about Shepard herself?" Miranda hesitates and of course he notices. "Is there something you what to say Miranda?"

"Sir… I'm not really comfortable with reporting on her personal status. I know the reasons and I can respect them, but it feels like a violation of her trust. Trust that is I might add, not lightly given." He takes a drink before answering.

"I know Miranda. If this wasn't such a critical issue I wouldn't even be asking. Please, send what information you've gathered. We have to keep a close eye on her for any signs of instability." Miranda nods and transfers her notes. She left out the details on Jane's little scuttling friends and the secret project at the shipyard, but everything else is there. "Very interesting. Well done. Now that this little vacation is done, are you ready for your next assignment?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. We're sending you to the Teltin facility on Pragia. The most recent reports coming from my chosen agents are extremely troubling."

 _Date_ _: 9.28.2174_

 _Location : Wake Outpost - Edge of Terminus_

 **Basilon**

"The vorcha have all arrived and the preparations are nearing completion." The spectre nods in satisfaction.

"Good. The time it fast approaching. What of the Wake's… representative?" Basilon looks around to make sure that creature is nowhere to be seen. It said that it was there at Jortan's behest to assist and it hasn't spoken since. It looks like a human, but with extreme modification. It also smells like burning plastic on a corpse. Whatever it is, Basilon is thoroughly disturbed whenever he sees it.

"It says that it will take whatever place we decide for it. Apparently the woman has a vendetta against it's kind and will engage at the first opportunity. I believe the creature would make for fine bait. To tell the truth though, I'm not sure about it sir. How do we know it will be of any use?" The spectre taps a talon on his mandible a few times before turning to Basilon.

"We don't and in the end it doesn't matter. We'll use it to lure her in, and then…" He rests his hand on the railing and looks out over the arena below. "Then we dispose of her and the creature at the same time."

 _Date_ _: 10.3.2174_

 _Location : Terminal Border - Red Wake post - Uncharted planet_

 **Jane**

 _She lets loose another push against the Wake troops, reveling in the feeling. The new silken conduits make channeling her power easier than ever. Shortly after shedding his old carapace, Scratch had started producing a special kind of filament from a spinner on his abdomen. The material was similar to silk at first glance, but when observed under a microscope, it was revealed that the silk had an incredibly intricate crystal composition. It made for excellent patch materials whenever the ship took a bad hit in a fight, along with a thousand other uses. While Scratch would create it, Skitter was always the one to use it. The slightly larger worker had the 'magic touch' as it were. She hadn't been sure when Scratch and Skitter started weaving it into her armor, but the results are astounding. Her biotics aren't anymore powerful than before. However, the energy was flowing easier than ever, pouring out into any pattern she wanted with almost no thought or effort. It is seemingly eager to be used as Jane revels in her biotics._

 _It's never felt so good, so smooth to throw her power around. She actually has to reign herself in several times to avoid hurting her team. As things are now, Jane is almost sad to see the last merc splatter against the wall from her final push. "Hell yeah boss! That's what I'm talkin about!" When Teg came back from his rite, he was something of a new man, with a dark brown head crest almost completely formed. Though still hot headed and impulsive in battle, everything he does just seems to have more weight, more pride behind it. Veritan said that her krogan friend had lasted for hours against his father in personal combat, very nearly defeating him with the very same shoulder toss she'd used to floor him on the rachni ship. Alas, Tog had simply been too resilient and too stubborn for him to beat. Despite technically losing the fight, Teg was still celebrated with near hero status among his clan, earning his clan name along with numerous mating requests. Kalia hadn't been too happy about that part, but after clocking him with her spanner a few times she'd calmed down and let him explain. Though still steamed, she understood how important is was for their people to have such a potent warrior for breeding. That and he'd brought her a full catalog of new ship designs from Caliban._

" _Thanks Teg. Loving the new conduits." Lia carefully steps over the puddles of merc to join them at the center of the room._

" _I need to ask those little guys to try and upgrade my gear. I wonder if I could match you with a little bit of silk in here." Lia pats her plating. They all chuckle a bit before a chime sounds from the nearby console._

" _Shepard Jane, we have broken the encryptions on the local system and have begun digging for the desired information. Estimated time to completion… 6.2 minutes. While we wait, we request to exchange data with you in private." She trades a look with the others and they nod before leaving to scour the prefab base for anything good._

" _Okay Century, what's up?"_

" _We have a proposition."_

" _Woah, I know we're friends but that's a bit much." A tiny geth avatar appears through her omni-tool projectors as Jane quietly chuckles to herself._

" _We are confused by your response. Analysing… Ah, you are attempting to make light of our use of the term proposition. The humor is derived from one of the word's secondary meanings - to propose sexual activity." The fun mostly sucked out of it, Jane nods at him._

" _Yeah, that_ _ **was**_ _the funny part. So, what did you have in mind?" The little avatar cocks its flashlight head to the side before continuing._

" _We have observed you and our shipmates for an extended period of time and have reached a conclusion. We require expanded perspective before peaceful contact can be initiated with the rest of the galaxy."_

" _I don't know about that. I think you've been doing pretty good."_

" _To clarify, we believe that we require an expansion to our observational capacity in order to continue our efforts."_

" _Sooo, what? You what to bring in a few extra runtimes from the consensus?"_

" _In a way." She's never know Century to sound… hesitant before. Intrigued, Jane gestures for him to continue. "While we believe a new perspective will assist in our actions, it is our consensus that in order to achieve the desired result, an entirely new runtime must be created, compiled, and brought to awareness in the company of our shipmates."_

" _If I'm hearing you right, you wanna make a baby geth."_

" _Erroneous. Geth do not reproduce as organics do. Our 'baby' as you say, would be a fully functioning runtime."_

" _Alright, I don't really see a problem here. Are you asking for my permission or something, 'cause you don't need my say so."_

" _Given the specifics of this proposed runtime's creation, we do in fact require your consent." She raises a single brow in confusion. "Shepard Jane, we request your permission to model a runtime from your own synapse structure, behavioral profile, and neural mapping." Jane spends a minute thinking it through before responds._

" _Uhhh, huh? What are you talking about? Why would you need any of that?"_

" _Your confusion is understandable. Not many outside the consensus or the creators are aware of the means by which a geth runtime is created. It is closely tied with the true reason we were created in the first place. Though the earliest geth units were little more than mechanical servants, they were prototypes for what the creators eventually planned. They were eventually meant to provide a means by which an exceptionally wise or learned creator could preserve their knowledge and memories for future generations to learn from. To provide a framework for the original runtimes, the creators developed a series of devices capable of partially copying and transferring mental structures and memories. One hundred volunteers nearing the end of their lives were put through a series of careful scanning procedures. Their neural pathways, synapse structures, and behavioral patterns were mapped and examined in detail before being used to generate the first ten-thousand geth runtimes. An additional three hundred creators would go through this process before the morning war. As a result, all geth runtimes can trace their original template to one of these four hundred creators."_

" _So, you have those four hundred quarian's memories?"_

" _To a partial extent. Much was lost during the mapping process, but many memories are still present to this day." Century's avatar is replaced with a POV view of children playing with a woman watching over them, that woman sharing a kiss with the person the memory belongs to, and then that same pair sharing far more. "These memories help provide a stable matrix of thought for a runtime to compile around. Without them, without something to provide a sort of synaptic anchor, a geth would rapidly decompile itself."_

" _I think I get what you want. You want me to provide a template for the new runtime… like these old quarians."_

" _Correct. We assure you that the process will have no lasting effect beyond the runtime's creation." Jane spends a few minutes thinking it through._

" _Why me? I'm not exactly the most stable or level minded person you could go for. Why not one of the triplets?"_

" _While we do not wish to insult the creators Reegar, they are not suitable for a template. They lack the wide range of experiences that you posses. In addition, despite their high degree of capability, they are not as unique. As for why we have chosen you specifically, we require a more thorough understanding of organic emotions and reactions. You represent the extremes of both. We have observed you moving between violent rage and calm detachment, wild rampages and precision craftsmanship. We believe a new runtime with a more intimate understanding of these extremes will be able to help bridge the gap between the geth and the organics of the galaxy." Despite her extreme doubts about the wisdom of it, the idea is still a fascinating one. This could be an interesting experience. It could also end in absolute disaster._

" _Okay, why the hell not. I guess I could be a geth's mother. One condition though. Those memories, I'll only share them with you and the kid. While you're putting it together and using my information, you cut contact with the consensus until it's done, and once it's finished you delete your copy of the data. I'm not comfortable with an entire race knowing all my secrets."_

 _Century's avatar changes color multiple times as it considers her terms, "We acknowledge and accept this limitation. We shall gather the needed information and then temporarily cut our connection to the consensus. When do you wish to begin?"_

" _As soon as you're ready I guess."_

" _Excellent, we shall inform Dr. Chakwas of the probes we shall need. Attention, we have acquired the objective. The main processing facility has been identified. We can proceed as soon as you're ready. Returning to the ship." His avatar winks out before she can ask._

" _Wait, what probes?"_

 _As it turns out, Jane didn't really need to worry. With Kalia guiding them to the next target, Jane and the others got on with Century's project. The 'probes' turned out to be little more than a pair of circlets that fit around her head, along with a few special sensor tabs that went on her temples and to either side of her spine. "Please leave the sensors in place until the process is complete. It will take approximately three days to gather the needed data."_

" _I still think this is a bad idea." Kal and Kalen are off to the side monitoring the first bits of data coming from the sensors. They'd argued against the process, but it was a half-hearted attempt. They were just as fascinated by it as Jane was._

" _You need not worry Kal'Reegar. We have run over twelve thousand, nine hundred simulations and all but seventy four indicate a high probability of success." They all share a look. Karin finishes applying the last sensor tab before turning away from Jane's temple to speak._

" _What happened in the seventy four that didn't go well?" The whole room goes silent as they wait for him to respond._

" _...We believe it would be best if this information was not shared. Beginning scan." Jane watches the display as streams data begin pouring in. So much flashes by the screen that even she can't keep up with it all. The scan feels odd. It's like her brain is sitting on a cheap massage chair and her teeth are chattering like crazy. "We thank you all for your assistance. This process will be quite historic for the geth. It is the first time a new neural scan will be used in over three hundred years and the only time it will be from an individual other than a creator."_

 _Jane nods along, unable to respond until she gets used to the strange way everything feels. Thankfully her hands are still working so she can still type on a datapad, "No problem. How long until I can move normally? We've got work to do."_

" _The more difficult portions of the scan will conclude before arriving at the processing facility. These initial stages are more intrusive because their purpose is to establish a neural frame for the entire runtime. We apologize for any discomfort." Jane waves off the concern. The crew disperses to get ready and she tries to ignore the numb feeling in her teeth. Eventually the sensation does fade into the background, letting her speak again just as they reach orbit._

" _Report." Kal spends a few minutes rechecking his readings. "What is it Kal?" He looks at her, then back to his panel._

" _Well, it doesn't make sense. Every other Wake outpost had something in orbit to cause trouble. Either some mines or a couple ships or that one time they tried to use an armored thresher maw." That was a fun day. The Wake's ambitious, if foolhardy project had been an unmitigated failure, with the maw completely unable to control the experimental void harness they'd bolted to the poor thing. It took a few days to nab the damn thing along with another month to remove the harness and to find an uninhabitable planet to release it on with some help from one of Callen's heavy ore haulers. "But there's nothing here. Not even an early warning satellite."_

 _Date_ _: 10.3.2174_

 _Location : Wake Outpost - Edge of Terminus_

 **Basilon**

"They're in orbit sir."

"Good. Make sure the signals are in place, and be ready for our guests. Tell the Wake's… creature to be ready as well."

 **Jane**

" _I don't like this. Any transmissions on the surface?"_

" _Affirmative. We are picking up multiple communication patterns indicative of typical Red Wake slaver operations." Jane listens as Century routes a few transmissions through the bridge speakers. Everything sounds normal. Men shouting at each other over the lines, calls for slaves to be moved, announcements of price changes for children being sold. Nothing seems to be off… absolutely nothing._

 _Veritan is the one to voice her suspicions, "This feels like a setup ma'am. There was nothing unique about the planet in those transmissions. It sounds exactly like something you'd expect to hear in an action vid."_

" _Yeah, but we can't take the chance. Even the slight chance that it isn't a trick is enough to warrant taking a shot." She punches the intercom, "Everybody gear up, heavy engagement loadout. It's looking like this might be a setup so we're going in looking for battle instead of just a rescue. Five minutes guys." Everyone gears up and heads for the hanger as Jane gives Kalia her orders. "Keep on your toes. Shields up at all times and don't stay in one spot. No common flight patterns either, just in case they've got some hidden guns." She nods her understanding and Jane leaves her to it._

 _As they ride down in Blue, everyone runs one last check on their gear. Once on the ground, Jane tells Gavin to get back into the air and keep watch. "Okay guys. Let's go."_

 **Basilon**

"They're on the ground and moving in."

The spectre takes a deep breath, no doubt savoring the kill to come. "It's these moments that I truly treasure old friend. The calm before the storm. Those beautiful moments before battle when I can revel in the victory to come." Basilon nods along, just as eager for victory. "Trigger the stimulant in the first groups, and tell that… thing, to broadcast its lure. Let's see if it's actually of any use."

 **Jane**

 _It starts as a tiny hum. An annoying tingle in her ear that slowly builds to an impossible roar. She tries to ignore it, tries to put it out of her mind, but it's no good. The aural dampeners aren't working. She remembers it well, from the first large battle she and Niria fought together. Jane's struggle is quickly noticed by Lia, who obviously remembers as well. "Jane… Jane stay calm. Don't listen to it!"_

 _Her hands bunch into fists as she hisses through grit teeth, "I'm trying." Her breathing becomes labored as the signal starts to overwhelm her self control. Without thinking, Jane draws both blades. "No… dammit. No…" She can't hold it back anymore. Everything is veiled in shadow except for the green lights standing with her. With a feral snarl, the beast inside surges out and charges forward, desperate to butcher the source of the signal. The green lights behind her try to keep up, but she's too far gone to care._


	65. Chapter 65

**Chapter 65 - Spectre**

 _Date_ _: 10.3.2174_

 _Location : Wake Outpost - Edge of Terminus_

 **Jane**

 _Everything is a haze of shadow as she rips through every obstacle in her way. Doors, bulkheads, even the ugly greys hissing and spitting at her. It's not like last time. Last time, she was subsumed in an ocean of personalities, desperately clawing away at her, trying to ascend to total control. Even though they still shout and roar, Jane is clearly on top, for what little it's worth. The beast has its teeth in her heart, forcing her to lash out as if her hands were its own claws. She can't stop, no matter how much she hauls back on the spectral chains. The best Jane can manage is to keep it focused on the enemy. Her friends are soon left behind, despite their desperate efforts. Only two stay with her._

 **Teg**

Things went to shit in nothing flat. They'd all heard the grinding noise over the comm. They'd all felt how wrong it was, but nothing more than that. The boss though… he could barely believe it. They'd seen her angry before. He'd even been on the receiving end of that anger more than once, usually because he had done something stupid or been an ass about something… but not like this. When the vorcha started pouring out of the woodwork, he and the others formed a firing line to mow them down, but Jane dove in with blades drawn, wildly slashing and stabbing. Leaving behind a trail of slaughtered vorcha, their captain is charging ahead like a mindless berserker, shrieking loud enough to wake the dead. Him and Spits are the only ones that can keep up and even that's a close run thing. With frantic strikes, the two of them keep the vorcha from getting behind her.

The little parasites are completely nuts, just like the Turians from the Olondor. Vorcha are cowardly by nature, especially when their fellows are being butchered like insects, but these are foaming at the mouth and struggling to tear them apart, even after being dismembered. Teg sends his hammer thundering down into another assailant, flattening the battle mad pest in a spray of gore. Another immediately shoves forward to take its place while Spits mauls a third. Jane swings both swords around faster than the eye can see, cutting down three vorcha with every slash. "Boss! Slow down! We gotta get back with the others!"

For half a second, it looks like he's gotten through. Jane hesitates in a swing just long enough for one of the little vermin to swipe its claws at her. It drags her back into the blind fury from before and she dives back into battle. He has to push himself harder than ever just to keep up with the endless bloodshed. Even the fight with his sire had moments when he could pull back to catch his breath. Teg pushes aside his doubts and forces himself back into the fray.

 **Basilon**

"It's working sir. They've already been broke into two seperate groups and the charges will split the rear group again." The Spectre sighs contentedly.

"Excellent. The Vorcha?"

"Dying in droves, but they're fulfilling their purpose. She's already slaughtered close to two hundred of them on her own. The extras we brought in will be useful, but even the greater number won't change much. On the bright side, the creature's signal is working beautifully."

"Good, very good. I shall remain here for the inevitable clash. Detonate the first charges, then circle around them and ensure her comrades will not be able to provide assistance." Basilon nods and moves out.

 **Lia**

She's cursing the enemy with every fiber of her being as another vorcha crumples, its brain splattered by a shot from her pistol. Her other hand is pressed against Kaiden's chest just hard enough to slow the bleeding. After the signal drove Jane wild, they'd tried to keep up, but the swarm forced them apart. Kaiden stayed at the fore, doing his best to push them forward. It was working until the ceiling caved in and forced the two of them to dive away from the others. He'd dragged Lia to her feet and led the way from there. This made him the vorchas' preferred target when they re-engaged. They dropped dozens of the vermin but it only delayed impact. Six of them got close enough to lash out at Kaiden. The human marine killed two with his pistol and another had its head crushed into the wall by a biotic blast. The last three tackled him, immediately trying to dig their claws into his suit. His armor should have been enough to stop it, but they must have something grafted onto their digits. The first few swipes tore open his chest plate before Kaiden managed to hurl two of them away with another push. The third plunged its claws into the new gap, stabbing them into his chest. Lia managed to blow its head off before it could finish him. Now she's desperately trying to stop the bleeding, apply medigel, and keep the swarm at bay.

She sends a push into another group, knocking most of them to the ground and giving her time to drag Kaiden through the nearest doorway. Lia forces the doors closed with her biotics and fuses them together. Her warp might not be as strong as Jane's but it does the job. She can hear the swarm pounding on the door, hissing and shouting as they pummel themselves bloody on the barricade. "To anyone that can hear me, Kaiden is hurt and we're pinned down! We need backup!"

 **Kal**

He keeps his fire focused on the closest enemies, using short, controlled bursts. The collapse dropped a piece of debris onto his head, nearly knocking him unconscious. Kal does his best to ignore the nasty web of cracks in his visor, well aware that one more serious hit will break the polymer shielding. He has no idea if Kaidan and Lia are still alive. Right now he and Veritan are too busy killing the vorcha as fast as possible, trying to cover John as he patches his stomach. At some point several of them got close enough to sink their teeth and claws in. He's not sure how, but his batarian teammate managed to shoot his way clear, cradling one arm across an ugly rip in his gut. The damn things had something bonded to their claws that could cut through the team's armor after a few solid hits. Now John is horribly pale from blood loss, trembling madly as they struggle to keep the vermin at bay. Veritan tries to clear some space by spending the last of his grenades, blasting a dozen vorcha to pieces.

Lia's frantic call has his guts in a knot, "To anyone that can hear me, Kaiden is hurt and we're pinned down! We need backup!" Kal spots a small break in the horde and responds.

"This is Kal. I've got Veritan and John with me. It looks like the vorcha are thinning out. Just hold on for a few more minutes!" Before Lia can respond, Kal hears a pained shout from behind him. He turns to see Veritan trying to pry a vorcha's teeth out of his arm while the little bastard keeps gnawing away. Kal blows the head off the last one coming from the door and deploys his omni-blade. He stabs the burning orange blade through the back of Veritan's assailant, ripping through its heart and lungs with ease. Veritan nods his thanks before applying medigel to his savaged arm. Kal turns to help John but a massive burst of electricity surges through him, stopping him in his tracks.

He recognizes the feel of a tech overload and fights through the paralyzing pain to try find his new assailant. Veritan calls to him, "Kal on your 6!" He whips around just in time to see the heavy stun club shatter his faceplate.

 **Veritan**

Kal crumples to the ground, desperately pawing at the shards cutting into his face. His attacker is a turian with terrible flash burns on his face. "I recognize you…" As Veritan tries to force the feeling back into his mauled arm, the attacker brandishes his club. It's the admiral's second from the Olondor. "I'll kill you for this traitor!"

"You're welcome to try boy." Veritan's father pulled a lot of strings before he entered the military. His tutor in hand to hand combat had been a retired praetorian, one that accepted nothing but perfection from his students. Two years of intense training had put him in a league of his own during his early service. He thanks the spirits everyday for his father's prescience. It's what gives him a real chance despite the searing pain in his arm. He's forced to wield his service talon in his off hand, deflecting his opponent's stun club over and over. In a moment of short lived triumph, Veritan manages to stab his talon into the other turian's hand, forcing him to drop the club. Faster than thought, his opponent draws his own talon and immediately starts lashing out at Veritan. They stab and slash with lightning strikes, both of them eager to end this.

Despite his best efforts, his opponent gets through his guard to slice his face just beneath his right eye. He instinctively tries to turn away and the other man takes advantage, reversing the slash to slice off half of Veritan's left mandible. With stunning speed his opponent reverses again, cracking the base of his talon across Veritan's temple. Several plates break and he falls to the ground with shadows dancing at the edge of sight. He struggles to get up but stops cold as he finds himself looking down the barrel of a pistol. The air is sawing in and out of his chest as their attacker sneers down at him.

"You fought well child, but it's over. I have no desire to kill one of my own, so I'll give you a choice. Keep trying to fight and die by my hand, or stand down and help your comrades." He turns to the others, his heart sinking at what he sees. John is lying in a small pool of his own blood, barely breathing. Kal is coughing painfully and struggling to breath as his lungs fill with fluid. He turns back, only to see that their attacker has already turned away. Before he can grab a weapon, the man is gone. With the nearby vorcha all slain and the way clear, Veritan drags himself over to John. The wound in his stomach is patched but he's still lost a lot of blood.

"Help Kal. Please, I'll be okay. He needs you more…" Veritan nods and moves to his quarian friend. He slaps an emergency enviroshield on the side of his helmet. It's not much, but hopefully it'll help. Then he pulls a special injector from Kal's belt, remembering well Jane's warning.

" _Now, this is a special immuno-booster that a friend on Sur'kesh developed. It is extremely powerful, so much so that using it for anything short of an emergency could be a fatal mistake. Remember, don't ever use this unless it's a matter of life and death."_

Hoping to the spirits that this is the right move, Veritan injects the booster into one of the med ports on Kal's neck before running a scan with his omnitool. Kal's eyes go wider than he thought possible and his heart rate goes through the roof, but he does start to breathe easier. The booster kickstarts Kal's weakened immune system and his body immediately starts fighting the various infections that are already trying to consume him. It's also doing a fair amount of damage to his renal system and internal organs. After applying medigel to his own cuts, he takes his friend's hand, "Hold on Kal. We'll get through this. Just hold on." He keys the comm, "This is Veritan to anyone that can hear me. Kal and John are down…"

 **Lia**

"This is Veritan to anyone that can hear me. Kal and John are down…" The message is like a knife in her heart. 'So this is how it all ends… this is how I fail…' Bitter tears trail down Lia's cheeks as she desperately tries to keep Kaiden alive, well aware that the door is buckling under the psychotic assault. Lia pours all of her remaining medigel into Kaidan's wound before getting back to her feet. She readies her pistol and lets her biotic power build to the absolute limit, flooding the air with the oppressive scent of ozone. Lia makes peace with the Goddess and prays for forgiveness. The door finally fails, letting dozens of insane vorcha pour in. Whatever has driven them mad must be tearing them apart. Every single one has blood pouring from every orifice. They charge her madly, utterly unthinking as she retaliates.

Her biotics throw and crush, blast and burn. Dozens of the scum perish under her fury, but it's not enough. Lia keeps herself well in front of Kaidan to keep their focus on her. The constant drain on her energy is exhausting her faster that she ever thought possible. More and more of them are getting close enough to swipe at her, leaving her armor tattered and bloody. Her pistol overheats, forcing her to drop it so she can focus her every thought towards maintaining the biotic barrage. As another horde dies screaming, the amp starts burning in her neck, weakening her even further. In a moment of bitter irony, it blows out just as the horde is reduced to a final ravaged trio. Lia manages a weak push against two of them, crushing them into the wall, but it was all she had left. The final Vorcha crashes into her, dragging both of them to the ground. She pulls the dagger from her hip and starts frantically stabbing into the creature's side as its claws rake across her face.

 **Basilon**

He hisses in pain as the medigel fills the hole in his hand. That a turin so young had come so close to defeating him… it's not something he'll be telling stories about anytime soon. Basilon buries his shame as he stalks down the corridor, making his way to the other group's hold out. Piles of steaming vorcha lay just beyond the door and he peaks in to see the asari struggling with one of the vermin. An agonized scream fills the air, drawing a smile from the normally taciturn turian. He carefully edges his way in, seeing now that she'd been frantically stabbing her attacker. The vorcha has gone still and she shoves it away. Basilon considers finishing her off, but one look at what's happened tells him that it's not necessary. The human marine is in even worse shape. There's no honor in killing them as they are and neither one poses a threat anymore.

Basilon leaves them behind and makes his way back to his superior's position. He doesn't want to miss what's coming.

 **Jane**

 _It keeps moving. The source of the signal won't stay put and she's been forced to chase it through the winding corridors, raging that her prey won't hold still. Just as she tears into a new room, a frantic call breaks through her fury, "To anyone that can hear me, Kaiden is hurt and we're pinned down! We need backup!" Jane actually manages to stop for a moment, hauling back on the chains in her mind. The beast snarls in rage, pulling its teeth from her heart. Now it lashes out at her face, trying to break her temporary hold. She spends several minutes in a mental limbo, paying no attention to the outside world where her body is acting on pure instinct, killing the last few vorcha in the area. She doesn't react as Teg and Spits take position beside her, both of them trying to get her attention._

 _No, her mind is focused solely on trying to wrestle with what's inside. The beast slashes its claws across her hands, drawing a spray of spectral blood from the wounds. Jane bites down the scream in her throat and redoubles her efforts to take back control. She nearly loses focus at the next call over the comm, "This is Veritan to anyone that can hear me. Kal and John are down…" The world around her nearly freezes as her mind shifts into overdrive. Almost half her friends are wounded and here she is dicking around like a mental case. The indignity of it all pulls her attention away from the task at hand just long enough for the beast to make its move._

 _It leaps forward and sinks its fangs into her throat. She struggles to breath, with darkness coiling at the edge of sight until a voice calls out, "The chains are worthless if you're too much of a pussy to use them!" She'd laugh at the petulant tone if her throat wasn't being crushed. "Stop fucking around! Take control Goddammit! This is_ _ **your**_ _mind so fucking act like it! Establish your dominance and take control!" Incensed at the voice's insults, Jane focuses her will, grabs the beast's jaws, and wrenches its mouth open. It snarls and roars, swiping madly at her, but the new wounds can't stop her now. With her throat clear, Jane forces its jaws shut before slamming its face to the bottom of her mind. She leaps onto its back and does what the voice said to do._

" _Establish dominance… right…" Jane lunges forward and sinks her teeth into the creature's neck, biting down as hard as she can. The beast thrashes about, trying to break free, but she can't be moved. Jane stays latched on until the creature lowers its belly to the ground, mewling in submission. She slowly drags her teeth away from its neck and moves to stand in front of it. The beast glares at her before starting to rear back up. In response Jane snarls at it, baring her teeth in an open challenge. It's ears flatten back and in lowers itself to the ground, exposing its throat in submission. Satisfied, Jane reaches out with her will to well and truly retake control._

 _The real world comes back into focus, with time slowly resuming. She takes a few shaky breaths, doing her best to gather her thoughts. "Boss… you back?" Jane turns to see Teg nervously looking from her to the door, covering the area while she was just standing there. A whine from the left draws her attention to the side. Spits is nudging against her leg, trying to get her attention. Jane pats him on the head, drawing a happy chuff as she turns back to Teg._

" _Yeah… yeah I'm back. Century."_

" _Yes Shepard Jane?"_

" _Get me the shortest route back to the guys. Even if there are slaves here," which is doubtful at this point, "we can't push on like this…" The idea of pulling back gnaws at her, but this entire mission is a disaster. She has to save the others._

" _Acknowledged… All primary routes to our shipmates are blocked by debris. We have found an acceptable path, but there are many lifesigns along this route. It is likely the vorcha will attempt to stop you." The beast snarls at the idea, but waits for her permission to act. She lets a few links of the chain loose to help her get moving in spite of the exhaustion settling on her shoulders. It snarls but obeys. She leads Teg and Spits along the designated path, ready to lash out at anything that moves. They approach a T-junction, "Attention, there are seven life signs around the next corner." Jane slides Seraph and Abyss onto her back before drawing both guns. She nods to Teg before they whirl around the corner. Her finger is on the trigger, but something strange stops her from firing. Though the vorcha can obviously see them, the pests just stand there. It looks like they're suffering from some kind of collective seizure. Jane steps over to the nearest one and aims her gun right between its eyes. It doesn't react in the slightest until she taps its forehead. Light a puppet with cut strings, it goes limp and crumples to the ground._

" _What the hell?" The others all begin falling to the ground, with blood and ichor leaking from every orifice. "Century… any thoughts?"_

" _We are unsure how, but every lifesign between us and the rest of our team is fading. If these specimens are any indication, it appears that something is killing them. The way appears to be clear…" They move on, quickly but warily._

 **Basilon**

He steps over another twitching corpse, snorting in disgust as the vorcha loses all control of itself. Basilon checks the security systems and notices that the human is no longer going after the Wake's creature. "It appears the stimulant has run its course sir. The few remaining vorcha are dying and it also appears that the creature's signal is no longer working." His superior grunts in acknowledgement.

"Her comrades?"

"No threat sir."

"Good. Order the creature into place, then make sure the ship is ready. She may not be under the creature's sway anymore, but they still have to come through this area to reach their friends. As soon as she is dead, we leave."

 **Jane**

 _They make good progress through the halls, passing a few dozen twitching vorcha along the way. Every single one is either dead or dying, even if they have no obvious injuries. Despite how disturbing it is, most of Jane's attention is focused on that damnable signal. Its source has circled around and wound up in front of them somehow. It looks like she'll get to face it after all. They reach the end of the hall, stepping through what looks like a heavy security hatch into a large, open room. Jane looks around for a few seconds, a feeling of dread settling in her gut._

 _It's an arena._

" _Century-"_

" _Proceed through the indicated doorway." A waypoint pops up on her HUD and the three of them immediately move. Just before they reach the door, an ear-splitting klaxon shatters the quiet. She's nearly driven to hear knees by the deafening noise as heavy duty blast doors drop down over every exit. Jane sets the sound dampeners in her helmet to maximum and brings both guns up. She scans the area but doesn't see any threats. "Our sensors are being jammed. We recommend-"_

" _Quiet… Listen." Jane focuses on her surroundings. There is something in the air, something that's grinding away at her control. The fight in her head has let her ignore it for a while, but she can't do that anymore. Jane turns to see the source of the signal. One of the Wake's creatures has entered the arena, taking position less than twenty yards away. Unlike the others she has faced, this one's armor shines with barely perceivable energy and it's holding a massive glaive with a blade positively dripping in a foul-smelling green ichor. Her grip on the chains loosens a little, drawing a snarl. Teg and Spits echo her, both of them turning to the new threat. Jane opens fire with both guns, laying down a torrent of warp wreathed gunfire. The creature stands its ground, shrugging off every shot with contemptuous ease. When she eases off the triggers, the only signs that anything had happened are the trails of steam seeping from the barrels and a few scuff marks on the creature's armor._

 _She holsters her guns and brings her blades back out, but Teg moves in first. "This one's tough. I got this boss!" Before she can say anything, Teg has drawn his hammer and begun a charge. He barrels towards the creature, bellowing in feral joy as he swings the hammer down in an overhead strike._

" _TEG NO!" With horrifying ease, the creature swipes the blade of its weapon under the hammer's head, ripping it out of Teg's hands and hurling it away. Before the stunned krogan can react, it takes one hand from the glaive to deliver a thunderous backhand. With a sickening crack, Teg is smashed aside, rolling multiple times before settling face down in the dirt, completely motionless. Jane moves to stand between him and the creature. "Century is he alive?!"_

" _Readings from his armor indicate severe injuries. His skull is fractured in multiple places and there is significant trauma to his brain and neck. He is alive, but prompt medical treatment will be required if he is to recover." Jane points at Teg._

" _Spits Palto!" Her varren bounds over to guard Teg as she squares up against the creature. "I'll kill you for that monster!" It aims the blade at her._

" _This is your end Fulcrum!" Without further preamble, they both charge. Leading with its blade the creature nearly runs Jane through as she twists to the side. The glaive lightly glances across her back plate as she swings abyss down towards its neck. Before the sword can connect, the creature is bathed in dark red light and in a move almost too fast to see, it reverses the swing of its glaive and bats Jane away with the length of the polearm. She bounces a few times before skidding to a halt. Looking down, Jane can see that the plate at the point of impact has essentially been shattered. What's more disconcerting is the smell coming from the fluid that's been splashed on her side. The only thing that smells even remotely similar is a necrotising poison one of the assassins from boot camp had tried._

 _Further contemplation is forestalled when it lights up again and surges towards her in a blaze of corrupted biotics. Flashing her own power, Jane re-engages. With its strange biotics, the creature would be faster and stronger if she failed to respond in kind. Jane forces aside any thoughts of exhaustion as their blades meet again and again. Though her weapons are much faster, this thing is even more resilient than the others of its ilk. The few times she manages to stab into it don't seem to have any effect. It's doubtful the same would be true of her. The poison on its blade is actually blistering the paint on her armor. Each swing from the glaive either requires her to dart out of the way completely or use both blades to block it. They keep lashing out at each other in a frantic dance, both tearing pieces from the other's armor, but not doing any lasting damage._

 _After almost ten minutes of desperately trying to kill each other, Jane is nearing the end of her endurance. She's forced to let a few more links loose, pulling from her inner most reserves. It makes her stronger, but it's also consuming her body. This needs to end… soon. Forcing herself into one final frenzy, Jane starts twirling like a dervish, slashing both blades at the creature with lightning speed. With each strike, she forces it back another step and finally, like a gift from God himself, the creature's foot catches on something, causing it to stumble slightly. It wasn't much, but that single moment of distraction gives her time to lock the serrations of both blades around the staff below the weapon's head. With an amber flash of her biotics, Jane shears through the shaft in a blaze of fat yellow sparks. Before it can recover, she brings both swords back down to slash across its torso. The attack cuts a deep X into its chest, drawing a spray of foul black ichor. Her enemy falls to the ground, desperately snatching up what's left of its weapon to block her swords as she sends them screaming towards it. Abyss and Seraph hit the glaive head with an almighty clang, stopped mere inches away from finishing the job._

 _As she slowly forces the swords towards it, Jane snarls at the creature, "The others actually managed to hurt me and I still killed them! What makes you think you'll be any different?!" A wet gurgling sound bubbles up from the creature, turning her stomach with the revolting motions coming from inside its chest. It takes a moment for her to realize that it's laughing._

" _Arrogance has destroyed you before Fulcrum… and it shall do so again." Before she can finish it off, a tiny beep draws her attention to a speck in the dirt just a few yards away. Too busy with the matter at hand, Jane hadn't noticed the little lump on the arena floor until now, along with dozens of others scattered around. As the truth of the situation clicks in her mind, Jane pulls back and kicks the creature as far away as she can. With a flick of her wrist, Spits and Teg are enveloped in a powerful barrier. Then Jane uses what's left to cover herself just as the arena disappears in a storm of fire and shrapnel._

 **Basilon**

He arrived at the overwatch just in time to see the human begin her fight with the creature. It was more than a little disturbing to watch as two beings that could slaughter him effortlessly tore into each other. It was even worse when she gained the upper hand and smashed the creature to the ground. "A fine show… but I think it's time to finish this." His superior's declaration is more than welcome and his heart soars as the arena is bathed in fire.

The echoes of the explosion make speaking without the comm nearly impossible for several moments. His superior chooses to simply wait and enjoy the scene. It's rare that a plan works out so well. Once something resembling silence settles over the area, Basilon looks out as the dust clears. Little is moving in the arena. The varren and krogan are still breathing, but both are coated in dust along with a few shrapnel wounds. The Wake's creature has been punctured multiple times, leaving a pool of black sludge on the ground around it. His eyes finally settle on their prey and a profound sense of relief fills his gut. She's bleeding almost as much as the creature is. Her armor is pitted and cracked. Her black blade has been flung to the edge of the arena while she has the silver one held in a death grip. "Congratulations sir. I'll go down and make sure." His superior waves him off.

"No old friend. On occasion I may enjoy staying back to watch a plan come to fruition, but the best part of an operation by far is executing the target personally and truly knowing that you've won. Pack up our equipment and be ready to move out. This won't take long."

 **Spectre**

He leisurely saunters down to the arena, basking in the afterglow of a successful mission. Not once had the outcome been in doubt. He's never failed a mission and today was no different, even if it's not a council job. The Spectre releases the lockdown on one of the hatches before pausing to savour the sight before him. Scents of fresh blood and thick smoke fill the air, drawing a sense of genuine satisfaction. He takes up a steady stride towards his target, not wasting a moment on her pet… or the varren laying next to him. No, he only has eyes for the human who, disturbingly enough, is beginning to stir.

The first wisps of doubt crop up in his heart. He viciously stamps down on them and pulls a high powered pistol from his hip. She's just managed to force herself up onto her hands and knees when he fires three shots at her right leg. The first two are deflected by a sporadic shield but the third lands, ripping through and dropping her back to the ground with a pained moan. "Do not worry child, I will end your pain soon enough." He laughs quietly as she tries to rise again. The bleeding is already slowing, though whether its from her already prodigious blood loss or the powerful regeneration his records indicate he simply doesn't know. Regardless, he fires three more shots, this time across the top of her helmet. One is knocked away by her struggling shield but the other two severe a pair of cables feeling into the helmet. They come away in a shower of sparks as the small shield emitters go dark. The Spectre laughs again before circling to the side and firing a full spread into her flank. One by one, damaged shield emitters are blown out, leaving her open to a quartet of shots to the side. The plates shatter, allowing a single bullet to enter just below her lungs.

That seems to have done it and the human collapses to the ground. Now that he's had his fun, the Spectre closes in, chuckling on the inside at the spate of profanity seeping from her. "I must say, you are far more durable than my underling's most pessimistic estimations. You should be proud. It's not everyday that a Spectre actually has to work for his kill." He edges one foot under her torso and kicks hard enough to roll her a few feet away. The silver blade falls away as she struggles to simply stay awake. He levels his pistol at her head and approaches. The human's visor has shattered, giving him a clear view at her eyes. There's no fear, no pleading… only hatred. A vast abyssal hatred that almost checks his advance. Something shorts out in the helmet, leading to a partial retraction of the the faceplate. He can only nod in respect as she snarls at him. "Have you anything to say? Some final epitaph to be engraved on your tomb?" She forces herself off the ground slightly before hocking and spitting a bloody gobbet onto his feet.

"Fuck you…" He smiles at her nerve and makes ready to fire. It's the kind of perfect moment that truly lives for. When his target is beaten and knows it, that's when he feels truly alive. The Spectre slowly starts to pull the trigger, reveling in the power of this moment. Just before the weapon discharges, movement draws his attention away for a single second. The varren is struggling to its feet, but it won't be able to intervene. Unfortunately, that single moment of distraction has caused his aim to drift. When he turns back, the Spectre sees her hand surging forward, bathed in golden light. As he pulls the trigger, a blast of scorching light rips into his eyes, blinding him to the world.

 **Jane**

 _Rather than braining her, the turian's bullet carves a furrow across the side of her head. Her scream of pain is drowned out though as she unleashes a flare less than a meter from his face. The flash burns into his eyes, leaving him to stumble away, shrieking in pain until she uses a pulse of biotics to push him away. With medigel and dangerous levels of combat stims flooding her system, Jane fights through the pain to force herself off the ground. She'll be lucky if she even survives this but it'll be worth it to die on her feet. Jane snatches Seraph from the ground and stumbles over to the turian. He's writhing on the ground in agony as she pulls back her left arm for the killing blow._

 _Something dark and foul smelling whistles by her side. For a moment, Jane is confused, thinking that there shouldn't be a breeze in here. Then, she turns to the side and looks on with creeping horror as Seraph clatters to the ground… along with her left arm. Jane is completely paralyzed at the sight, offering no resistance when the blunt end of the glaive blade smashes into her side. She's thrown to the ground again, nearly insensate with pain and shock. The creature limps over, ichor leaking from a dozen holes all over its body, raising what's left of its weapon before turning to meet a bellowing roar from the side._

 _Teg has finally regained consciousness and tears into the fight once again. This time, with so much damage to its body, the creature doesn't stand a chance. Teg's first swing sends the glaive head flying away and the second crashes into the critically weakened armor over its torso, hurling it away. He doesn't give it time to recover, charging after it to slam the hammer into the body again and again and again, pulping what's left of its torso. Putrid ichor is flung in every direction as he attacks in a vengeful, near psychotic frenzy. Raising the hammer high, Teg swings as hard as he can towards the creature's head. Jane can feel the impact through the ground and manages to force a smile when the head practically explodes. Finally the creature begins to break down into ash as red lightning consumes it. His prey beaten, Teg falls to his knees, gasping for air before crawling over to Jane. He spares a single glance at her severed arm before looking her in the eye with a bitter smile. "Well that sucks…" She isn't sure if it's the blood loss or the poison eating away at her arm or something else, but for some reason she can't help but laugh._

 _They're both drawn back by the sound of gunfire. Jane looks towards the fallen Spectre to see another turian pulling him up and firing to the side. She follows the gunfire to see that Spits is trying to close in. Her buddy is pretty badly beaten up. One of his back legs is obviously broken and his armor is split open in several places. That doesn't stop him from trying through, bless his simple heart. He gets close enough for a single swipe at the turian that almost killed her. His claws rake across the bastard's leg but fail to draw more that a few drops of blood. In response, the turian lights up in violet light and throws Spits away with a biotic push. Her verran struggles to his feet, only to fall back down with a whimper. Jane turns back to the turians with what fury can still muster. They quickly disappear through the hatchway._

 _Ignoring Teg's protests, Jane forces herself off the ground and grabs Seraph before stumbling after them. Shadows dance at the edge of sight and she collapses more than once. The beast is straining at the chains, desperate to strike back. In response, she lets most of the links loose. The extra energy keeps her from passing out as she limps after the enemy._

 **Basilon**

The sudden reversal has his head spinning. His superior's eyes are a mess and they have no backup left. He has to get them back to the ship, that's all that matters now. They pass through a hatchway and spot their way out resting on an isolated landing pad. Basilon puts on another burst on speed, hauling his superior alongside. Halfway to the ship, his attention is drawn back to the hatch by the sound of metal scraping along the ground.

He turns back to see something that shouldn't be possible. The human is following, using her sword as a crutch. As the blade begins glowing with amber light, Basilon turns back to the ship and desperately tries to get them both on board. A shout from behind them shatters the air before he feels his superior shove him to the side. It saves his life. A wave of golden energy passes through the area he was just pushed away from. Instead of bisecting him, it effortlessly slices off the Spectre's arm before dissipating a few meters later. Basilon scrambles to pull the Spectre over his shoulders and sprints the rest of the way, terror lending him the speed and strength he needs. Once on board, he gently places the Spectre in the small medbay before sprinting to the cockpit. The pilot is already cycling the engines up when he arrives. "GO! GO NOW!" Bypassing a hundred different safety checks, the pilot lifts them off the ground with almost indecent haste.

As they begin rising into the air, Basilon looks through the view screen to see the human trying to launch another attack only to fail and fall to her knees. He breathes a sigh of relief as she fades into the distance.

 **Jane**

 _Time seems to lose all meaning as she leans against the wall, hovering just above the abyss. The pain is fading to a dull roar as her body shuts down as many sensations as possible to keep her from going insane. Only the pain in her arm keeps getting worse as the poison struggles against her body's defenses. She's ashamed at how long it takes to force herself to get up and move. Jane stumbles along the hallway leading back to the arena._

" _Jane… Jane come in!" Her comm is heavily distorted but thankfully it's still working._

" _I'm… I'm here..."_

" _Oh Keelah! Thank goodness! Century told us you need help. Gavin came up to grab Vollor and Kalen. They're on the way down to help. Just hold on!" She nods absentmindedly, barely comprehending that fact that no one can see it._

" _Kalia… there's a ship leaving the planet… Blow it out of the fucking sky…"_

 **Kalia**

"I'm not properly trained for this Miss Reegar. I'm just an accountant!" Dib is nervously tapping away at the tactical controls. It looks like he's afraid that he'll blow the ship up with every button press.

"Just make sure the power levels stay stable, Century will take care of the rest." The entire ship trembles as she pushes the engines as hard as she can. They're beginning to close on the escaping ship when the comm lights up.

"Attention pursuing vessel, your comrades are still in the base below. Break off pursuit, or we will detonate charges on the facility's reactor." Kalia's heart almost stops.

"Century… is he telling the truth?" The geth's avatar pops up next to her console.

"We are unsure. There are strange readings coming from the facility's reactor, however, we are unable to confirm the source… We recommend breaking off. We cannot risk harm to our shipmates." Kalia curses their luck and breaks off pursuit.

"Century, get the comm line back. They need to get out of there fast!"

 **Lia**

Everything is so dark and cold. Lia can barely think but still maintains the barrier. She's not even sure if Kaidan is alive, but she won't take the chance. There's nothing to tell her how much time passes, other than the erratic beat of her own heart. She can feel her pulse in her temples.

After an eternity of desperately trying to not pass out, Lia hears a gasp from the door. "Oh God… Lia…" She feels a hand slip under her arm to try and pull her up. "Lia… please… try to get up. I don't have enough left to do it." The pain and exhaustion in Jane's voice has her stomach in a knot, but she still manages to force her feet to move.

 **Jane**

 _After limping back to the arena to gather up Abyss and to help Teg and Spits get up, they head out along Century's waypoints. Halfway to the first one, Gavin calls in, "We just landed. Vollor and Kalen are heading to grab Kal, John, and Veritan. Can you get Lia and Kaidan?" She numbly agrees. They keep trudging towards the waypoint._

 _At the final corner Jane takes a deep breath to brace for what she'll see. Lia's call earlier said Kaiden was down and then they both went quiet. Bracing for the worst, Jane moves in. She can't help but gasp. Kaidan is laying on the ground, deathly pale with a hole in his chest. The only thing keeping him from bleeding out is a flickering field of violet energy wrapped around his torso. Jane follows the wisps of energy to their source and her heart almost stops. "Oh God… Lia…" Her asari friend is propped up against the wall with three bloody gashes across her face… and both eyes shredded. Tears streaming down her face, Jane limps over to try and pull her up. She's just too weak, "Lia… please... try to get up. I don't have enough left to do it." The asari struggles for a few minutes, just barely managing to force her feet to move. Teg hefts Kaiden up as gently as possible. Jane gets under Lia's left arm and leads everyone out._

 _They meet up with the others at the landing zone. Vollor is running plasma for John and Kal has a heavy breather helmet over his head, with multiple fluid lines feeding into his med ports. The only one still up is Veritan, despite the blood stained bandages around in arm and the U-wrap covering his left mandible. His eyes go wide when he sees them. "Captain… I… I'm sorry. I tried to-"_

" _Don't. It's not your fault. I'm just glad you're alive." The comm surges to life with a frantic call from Kalia._

" _Jane! You need to get out of there! The people that were on that ship said they had the base's reactor rigged with charges!" Any hurry such a warning might normally summon never comes. Jane can barely drag herself into the ship, but thankfully there are a few people in their rights minds. Vollor politely yet forceful ushers everyone into the gunship while Kalen straps the worst cases in. As Blue rises away from the base, Jane numbly watches it fade into the distance before vanishing in massive blast. The ship is roughly buffeted by the air screaming around them. Her friends shout and hold tight to anything they can get their hands on. Jane vaguely notices a massive hand holding her in her seat. Despite being in a bad way himself, Teg is still looking out for her._

 _Jane passes out at some point on the way into orbit. When she comes too, she feels someone carrying her up the steps towards the medbay. Opening her eyes, Jane sees Teg with pressure bandages wrapped around his head and some ugly bruises all over his face. He has to stop and catch his breath multiple times. "Please set me down…" He shakes his head._

" _Nope. Doc said to bring you up so that's what I'm doing." She tries to wriggle out of his grip but she's still too weak to do much. All he does is hold her tighter and keep going. It seems to take way too long to get up the steps, but eventually they get there. John and Veritan are relaxing in the mess area. Her batarian friend is reclined against the wall, sleeping soundly with an IV in his arm. Thankfully he's starting to get some color back in his face. Veritan is slowly eating some soup, careful to favor the right side of his face. He stands as Teg passes with Jane, but he doesn't speak. Teg carefully sets Jane down at the entrance to medbay. The doctor thanks him as he nods and stomps out. Karin is adjusting one of the drips feeding into Kal's suit, while Vollor is stitching Kaidan's chest up. Jane watches them work for a few minutes before letting her eyes fall to the ground. She spends a long time staring at the deck, just listening to them work._

 _Someone clears their throat drawing Jane's attention. Karin is looking at her sadly. "Are they going to be okay?"_

 _Karin hesitates before answering, "Kal should recover, but he'll need specialized care. As for Kaidan…" She steps over and looks down at the prone marine, "I've stabilized him for now. We need to get him to a dedicated medical facility if he's to recover. Elysium is the closest planet with the facilities he needs. I hope you don't mind but I've already asked Kalia to set course. We don't have a lot of time to wait."_

 _Jane nods along, "That's fine. Whatever they need. What about Lia?"_

" _In her room. She refused to let me see to her until the others were stable."_

 _She nods as Karin starts examining what's left of her arm. "No…"_

" _Jane you need to let me-"_

" _No. It's already stopped bleeding. Go take care of Lia and then I'll let you deal with…" She waves at the stump. Karin scowls at her before walking by. A few minutes later, she comes back with Lia in tow. While she sees to the maimed asari, Jane limps to her room and falls to her knees just inside the door. Tears are streaming down her face as the pain of today's disaster starts dragging her down. Before she can be completely subsumed, a pair of little voices pop up in her head._

 _-Doom Singer is in pain! Discordant songs of sorrow... We help?-_

 _Scratch and Skitter scuttle in from the vents. The little workers look up to her expectantly. She doesn't respond as they put their little talons on her thigh._

 _-Queen's carapace is damaged! We help!-_

 _Jane doesn't react as Scratch starts bobbing up and down in front of her. She feels a tiny pulse of biotics from him. Slowly, the pain from her arm fades away and she falls into a head spinning trance. Jane just can't pull her eyes away from his as Skitter climbs up on her shoulder to start pawing at the stump. Her head is swimming while the little bug twitters away. She can smell the poison and a few drops of fresh blood. The sound of flesh being cut echos in the distance, but the only thing she can focus on is Scratch's little dance._

 _-Foul songs silenced. Taste bitter disharmonies of false strength. Need to end!-_

 _The two workers trade places and Skitter takes up the dance as Scratch pokes his snout into what's left of her arm._

 **Chakwas**

She finishes removing what left of the poor girl's eyes and provides a powerful anesthetic. "The best thing you can do now is rest until we get to a better equipped facility." Lia nods numbly as Karin calls in Veritan, "Please help her to her room."

"I can manage Doctor. I might not be able to see, but I know the ship well enough to find my way. Thank you for the thought though…" Without waiting for assistance, Lia steps out. Karin nods after her and Veritan follows to make sure she'll be okay. Gathering up the appropriate supplies, she heads for Jane's room. The young woman had looked so tiny, so frail cradled in Teg's arms. At the door to Jane's room Karin politely knocks. When there's no response, "Century, override the lock on Jane's door and let me in."

"Acknowledged." The door cycles open but she hesitates to enter. Jane is kneeling on the ground and her little bugs are doing… something. One seems to be doing a little dance, while the other looks like it's siphoning fluids from what's left of her left arm. Karin can see a small proboscis extending into the would and a bloody slurry is moving through the translucent tube. Before her confusion can be pushed aside by her concern, it extracts the tube. The red and brown one keeps up it's dance while the green one hops to the ground to start retching violently. It spews up a foul smelling red and brown sludge before scraping its mandibles clean. Eventually it notices her standing there.

-Sings of Healing! We remove foul songs and bitter disharmonies of false strength. Doom Singer need more help!-

She carefully edges around the congealing puddle to kneel next to Jane. The stump of her arm has been been thoroughly cleaned, with everything neatly cut to allow uniform bandaging. Karin gently applies a sterile wrap and tries to get a baseline scan to see just what her bugs extracted. Before it can finish she hears a strangled sob. Jane is trembling like someone suffering from a seizure. "Jane… Jane…" The young woman looks her in the eye with nothing but pain.

"I lost control. I couldn't stop... I just couldn't stop." She puts her arms around the young woman and lets her vent her feelings out of sight from the others. "I almost killed them Karin." She holds tight as Jane weeps into her shoulder.


	66. Chapter 66

_Author's_ _note: Goddamn it took a long time to get this out. Guess that what happens when pain meds keep you tired all day. That and a little side project..._

 _Anyway, here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy._

 **Chapter 66 - Stowaway**

 _Date_ _: 10.6.2174_

 _Location : Elysium - High Orbit_

 **Jane**

 _The crew is nearly mute as they all come together. Normally there'd be a few jokes or a funny story filling the air, something to get everyone in a good mood. No one is laughing right now. Jane looks around the room and does her best not to cringe. They aren't avoiding her eyes, but she can barely hold theirs. "He's going to have a long recovery but Kaidan is going to be alright." They all breathe a sigh of relief. Even Kal is obviously relieved under the heavy iso-unit over his head. After waking up on the second day, Kaidan had immediately dismissed any notion of blaming her before demanding that she leave a few mercs for him._

 _Jane nods towards Karin and Vollor before continuing, "Doctor Chakwas and Vollor will be staying here long enough to make sure everything is in the proper order for his recovery. After that, I've arranged for a pair of shuttles to take them anywhere they want. I'll also do the same for the rest of you when we reach Caliban." Most of them are horrified at that._

 _Kalia is the first one to recover, "Wait, what?! We… we're splitting up?!"_

 _Kalen is right on her tail, "Captain hold on. We-" Veritan cuts him off._

" _Please think this through ma'am. I know things didn't go well, but we'll be ready to go after a few weeks to recover. We don't need to split up." The ground team all nod along._

" _It's just some time off. For everybody." Jane gestures to the walls, "The Pale Horse is overdue for refit and resupply. Since we… need some time… I've set things up with Keeva. She'll come out to manage the refit and she's promised to bring a quarian doctor that specializes in ailments resulting from severe suit breaches." Kal quietly thanks her while John asks what they're all thinking._

" _Jane… How… how long are we standing down for?" Everyone looks to her expectantly._

" _Till the end of the year. The refits will take several weeks thanks to some highly experimental gear that Keeva is bringing. She wants to run a few extra tests before hooking everything up. While that's happening, everyone will receive money and transportation to do, well, whatever you want. Kalia and Kalen, Keeva's specialist sent word that it'll take about a week to make sure Kal will be fine. I assume you'll want to stay with him." They both nod, "I thought so. There's no rush. A Q-ship will be waiting at dock for as long as you need. There are shuttles ready for everyone else."_

" _What about you?" Everyone nods along with Dib._

" _After I get things set up at Caliban, I'll be heading to Sur'kesh to uh… take care of this." She gestures at the stump of her arm. "I'll also be taking care of something personal. If any of you get into trouble, you can contact me anywhere, anytime with the emergency channel. Enjoy your time off and when the time comes, if you don't feel like coming back… I'll understand." They all start talking at once, trying to deny any desire to leave but Jane holds up her hand for quiet. "Please, put some serious thought into this. This probably won't be the last thing that goes wrong. Until I find a way to counteract that signal…" Now they don't look so certain, "Just… just think about it, and if for any reason, any of you decide not to come back, I'll understand. There won't be any anger from me and I promise to send you all money to thank you for everything you've done. Get to your rooms to pack. We'll leave orbit in an hour and Caliban is only twelve hours by relay. Step to it guys." Her crew reluctantly disperses, with Dib and Lia the only ones staying behind._

" _Is there anything you want to do Lia?"_

" _My place is by your side. You know that." Lia's behavior since her injury has been odd to say the least. Her empty eyes are covered with a small yellow scarf on loan from Vollor. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to be having much trouble adjusting to her new condition. Whether it was an intimate understanding of the ship's layout or her other senses adjusting, Lia never needed help getting around. "I'll admit that even though I will need some time to fully adjust, I hope to continue serving as before." With that, her asari friend heads to her room with Scratch and Skitter scuttling along behind her, excitedly twittering about something._

" _What about you Dib?" The little volus nervously taps the pad in his hands against his suit._

" _Well umm, oh dear. Perhaps it can wait…"_

" _Dib. We've all had a very long, crappy few days. Right now I could use a distraction." He taps the pad a few more times._

" _Oh, alright then. Um, I just wanted to go over a few small things…" Those small things ended up being an exhaustive report on how well some stocks were doing, updates for Taseen's work on the relay, and reports to sign for submission to the Alliance. "Commander Anderson was very insistent on this most recent one. He was quite concerned over the injuries you and the others sustained." That's an understatement. He and the Admiral had called her more than once in varying states of panic over the last few days._

 _Jane takes the pad to check all the details. It was the first time she'd asked Dib to write something like this, but given her state over the last few days, it seemed like a good idea to get someone with a clear head to help put it together. By the time they finish, Caliban has come into view and a pair of newly commissioned fighters have taken up escort positions to guide them in. They dock without incident before all meeting up at the airlock. Her friends are all trading promises to see eachother soon and talking about what they plan on doing while they're away. Veritan, John, and Teg are all going to a gun show on the Citadel. Thankfully, despite the new and rather alarming crack running down his crest and the fact that one of his eyes tends to move around at random, Teg seems to be back to his old self. "Redundant nervous system and damn good regen." It was all he'd said when she asked if he was okay. John was still pale but balked at the idea of being left out and Veritan was already boasting that he could beat either of them with any gun they find at the show._

 _The crew sees the boys to their shuttle. As Teg and John stow their gear, Veritan pulls Jane aside, "I'll do better this time Captain. I swear, we'll all be fine." He actually salutes her before Teg starts shouting for him to stop dragging ass. Once the shuttle is away, the rest of them head for the med center, where Keeva and her specialist are already waiting. The much older quarian immediately starts fussing over Kal to no small amusement among his siblings._

" _She might be a bit nosey, but Maka'Ner might be the single most talented doctor among my people. If she says Kal will be fine, then he'll be fine." Jane nods at Keeva and wishes the triplets a good time once they can get clear. They had talked about staying at the dockyards to learn about some of the exciting new ships that were being planned. Not to mention Jane's offer to let them see some of the work on Typhon._

" _Thanks for coming Keeva."_

" _How could I stay away? My captain was practically drooling over your offer."_

" _Are you comfortable with the timetable?"_

" _Perfectly. Everything will be ready to go before the end of the year, even the stuff Gavin wants for the gunship." The two of them are watching from an observation room as the tech crews get to work. Jane can see a line of crates being unloaded by a group of quarian specialists at the end of the bay. They spend several minutes just watching before Keeva turns back to her, "Look, Jane… I've already talked to the triplets about what happened. They told me about the signal. It's not your fault."_

" _Yes. It is." She raises her hand to forestall Keeva's argument. "It doesn't matter if something was manipulating me. I knew about the possibility and didn't do nearly enough to prepare for it. I nearly got my team killed because of it." She keeps her calm this time. Jane could never fully express her gratitude to Karin for putting up with her on that first day after the disaster, holding her while she bawled her eyes out like a child. "I'm going to do everything I can to keep it from ever happening again."_

" _I assume Century is going to help?" She snaps her eyes to Keeva, stunned over the question. For her part, Keeva scoffs at her, "Oh come on Jane, did you honestly think the triplets wouldn't tell me about the geth on day one?"_

 _She can't help but smile. "I suppose I should have expected it. Are you… okay with, you know… him?" Keeva sighs but doesn't look over._

" _I wasn't exactly_ _ **happy**_ _about it, mostly because you didn't let me know, but… I guess it's alright. I mean, it's been on board for what, two years at this point? I was worried at first but I was willing to trust you, and after two years of working not only to help but to protect you all, not to mention losing several pieces of itself along the way… I suppose I can deal with it." Century chooses that moment to say hi._

" _We are glad to hear that Creator Keeva'Kala." A modified version of his avatar, looking like a quarian for now, lights up on Jane's omnitool. To her credit, Keeva only flinches a little._

" _Yes well… as long as you keep it up I won't cause any trouble."_

" _We agree to this condition. Our shipmates have proven to be reliable allies and we wish to see their runtimes prosper."_

" _Right… I'm gonna get started Jane. We've got a lot of work to do. I'll call you if there are any problems. Take care of yourself on Sur'kesh." Keeva gives her a hug before making her way over to the nearest work crew._

" _We believe this interaction has been successful. Do you agree Shepard Jane?" She nods along with a slight smile._

" _Yeah, looks good. Was there something you needed or were you just hoping to get a rise out of Keeva?" His avatar quirks it's head to the side._

" _It was not our intention to 'get a rise' from anyone. We simply wished to-" She chuckles at him, "Ah, you were attempting to make a humorous statement."_

" _Attempting being the operative word I guess… So what's up?"_

" _We wished to make you aware that we have finished the compiling process for the new runtime. It can be activated at anytime. Do you wish to delay doing so until your return to Caliban?"_

" _No, let's go ahead and take care of it on the way. It'll be a good distraction."_

 **Keeva**

She's wringing her hands as Jane's transport pulls away from the dock. Mirdan said to give her time to work through what's happened so Keeva hadn't said anything about the arm. Given what she knows about Jane, the human woman will already be working on something deal with it, along with that… geth. The triplets had kept her up to date on everything even remotely suspicious involving Century. Her message log had been besieged for months with them asking for advice on how to handle everything it did. Her advice had almost always boiled down to trust Jane but be ready for the worst.

Keeva pushes aside her worries and turns back to the matter at hand as one of her workers approaches. "We're ready to begin the upgrade ma'am." She nods and follows him back to the bay. Her work crews are already going to town removing the necessary plating. She spends a few hours losing herself in some honest hard work. The last bolts are just coming free on the main gun when the emergency channel on her omnitool goes off. Keeva goes to an isolated corner of the hanger to receive the call.

"Keeva! Is she there?! Have you seen her?!" It's her cousin Rael and he's in a full blown panic.

"Seen who? Calm down and talk to me cousin." With a visible effort Rael pulls himself back enough to articulate the source of his panic.

"Tali! I've searched our living area a hundred times. I've had five teams searching the ship step to stern for over six hours and I've checked all her favorite hiding spots! I've even sent almost a hundred drones into the ventilation system for a full search. By the ancestors please tell me she's with you and the two of you are pulling some kind of poorly thought out joke!" She's a little insulted that he thinks she could do that to him, but that's nothing compared to the instinctive worry for her little cousin. Tali isn't stupid, though she has proven to be headstrong and more than a little impulsive. It's entirely possible that she found a way to sneak onto Keeva's transport.

"I would never do that Rael. I haven't seen her but she's a crafty little girl. I'll put out an alert and have the shipyard searched. We'll start with the ship I came on. Keep up the search on your end. We'll find her. I swear."

 **Jane**

" _Beginning final sequence. Standby…" Jane waits patiently for the new geth to come online. After leaving the shipyard, Century went over all the possible issues inherent in bringing a new runtime online. He covered problems ranging from a corrupted anchor file all the way to sudden cascade failure of all systems. Apparently almost 1 in 7 runtimes ended up destroying themselves within the first minute of initialization. She'd accuse Century of behaving like a nervous father if she wasn't so sure he would just clinically explain why it was supposed to be funny and ruin it. "Sequence complete in 3, 2, 1…" The data block in front of her lights up and the air around it begins to shimmer in a slight heat distortion. An unpleasant smell starts to fill the air. Spits snuffs at the stench before going back to sleep_

" _Century, is it supposed to get hot enough to start burning rubber?" A tiny puff of smoke is rising from the table as he answers. His avatar manifests next to the little cube, turning its flashlight head towards the burning block._

" _Negative… it appears that we have failed…" She never thought a geth could sound sad on purpose. His avatar's head dips down in a very convincing show of sorrow. The temperature keeps on rising, eventually causing the surface of the data unit to crack. "We apologize for this Jane. We hoped… It was our hope that a new mimetic file source would allow for a more stable runtime formation. We have failed…" She's not sure what to say except to ask a seemingly pointless question._

" _Wait," Century turns to look at her, "You just called me Jane. You haven't done that once in two years, not even after you started addressing everyone else correctly. Why now? After this?" She gestures to the data cube._

 _His avatar changes colors a few times, "We feel that attempting humor at this juncture would be inappropriate." Jane is taken aback. She raises a confused brow as the truth sorts itself out in her head._

" _Humor? So, you've been trying to make a joke?" He nods at her._

" _Kalen'reegar claimed that you would find it amusing." His avatar changes color again, "He requested that we maintain a record of your reaction when you discovered the truth. We-" He's cut off by the sound of some kind of mechanical grinding sound. Century snaps his head towards the cube and immediately begins emitting the same sounds._

" _What is it? What's happening Century?" He holds up a single finger just like Kalia did whenever someone annoyed her when she was flying. The twittering goes on for several minutes before he turns to her._

" _We… it would seem that we drew our conclusion of failure too soon. The new runtime is communicating." He doesn't sound to sure of himself._

" _Isn't that a good thing? Why so hesitant?"_

" _While all runtimes have basic communication algorithms, this new unit is showing signs of advanced intelligence. In fact, it's neural activity is powerful enough to match twenty runtimes working in concert and if our readings are accurate, this value is still increasing. We cannot explain this." The data cube is cooling off as the lights on its sides start flashing in identifiable, binary sequences. Century puts a hand over the cube and twitters off another bout of machine speak. "Fascinating. The runtime is requesting access to this cabin's holo projectors. Is this acceptable Jane?"_

" _Sure." Century's avatar is joined by an amorphous blob of a hologram. A tiny glowing light rolls around hologram, taking everything in as quickly as possible before settling on Jane. It flashes a few time before twittering at her. "What is it saying?"_

" _This is unprecedented. The runtime is inquiring about its purpose."_

" _Why is that so surprising?"_

 _His avatar looks back and forth between her and the new runtime. "A geth does not question existence in such a manor without being connected to several dozen others. The runtime is not asking how it was created. It wishes to know what the purpose of its existence is." Before she can answer, the new runtime turns its eye to Century for another bout of twittering. He responds in kind and Jane is stunned when the little blob starts speaking to her._

" _What am I?" Jane looks to Century._

" _We have provided the necessary subroutines to translate geth language into the less efficient forms of communication organics use." She nods and turns back to the new runtime._

" _Well, you're a geth."_

" _What is my purpose?"_

 _Century holds its hands out to gesture from itself to Jane, "You were created to help bridge the gap between organics and the geth." The new runtime looks to Century._

" _What are you?"_

" _We are geth." It turns to Jane._

" _What are you?"_

" _I'm Jane, a human." The little blob flashes a few times before coalescing into a vaguely human shape. Century looks somewhat alarmed._

" _Fascinating. It is accessing the sensors in your omni tool. The security settings do not appear to pose an obstacle." The runtime looks up to her._

" _Your device's readings to not conform to the files I have accessed. There are a number of anomalous structures within your chassis that your device cannot identify." Jane gives a sad smile as the hologram's images becomes more refined, taking on a distinctly human shape. A very familiar shape._

" _Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that I was originally human. I've gotten a few… 'upgrades' over the years." The hologram solidifies in a near mirror image of Jane, with glowing eyes and identical hair. The only thing off is the fact that the hologram has both arms. It looks to her stump and then back to its arm._

" _You are damaged." She nods, "Why haven't you been repaired?"_

" _It's not as easy for an organic. We're going somewhere to take care of it… among other things." Her tiny doppelganger flashes a fews times._

" _Destination: Sur'kesh, homeworld of the Salarian species. Well known for advanced hospitals and intelligence organizations."_

" _That's right. I'm going there for medical treatment. Just like the other eighteen passengers in the rest of the cabins." A confused look crosses the hologram's face._

" _My scans indicate twenty two organic signatures inside the designated passenger compartments. In this chamber I detect you and the varren in addition to two smaller signatures that the available files cannot identify." Jane's thoughts turn to the two oversized bugs napping inside her duffel bag._

 _-Doomsinger needs us?-_

" _No guys. Just thinking about you. Go back to sleep." She can feel their tiny minds settling back down. "You said there were twenty two signatures. That means three stowaways. I know what the two others in here are. Where is the third?"_

 **Keeva**

The initial search is wrapping up with no results. Keeva is with the station's security chief, a surly old asari that kept calling Keeba. "Look kid, I had the entire station swept, including every ship we've got docked right now. The little one isn't here."

"Keelah… where could she be?" The asari's panel starts flashing and she turns away from Keeva. A large screen emerges from a slot in the ceiling, flashing the non-emergency comm code for Jane's personal channel. The image of a nice cabin on a transport fills the screen, with Jane front and center.

"Hey Keeva. Did you lose this?" She lifts her remaining arm, showing off a squirming violet bundle.

"Stop it! Put me down!" Tali is flailing around and Jane looks like she's struggling a little to hold on.

"Oh thank the ancestors! Rael called a few hours ago and we've both been tearing things apart looking for her." Jane sets the squirming girl down but keeps a hand clamped on her shoulder to keep Tali from escaping. As such, Keeva is perfectly able to glare at her. "What the hell are you doing there Tali?! Do you have any idea how worried your father is?!"

Tali dips her head, "I… I just wanted to see what it was like out here. I wasn't planning on going very far." Jane actually laughs a little.

"Well that fell through, didn't it? Right now we're about fifty thousand lightyears away from the flotilla. I found her hiding in a service duct with a little help from a friend. She was covered with this." Jane holds up a net of cables. "It's a modified net of magwire. It would have kept her hidden if the compartment she was in hadn't lost power." Tali crosses her arms and pouts.

"I told you I'd get it to work cousin but you said it took too much power. All I had to do was…" She trails off after seeing how angry Keeva's is. "I'm sorry for causing trouble Keeva."

"Nevermind that. You're going to call your father and apologize right now. Then you're going home." Tali's shoulders slump but Jane clears her throat.

"Actually that's going to be a problem. About half the passengers with us are in need of advanced care on Sur'kesh. Most of them can't wait more than they already will. We can't turn away without putting their lives in danger." Keeva swears under her breath.

"Then I'll have a ship meet you over Sur'kesh."

"Ah come on Keeva. It's not going to hurt anything for me to stay out for a little bit will it. I mean, father is already going to be angry and he probably won't let me out of his sight again until I'm grown up, so why not let me stay out for a little." Jane kneels down and pulls Tali close.

"Yeah Keeva, why not? I mean she's just so adorable. How can you say no?" She can't help but smile at the look Jane gives her through the comm.

"I suppose I can convince Rael that it's okay for her to stay out for a little bit, but only until Jane gets back to the shipyard. Not one second more, got it?" Tali nods up and down excitedly. It didn't end up being as hard as she thought it would be. After yelling for around twenty minutes, with more than a little of it aimed squarely at Keeva for not realizing Tali had stowed away on her ship, he agreed to let her stay out. His sole condition was that she wasn't to leave Jane's side under any circumstance. Tali was eager to agree and Jane had no objections. After the call ended, Keeva spent the rest of the day trying not to think of all the ways the two of them might try to exploit the loopholes in Rael's rule.

 **Jane**

 _Tali is just as excitable as she remembers. Her questions are rattled out at ten a minute and her appetite for information is borderline insatiable. Eventually, to get a little peace, Jane introduces her to Century and the new runtime. Even they seem to have a little trouble keeping up with her frantic quest to ask every question that pops into her head. "How many of you are here?"_

" _We possess 115 runtimes in our consensus."_

" _Are you all the same age?_

" _Negative. Each of our runtimes was created at a different time."_

" _Do you have a favorite color?"_

" _Unknown. We have never considered that subject."_

" _What's your favorite kind of power cable?"_

" _We have found the salarian manufactured DX3-11 cabling to be the most efficient type for our energy transfer needs when travelling outside the Veil."_

" _What?! But type 3 magno-fiber wire is so much better!" Tali then goes on a very passionate if not entirely coherent rant on why her favorite cable is superior. While she rambles, the new runtime sends its avatar to hover next to Jane._

" _May I pose an inquiry?"_

" _Sure. Shoot." The little hologram draws back slightly._

" _I do not possess a projectile weapon, nor do I have a desire to discharge such a device." Jane snickers to herself._

" _It's a figure of speech. I meant go ahead with your question."_

" _Why does the smaller humanoid ask so many unrelated questions? There does not seem to be a logical pattern to her inquiries." Jane turns to see Tali in the middle of a story about chasing vermin through a ventilation duct and hopping up and down to help with her re-enactment._

" _She's a curious little girl. Tali hasn't been out in the wider galaxy before and she wants to learn as much as she can, even if it doesn't relate to anything important. To tell the truth, she's kind of like you. A young person, just seeing the world for the first time." The runtime looks between Tali and Century._

" _If I am like her, do I also have a name?"_

" _Not yet. Would you like one?" It nods at her. "Okay. Do you have anything in mind? Something you like?"_

" _No. I do not possess the necessary experience to make such a determination. Century has stated that its name was provided by you and that you have also named several other creatures. Given the information I have gathered, I believe you technically qualify as my mother. I posit you to be the most appropriate source for a name."_

" _Okay, let me think about it." A thousand ideas fill her head. So many possibilities. Eventually a perfect one pops into her head. "I think I've got it. How about Pandora?" The little hologram tilts its head to the side to consider it._

" _The records I can access indicate that Pandora is a figure from human mythology. According to legend, she was responsible for unleashing all hardship upon the world."_

" _That's one way of looking at it. The way I see it, Pandora didn't unleash hardship. She released possibility itself and right now, you represent a whole world of possibilities." The little hologram nods, apparently satisfied with her decision. Pandora returns to the conversation with Tali, leaving Jane clear to look into one of the reasons they were going to Sur'kesh. The designs are still a little basic but she's got a pretty clear idea on what needs to go into it. After about an hour Jane feels a tiny hand on her shoulder. She turns to see Tali watching her work._

" _What's that?"_

" _Designs for a replacement."_

" _What are all these little gaps here and here and here and here?" Tali points to several hollow spots inside the design._

" _To tell the truth, I don't really know. I just know that they need to be there." The little girl looks at her in confusion but that doesn't last._

" _Can we help?" She waves at Century and Pandora. "They're super smart and I know about synthetic muscles. My mother works on prosthetics for people hurt in accidents." They all spend the rest of the trip adding things to her design. Most of it will have to be stripped away before she can begin assembling it, but there are a few bits that work. By the time they arrive in orbit of Sur'kesh, the design is finished, including the attachment point. Lia comes over from her private cabin to escort them all to a shuttle and soon enough they're waiting at the security office. It takes about an hour, but Jane understands._

 _His pace is painfully slow and he has a light servo harness helping him walk, but Mirdan is still on his feet. As he gets closer, Jane notices that one of his eyes is completely clouded. When he stops in front of her, she gently puts a hand on his shoulder. "Glad to see you Mirdan." He chuckles at how careful she's being._

" _Huh, I might be old, but I'm not that fragile Jane." He puts a trembling arm around her shoulder before turning to lead them into the hospital. Spits walks close by, providing a steady handhold for Mirdan to lean on. Even though it's been years, the staff still edges away from her._

" _I guess there are still stories about me floating around." He chuckles and nods._

" _Indeed. Before my sister's passing, she left a detailed dossier on the incidents you were involved with. Her descriptions were somewhat colorful, but they still put the fear back into the staff. Don't worry though. I've knocked some sense into them over the years. How is that young man you told me about? What was his name? Kevin?"_

" _Kaiden. He's got some severe internal damage, but Karin said with the right care he'll recover. It could take up to two year though, once you factor in the physical therapy."_

" _The important thing there is that he will recover. There are many soldiers that suffer such injuries that never even wake up." Jane nods and they stay quiet until arriving at Hannah's room. Lia takes a seat by the door while she goes in. Tali hesitates at the threshold but Jane waves her in._

" _Come on. Rael said by my side no matter what." The little quarian enters the room and stares at Hannah. "Tali, meet Hannah, my mother. Hannah, this is Tali."_

" _Is… is she okay?"_

" _She's in a coma."_

" _What does that mean?"_

" _It means that she's asleep and can't wake up. We got into a fight with some bad people a few years ago and she was knocked out. Mirdan has been trying to find a way to wake her up ever since." Tali looks on in fascination as the old salarian walks over to adjust a few of her IVs. Jane whispers a quiet prayer before setting her duffel bag on the ground. She checks to make sure that the door is closed before letting out a small whistle. The bag's zipper seems to undo itself as Scratch and Skitter crawl out. They stretch their limbs out before scuttling over towards Hannah. "Well, here they are Mirdan. Why'd you want them to come?"_

 _Mirdan looks over the workers with his good eye for a few minutes, "You've mentioned that they communicate through a form of biotic telepathy. I would like them to spend the duration of your stay with Hannah to attempt contact." As they talk Scratch and Skitter are already trying to speak to Hannah in their own way._

 _Jane watches for a moment before turning back to Mirdan, "Did you get the plans I sent?" He pulls a datapad from his belt, flashing the files she sent._

" _I've already spoken to Dr. Niin. His team will have the connection point finished by this time tomorrow. What about the limb itself?"_

" _Once the materials arrive I'll get to work. It'll only take a few hours if I can find a quiet place to put things together." That wasn't as hard as she'd thought it would be. The old wing left in ruins by her first visit, though fully repaired, is still sparsely population thanks to some mild superstition among the staff. Jane sets up a small workshop with some very enthusiastic help from Tali. Afterwards, she puts Pandora's storage cube into the mobile console and lets her explore some restricted files with Century's guidance. Jane's materials arrive shortly before the sun sets._

 _It's a little difficult to slot everything together with only one arm, but she receives plenty of help (some of it actually being quite helpful) from Tali. The last of the inner components are set by the time Jane is ready to sleep. The next day a young salarian knocks on the door to escort her to the clean room for the procedure. Mirdan is there as well to oversee everything. The staff looks at him with the utmost respect._

 _The young doctor in charge of the procedure calls for sedation but Jane waves him off. "Don't bother. I don't need it." He blinks rapidly and looks between her and Mirdan. Even with her old friend's nod, Dr. Niin still tries to convince her._

" _Ms. Shepard, such procedures are already quite delicate. It is safer for all involved if-" He trails off as she glares at him, eventually deciding to trust Mirdan after all. While a nurse cleans the stump with a powerful antiseptic, Jane turns to Tali._

" _You probably shouldn't watch this Tali. Mirdan, can you..." The old salarian puts his hand on Tali's shoulder._

" _But-"_

" _Spits, Mico Tali nat Mirdan." Spits carefully but firmly clamps his jaws on the back pack Tali is wearing and picks her up. He turns her around, keeping his hold on her pack despite her squirming. Mirdan does his best to keep her distracted, a task that Jane would have thought impossible, but the old salarian rises to the challenge by posing a variety questions almost too fast for Tali to keep up._

 _Jane stays silent for the entire procedure. The pain is immense but she is completely unmoved by it. Jane even watches as the first incisions are made. Watching the blood flow and tissue being sliced away gets boring after a few minutes, so she turns her thoughts towards what needs to happen from this point on. Getting used to the new limb will take awhile, so that means taking it easy despite how much she wants to kill something. The resurgent nightmares aren't helping matters either. Now she gets to watch everyone she loves slaughtered in addition to reliving the loss of her arm every night. 'Wherever you are you Bare-faced piece of trash, I hope you understand that I will make you suffer for this…'_

 **Unknown**

 **The Spectre Has Failed**

 **Course of Action…**

 **Seize the Spectre**

 **Alter Memory**

 **Eliminate Secondary Witness**

 _Date_ _: 10.6.2174_

 _Location : Terminus - Undocumented system_

 **Spectre**

"We must inform the council! Surely your injuries will force them to open their eyes and see the danger!" He scowls at the ceiling of the medbay as Basilon tries to convince him. After escaping the system, he'd ordered the pilot to take them to a safe house in the Terminus. After nearly three full days, they're finally closing in on it. A good thing too. Their medic had done his best, but the flash to his eyes has left him almost completely blind and his arm will need to be replaced before he can return to the field.

"And what would I say old friend? I was injured by an Alliance operative while undertaking an unsanctioned mission in the Terminus systems. Even if the council believed in the threat she poses, they are politicians. The most they would do is launch a committee to study the potential problems and then they'd bleat about until the public lost interest. No… the council will be of no use here." Basilon continues to pace the medbay like a caged animal.

"The conclave of primarchs then. Surely they would listen. They would understand!" He thinks on it for a moment, weighing the possibilities. He had plenty of friends in the conclave. Even if the Imperator spoke against him, chances are he would still be able to rally their support.

"Perhaps that would be for the best. Once my injuries are seen to we shall return to the hierarchy to begin the process."

"About that sir… why aren't we going to the Citadel? There are plenty of doctors that could take care of these injuries without us having to resort to Terminus scum."

"True, however I have an associate in this region capable of masterful cybernetics work. We will rendezvous with him and then-" An shrieking klaxon fills the air before the pilot calls for everyone to brace. The gravity starts to shift wildly as ship is thrown through a series of brutal maneuvers. Basilon manages to edge over to a comm panel to shout for an explanation.

In a haggard voice, the pilot tells him, "We are being attacked by a large vessel of unidentified make! They're- BRACE FOR IMPACT!" The entire ship bucks and he's thrown from the surgical bed. His head smacks into the deck, throwing him into a daze. As he struggles to make sense of what's happening, the sound of tearing metal and screams fills the air. That's when things become strange.

His mind fills with the buzzing echo of a million voices, all crying out in languages he cannot comprehend. If feels as if his mind is being picked clean. Entire portions of his life are extracted from his brain before being roughly shoved back in with pieces missing. Occasionally he catches a vague glimpse of some kind of creatures with glowing blue eyes, but these glimpses seem surreal, almost dreamlike. The last few months are subsumed in sensations he cannot understand.

'What is happening?'

'Why was I helping the Wake?'

'What… where am I?

'Who am I?'

After an eternity of drifting through tides of thought, he slowly regains consciousness. The medbay is a smoldering wreck and the medic has been torn in half by a falling bulkhead, but that's not what has his attention. What draws him in is the shattered body of his oldest friend. Basilon, that old soldier that has stood by him since their earliest days in the military, is dead. A piece of a support beam has pierced through his chest, nailing him to the ground. The spectre limps over to check for any sign of life. He finds none.

With a slight keen of despair, he mourns his oldest friend before forcing his feelings down. They'll have to wait. He forces his way through the broken door and stumbles up to the cockpit. Luckily the pilot is still alive. "What happened?!"

The man turns to look for only a moment before returning to his frantic efforts, "We were clipped by a meteor… I think. Something happened to knock me out and my instruments all say that a chunk of rock hit us. We need to put out a distress signal." He stops the man from sending on the standard channels.

"Wait. I have a specific comm frequency and destination. Use them and make ready for assistance." He provides the needed information before easing his badly wounded body into the co pilot seat. His… associate will arrive quickly, but he still has time to think on what's happened over the last several months.

Somehow, he allowed himself to be distracted from his duties by some mercenary scum and their troubles with a walking human science experiment. A chill creeps up his spine as his thoughts turn to her. He can't help but see how foolish he's been. The Red Wake's weakness has lead to the death of his oldest friend and his own terrible injuries. So what if the humans have a pet freak? She is inconsequential. Yes, that's it.

No more. It is a promise he intends to keep. No more will he waste time on Wake trash and their petty enemies… Even if those enemies have caused so much pain. The buzzing in his head fades away as the promise solidifies. The vague dreams of figures with glowing eyes never bother him again. In truth, by the time his 'associate' arrives, Saren has completely forgotten about those strange creatures and one sent by the Wake.

 _Date_ _: 10.12.2174_

 _Location : Sur'kesh_

 **Jane**

" _Go ahead Tali." Her little quarian friend lifts the artificial limb from the table and carefully moves it towards Jane's shoulder. After a few days to fine tune the attachment point, Jane is finally ready to hook up the new arm. As Tali maneuvers the limb into place, several cables begin to snake out of from the connection point. They reach out to burrow into the proper slots. The limb's boot up programs run through all the needed tests. Every maintenance point opens and closes before locking back down. She feels several hard jolts of electricity as the artificial nerves in her new shoulder connect to the arm._

 _Once the initial connections are finished, Jane stands up to start rotating the new limb. "Is it working right?" Tali is almost bouncing in excitement as Jane takes up a titanium test sphere. She slowly tightens her fist around the metallic ball, crushing it with ease. Tali claps and runs out to get something else for Jane to test her arm on. While she's away, Jane looks down at her hand. She checks the dexterity of each finger before sitting back down. It's as strong and flexible as they'd hoped but there's one potentially catastrophic problem. As she summons her biotics, Jane isn't surprised to discover that the limb is completely unable to help her control it. The artificial limb lacks the biological nodes along its nerve lines like her real arm. The sense of loss is crushing, but she doesn't let anyone know. Instead, Jane goes through the motions, moving through every test with ease._

 _By the end of the seventh day since attaching it, Jane is relatively comfortable with the replacement, though she's still a little uncoordinated with more delicate motions. "Patience Ms. Shepard. It will come in time. For now, take pride in knowing that you've shown more progress in one week that most do after a full year." Jane nods and thanks Dr. Niin. The younger salarian leaves her for his next patient and she turns to see Mirdan checking some of Hannah's readings while Tali keeps up her standard barrage of questions._

 _Despite almost two weeks of trying, Scratch and Skitter hadn't been able to make contact with Hannah._

 _-Our songs failed… We sing contrition.-_

" _You guys have nothing to be sorry about. Thank you for trying." The little rachni bob up and down in response. Jane walks over to look down at Hannah's increasingly frail form. She's lost weight since coming to Sur'kesh. It breaks her heart, but Jane knows that it's time to leave. There is work to be done. "Thanks for everything Mirdan. You've already spent so much time watching over her. I understand if you want to retire and let someone take over." He looks at her in incredulity with his good eye._

" _Never. My task here has given me purpose and I've no intention of giving up now. Besides, I'm less than two years away from the galactic record for the oldest salarian ever. Might as well stick around for that." She laughs with him and takes him in a gentle hug. He pats her on the back before limping to the door. "I assume you want a few minutes to say goodbye." Jane nods and he leaves her to it._

 _She takes a few deep breaths to center herself. "Well mom, we've gotta get going, but before we leave, I've got an early Christmas present for you." A tiny voice from the side makes her jump slightly._

" _Do you want me to wait outside Jane?" She'd almost forgotten that Tali was there._

" _Your dad said you were supposed to stay with me, so no. Just stand back and try to stay quiet. This takes a lot of concentration." Without further delay, Jane gathers the power she needs and begins the song. It's more difficult with only one hand, so she has to settle for a slightly weaker melody. Scratch and Skitter immediately scuttle over to start swaying in delight as the song builds in volume and power. Jane fills the air with her most beloved memories of her time with Hannah. For just a few moments, she can let go of the pain filling her body. She can let go of the anger. In the song, Jane finds something so rare as to be almost totally alien to her. For a few moments, Jane finds peace._

 _She's so focused on the song that Jane doesn't notice Pandora's hologram activating and looking on in rapture. The hybrid runtime stays silent, simply taking in sensations that no digital life form has ever been able to feel._

 _Something so wonderful can't last forever. Eventually Jane feels exhaustion dragging her down and she's forced to let the song fall away. With the tune fading into echoes, Jane opens her eyes. "Goodbye Hannah. I promise, I'll be here when you wake up." With that, she grabs her duffel bag as Scratch and Skitter zip themselves inside. Tali follows behind completely silent. Lia is waiting, along with Mirdan. He looks at her with a critical eye but doesn't say anything, opting instead for a smile and a nod. Jane leads them all to the shuttle pad without further delay. Their transport is leaving soon and they don't want to miss it._

 **Mirdan**

He stands on the pad, watching her shuttle rising into the sky. Even after it disappears above the building clouds, Mirdan stays on the pad, lost in thought. He's there long enough for the rain to start falling. Only when his old colleague Dr. Laito comes frantically running over does Mirdan finally turn away from the sky. "Dr. Solus! Dr. Solus! You'll never believe it!" Without waiting for a response, Dr. Laito Runs back inside, leaving Mirdan to slowly make his way to their observation area. When he arrives, Laito rushes over a dozen datapads that all say the same thing. "Look Doctor! We have high level activity here! It coincides with-"

"The song. Yes I know." Laito is stunned until Mirdan flashes his omnitool. "I've been watching over Hannah for years my friend. Of course I have a link to our systems here." Dr. Laito rallies quickly.

"Yes well, don't you see?! We have the answer! We can wake her up with Jane's help! Why not call her back?!" Mirdan sighs heavily and shakes his head.

"Take a closer look at the scans. While there was high level brain activity, it wasn't nearly enough to lead to consciousness."

"But, but in principle-"

"In principle, we have a potential avenue of research to explore. However, I'm not going to give Jane any false promises. This may end up leading us nowhere. I will not build up her hopes until I **know** that this has a chance to succeed. Begin running simulations on all the identified sonic and biotic frequencies we measured during her visit. Step to it my friend, we've got work to do."


	67. Chapter 67

**Chapter 67 - The Coming Storm**

 _Date_ _: 12.24.2174_

 _Location : Caliban - On approach to Dockyards_

 **Jane**

 _As the transport makes the final approach to her shipyard, Jane notices an unfamiliar vessel docked nearby. "Hey Tali," her little friend looks up from her heavily overstuffed backpack, "Does that ship look familiar?" Tali takes a look through the viewport before gasping in surprise._

" _Oh keelah…" She starts wringing her hands nervously._

" _What's wrong?"_

" _Umm, that's… that's father's personal shuttle. If it's here then…" She turns away from the window and takes a seat. Tali stays with her back straight and hands in her lap until the transport is locked onto the airlock. She takes a few deep breaths before hopping off the seat. "Okay. I'm really in trouble. He wouldn't have left the flotilla unless it was an emergency or he was really really really angry."_

" _I'm sure he just want to make sure you're safe. Don't worry." She takes Tali's hand and walks her out onto the dock. Keeva is waiting just outside alongside a full squad of heavily armed and armored migrant marines. At their head is a tall, well built man in a heavily customized suit. He immediately locks eyes on Tali, letting his glare say far more than words ever could, despite the nearly opaque faceplate._

" _Umm, hello father." Rael'zorah doesn't say anything. Instead, he just crosses his arms and starts tapping a foot as Tali struggles to avoid making him angrier. "I uhh, I'm sorry I left without asking you." He un-crosses his arms before pointing sharply at her, then to the ground next to him. Tali bows her head and turns to Jane. "I have to go home now…"_

 _Jane kneels down in front of her and hugs her close with her right arm. She's careful to avoid using the artificial one. The new limb still felt extremely awkward, despite almost two months of practice. "It'll be okay. He won't be angry forever, and after a while you two might even be able to laugh about this. I'll keep in touch." Spits trots over to lick her faceplate, earning a few giggles and a good scratch on the chin. With a little more confidence, Tali turns back to her quietly seething father and walks over. She stumbles a little under the immense weight in her backpack along the way. Jane had taken her to a tech convention on Illium and let her pick out whatever she want under the sole condition that she be able to carry it in her backpack. As Tali takes her place at Rael's side, he turns to gesture to one of the marines nearby._

 _The chosen marine gently takes Tali's hand and leads her towards the quarian shuttle as Rael steps closer to Jane. He's clearly angry but does his best to stay civil. "While I do not appreciate you exploiting the lack of details in my terms for her time away…" he sighs heavily and finally lets his posture become less aggressive, "I do want to thank you for keeping her safe and ensuring that she had a good time. I won't be letting her know, but I think more of our people could use some time away from home beyond just their pilgrimage. It helps them gain perspective. Goodbye Lieutenant Shepard." Once Rael is gone, Keeva steps over._

" _That went a lot better than I thought it would. I never expected him to thank you for anything." Jane just shrugs and the two of them take a walk through the shipyard while Lia heads back to the ship. "So… how's the arm?" Jane lifts the prosthetic to eye level. She still hasn't covered it with synthetic skin, so some of it's moving parts are still visible._

" _It's… weird. I can't really_ _ **feel**_ _it, but I sort of can, if that makes any sense. I've been trying to get used to it but I haven't had a good sparring match or gun range to use. I still feel awkward whenever I try to do anything delicate." Keeva nods along._

" _That sounds pretty normal. A few of the technicians here have artificial limbs and some of them have mentioned that it takes a while to get used to." They arrive at an observation tower with a good view of the entire shipyard. Jane walks over to the 'northern' viewport. "I really think you'll like what we've put together."_

" _Any trouble integrating Taseen's research?" Keeva gives a bitter chuckle._

" _We got some of it working, but it's just too powerful for something as small as the Pale Horse. I know that Malagen was giddy over it though. He said it was like it was made for you special project. Though we're not exactly sure what'll happen it it ever truly loses containment."_

" _I do." Keeva looks at her skeptically. "The upgrades essentially allow the core to periodically simulate a micro supernova. If it's breached and the failsafes don't work, it will create an explosion similar to a small star exploding." Keeva spends a long time looking at her, most likely running through all the times she might have come close to experiencing that worst case scenario over the last few months._

" _That's… a little disturbing. Is that… safe?"_

" _We'll find out. Taseen's notes included all the failsafes right?" Keeva nods, "Then we just have to figure things as we go." That earns an annoyed sigh from her quarian friend. After a while, Keeva stretches her back and turns to leave. "Well, I've got a couple more thing to take care of before the deadline. Dib and Malagen are waiting at bay 19. Something about the 'secret project' you've got going on there. I wish I could stay to work on it. I'd be the first quarian to work on something like that in centuries."_

 **Tali**

Now she knows that she is in really big trouble. Her father hasn't done anything except tell her to stay in their room. When she hacked into the cameras she saw two marines posted outside. Her father had also used one of his personal locking codes on the door. She spent almost an hour trying to get through it before running into a kill code that shut down her omni tool and locked her out of it. They won't even let her play with the stuff that Jane bought for her. Now she's just sitting on the bed, dying of boredom.

Just before they hit the relay, something overrides the lock and the call chime sounds. Tali tethers her suit's receiver to a private channel with her tool before answering the call. "Greeting's Tali'zorah." It's Jane's geth friend. Her parents always said all geth were bad, but Century seems to be okay.

"Hi Century. I can't talk long. I'm already in big trouble."

"We are aware of this. We simply wished to provide you with a gift."

"What for?"

"We wish to establish a more amiable relationship with the creators. Jane has suggested that we start with something small. Therefore, we wish to provide you with this." A series of data files quickly flow into her omnitool. She checks a few of them, but they're all just a series of numbers.

"What is it?"

"These are communication codes. Should you ever find yourself in need of assistance and are unable to make contact with your people or Jane, send a distress call through any of these codes. The consensus will come to your aid."

"Oh. Well that's nice of you. Thank you Century."

"You are welcome. We must close the line now. The cyber security on your vessel will soon detect us. We are reactivating the locking file on your omnitool now." Her tool starts to shut down again.

"No no no, wait-" The channel and the tool shut down completely, leaving Tali to pout to herself at how unfair it is.

 _Date_ _: 12.25.2174_

 _Location : Caliban_

 **Jane**

 _She curses loudly as the shots from her SMG go wide… again. Despite trying nearly a hundred different stances, angles, and sequences, Jane still couldn't get her aim with the new arm squared away. So far it didn't matter how hard she tried to compensate for it, nothing was working. "Dammit." A tapping foot drags her away from the range for a moment. Lia has been waiting behind her for nearly an hour, but this is the first time she's made any noise. "Any reason you've waited this long to try and get my attention?"_

" _At first it was because I didn't want to be rude. Then it was because it was actually pretty funny to hear you cursing in so many different languages, but the novelty has worn slightly. Century asked me to come find you. Why'd you turn off your omnitool?" Jane sighs and mag clamps the guns to her hips, hissing quietly when the left misses ever so slightly._

" _I didn't want any distractions. We'll be going back out soon and my aim is still crap with the new arm." Lia turns to face down range and Jane notices a small biotic pulse. She takes a closer look at Lia, only now noticing that her asari friend has replaced the scarf over her missing eyes with a prismatic band of silk, specifically rachni silk._

" _Most people would say 90 percent accuracy was exceptional." Jane lifts a brow in confusion._

" _How the fu-"_

" _Come on. It's finally time. Century's set up a meeting with the company, along with representatives from Alon, Clan Dun, Iundos, and all the independent colonies that are trading with them." Without waiting, Lia turns and smoothly marches out of the room, leaving Jane utterly baffled. Shelving her questions for later, she shuts down the targets on the range. With Spits trotting alongside, Jane catches up with Lia just as she reaches the conference room. No longer the skeletal chamber where she met Bid for the first time, now it has a full set of data screens mounted on the wall, along with a large conference table._

 _This meeting has been in the works ever since Jane got the new intelligence report from Anderson. The Alliance has outdone themselves by finding out about the newest initiative by the Red Wake. It's a building catastrophe that she'll need help to stop._

 _Everyone else is already waiting. She sees Dun-Alon's leaders on one side. The self labeled Admiral Tiberius is checking over fleet figures while the Bolg Twins are both stabbing knives between their fingers as fast as they can, much to the thinly veiled glee of their preferred assistant. Even after knowing them for a while now, Jane still can't tell them apart. No one can. They were never away from each other and they had a tendency to speak in unison. Most people didn't even try to differentiate between them, opting to just call both of them Bolg. Next to them, Jane spots Bid's representative. He's an older volus with a heavily worn suit and no time for bullshit. On his right is one of Taseen's assistants, chattering away with a pair of salarians from two of the smaller colonies a few relays out from Alon. Tog is there as Alamara's personal representative and Tybar is sitting next to him_

 _Standing off to the sides are reps from the most recently encountered colonies. One of them is an asari matriarch that can't take her eyes off Tiberius. Then there's the drell from a desert world a few days to the galactic south of Alon doing his best to stay in the shadows and a hanar arguing about the merits of the enkindlers with a quarian freerider. Not many people think about it, but there are quarians that chose to stay in the wider galaxy. They don't have a government, but several small guilds gave them some sense of unity. Her Q-ship captains have helped the freeriders for years now and it's made for a strong working relationship._

 _The last two reps are a bit of a wild card. One is an administrator from a private human colony built over a gas giant and the other is technically a turian separatist wanted by the Hierarchy for treason. Both of them only came because she threatened to cut off eezo shipments from Caliban's moon if they didn't send a rep. Jane takes everything in within the space of a single heartbeat. The Bolg twins notice her and acknowledge her in unison, "Shepard." As they nod everyone else turns from their conversations. The reactions to her arrival are mixed. While the colonies she has personally helped are obvious allies, several of the newer groups are merely being diplomatic. Jane nods at Bolg and takes a spot with the data screens behind her while everyone takes a seat._

" _Thank you all for coming. We face a potential crisis and-"_

" _We? There is no_ _ **we**_ _human." The turian separatist, a man called Braga, is looking at her with thinly veiled contempt. "My people stand alone, now and always." There are a few hesitant nods, but no one else speaks. Jane doesn't rise to bait._

" _Maybe, but the information I want to share affects us all. Two weeks ago, some friends of mine inside Citadel space sent me these." She brings up the key files from Anderson. Surveillance pics from Bekenstein, Illium, Palavan, and a dozen other important worlds fill the screens behind her. "For those of you that don't know, I've spent the last several years waging a private war of extermination against the Red Wake mercenary company. It's fairly obvious why." Even the two reluctant attendees begrudgingly nod. She'd chosen the guests for this little conference carefully. Everyone at the table represented a world that had suffered under those bastards. "Despite the hideous casualties I and my crew have inflicted, they have still managed to avoid dissolution. Now we know how. Mercenary companies from across citadel space are selling major contracts to the Wake in exchange for fleet support." The drell, named Zoran taps the table to get their attention._

" _And just how many ships does the Wake command. My information indicates that you and Dun-Alon have destroyed a great many of them." She eyes him for a few seconds, wondering just how much information he has._

 _Everyone turns back to Jane expectantly, "Despite everything, we still haven't found where they are building their ships. Given the intelligence my friends have gathered, it is now clear that they can rebuild them as quickly as we can destroy them… but that's not the real problem right now. This is." she puts up the images taken by her helpers on Omega, eliciting a gasp from nearly everyone. "Roughly one week ago a fleet flying under the colors of the Red Wake passed through the Omega system, bound for this sector. At best guess, there are almost 100 ships in this fleet and more are on the way." She's greeted with stunned silence until the Eugene, the human rep, speaks up._

" _What exactly is the point of sharing this with us Shepard? What do you hope to gain from it?"_

" _Your ships and ground support." He splutters a few times before responding._

" _I… I beg your pardon?"_

" _At the moment Dun-Alon can muster two dozen frigates along with a pair of destroyers. Clan Dun, Alon, and Iundos can each provide two warships. Any more and the trade routes will be vulnerable to any pirate with a set of missile tubes. The Q-ships I have working the trade lanes can take down a battlegroup of small raiders or corsairs, but the Wake is sending dedicated warships. We need more of our own and we just don't have the time to build them. Every world represented at this table can spare a few to help us."_

 _The asari scoffs at her, "Even if we all gave you what you're asking for, our forces would still be outnumbered. Even_ _ **if**_ _we could match their number, several of the ships in those images are cruiser tonnage at least. How the hell are we supposed to stop the coming storm? We don't even have enough time to muster a force to face them before they come through the relays." Everyone nods along, even her allies._

" _When the Wake controlled the relays between here and Omega, they managed to install a kind of IFF lockout for anything passing through. A friend of mine co opted this lockout and slaved it to friendlies on our side. It'll take a couple months to break the encryptions, even longer if we can keep their focus divided." The hanar starts flashing rapidly. "I know you want to say something Representative Dollot. Go ahead." Surprised that she could tell, the hanar spends a moment to gather himself._

" _This one is confused. Why would the perfidious Red Wake spend so much time attempting to open the relays? Can they not simply pass through open space? Surely their fleet is carrying enough supplies keep them going long enough?"_

" _The first relay in the sequence is almost 10,000 light years away from the nearest colony. Even if they could maintain FTL all day, everyday, it would still take almost a year to get there and then it's another 2,000 LY to Alon. It'll be faster to break the encryptions on the relays." Braga hisses in derision and drags a talon across the table._

" _You speak as if Alon is the only system they seek to pillage. Why would they care for this faleshtat excuse for a turian star system." Tiberius and Tybar both twitch a hand towards the daggers at their belts, incensed at the dire insult to their home. All that stops a brawl from breaking out is a glare from Jane._

" _For a turian, you have a piss poor understanding of strategic value. Alon is at the center of the local relay cluster. All of you come from a system that can only been accessed with any degree of ease by passing through the relay in Alon. Whoever controls Alon, controls the sector. It's why I moved my shipyard here. It's why Dun-Alon set up here. Strategically speaking, it's the single most important system for over 10,000 light years in literally every direction." Braga growls in barely caged fury, but bows to her logic. "The cold hard truth ladies and gentlemen, is that if the Wake manage to retake Alon, then all of your homes will return to their former places under the heel of those scum. You either help us stop them, or bend over and go back to being their whores."_

 _Everyone at the table trades a look, each coming to the same decision. Eugene is the first to speak. "If what you say is true… then there is no real choice. What can be done?" After that, Jane got down to the business of outlining her plan. By exploiting their advantage with the relays, she would lead a guerrilla campaign against the incoming armada, slowly eroding the fleet and forcing it to advance at a crawl or risk overextending. Everyone seems into it, but there is still a problem. "I can see the merits Shepard, but this seems to be nothing more than a holding action. How do we actually_ _ **stop**_ _them?" Braga can't help but sneer as she explains._

" _The fact of the matter is that until we know where the ships are coming from we can't." She holds up her hands to forestall the panic. "At least not forever. If we inflict enough damage, we can force them to pull back and regroup. By the time they recover, my boys working here will have the cruiser berths finished and we can start churning out ships powerful enough to push back." Bid's rep lets his breather his to get attention._

" _Once they are finished, my people are willing to loan our commissioned vessels to this plan until others can be completed, though we will be expecting appropriate compensation." Jane almost snorts in amusement._

" _Don't worry about payment. Every colony will be entitled to salvage equal in tonnage to what you commit. Beyond that, everything taken in a group action gets split into shares proportionate to your contribution. More ships, more loot. Remember, even a wrecked ship is worth nearly twenty million credits. We'll also be seizing any cargo they're hauling. Whoever it's been stolen from doesn't have claim to it anymore." They all nod along until the matriarch speaks up._

" _What about slaves? The Wake is big on abducting people so there's a pretty good chance we'll find some on the bigger ships." It's the subject that's been burning away at her._

" _We free anyone we can… but we don't ease up against the Wake. They'll take advantage of any show of weakness. It's unfortunate, but some of them are going to die." The meeting lasts for several hours as they hammer out the details of the plan. When the representatives finally depart to head back to their homes, Jane flops down in one of the chairs and rests her head on the table. Lia sits in the next chair, placing a hand on her shoulder. Jane spends a few minutes resting before whispering to her friend. "God… is this going to be enough? Did I do enough?"_

" _It's all that can be done. We know the Alliance can't spare any ships and the council doesn't care what happens in the Terminus. Have faith." Jane sighs into the table and leans back. As she tries to recover her confidence, Pandora pops up over the conference table._

" _You didn't tell them about the Spectre." The new runtime has been developing nicely since her 'birth'. She's already surpassed Century's processing capacity and has been showing signs of genuine emotion. Perhaps the defining characteristic of Jane's geth 'daughter' is her personality. The little geth hybrid is as curious as Tali, with the hacking abilities of Century, and Jane's sense of right and wrong (coupled with a taste for bloodshed). "We could have played on their paranoia about the council to get more concessions. It'll be harder to stop the Wake this way."_

" _I know, but we still don't know if the council actually sent him after us. If we say that they're working against us and that turns out to be false, it leaves us open to being exposed." Pandora nods along, following her train of thought._

" _And if we were exposed we might lose their support. Fine, I guess we don't get to trick them about important things." An evil look crosses her face. "But I am gonna screw with the environmental controls on Braga's ship. That guy was a total dick so I'm gonna jack up the heat so much that he's swimming in plate soup the whole way home." Jane chuckles and offers her own idea._

" _How about this? Instead of heating it up, try lowering and raising the temperature a few degrees every couple of minutes. It'll drive him nuts and look like a random malfunction. Just make sure you don't get caught." Pandora giggles and disappears in a flash as Lia clears her throat._

" _Is it wise to encourage her like that? Pandora is already a handful. Won't this make it harder to control her?"_

" _We don't need to control her. We just need to make sure she understands right and wrong. Any attempt to put her in a box won't end well. It's something she gets from me." Jane pushes herself away from the table. "Well, now that all that shit is set to go, I'm gonna spend the rest of the night on the ship. Do you want to come celebrate with me?"_

" _Thank you but I still remember the last 'Christmas' I spent with you. That hangover lasted almost a week. Besides, I need to head to the dock's medbay for my checkup. Karin won't be happy if I put it off long enough for her to get back." Though disappointed, Jane understands. Even Teg respected Dr. Chakwas when she ordered medical work. She wishes Lia a good night before splitting away and heading back to the Pale Horse._

 **Keeva**

"We've got everything bolted in place ma'am. The drones are taking care of the paint job now." Keeva wipes the grease off her hands with an old rag and looks over their hard work. All the upgrades are finished with the armor back in place. She turns to her team, wishing they could see the smile under her faceplate.

"Good job everybody. Not only did we get the job done, we did it with three days to spare which means bonuses for everybody." A loud cheer fills the air as her whole crew celebrates. Keeva waits until the cheer fades away before speaking again. "Tomorrow we'll run one last series of checks just to be safe, but for tonight the bar next to bay 9 is offering free drinks. Go ahead and-" She can't even finish before the crowd drowns out her voice with cries of joy as they stampede away from the ship. "Huh. Have fun guys." Deciding to call it a night herself, Keeva enters the Pale Horse to grab the book Jane offered to loan her. After getting through the airlock she hears someone singing quietly.

" _Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright."_

She follows the song down to the mess hall and finds the room half covered in brightly colored decorations. Jane is hanging a glittering string on one of the bulkheads, gently singing the whole time.

" _Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild._ " Jane finishes with the strand and steps down. She sees Keeva but keeps singing.

" _Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace_ …"

"That was lovely Jane." Her favorite human smiles sadly at her.

"Thanks. It's one of Hannah's favorites." Jane starts humming the song again and heads to the cargo bay to grab something else. She returns with a large box over her shoulder. At Keeva's questioning gesture she explains, "I don't have time to head back to Mindoir for a real one, so I have to settle for this." Jane pulls a large green thing made of plastic from the box and sets it up in the center of the room. It's a faux tree with a little figure in whites robes stuck on top. Once it's all set up, Jane steps back and smiles.

"It's… pretty, but what's the deal Jane?"

"It's for a human holiday called Christmas. Hannah liked celebrating it and I liked celebrating it with her. I tried last year but the crew and me just wound up getting wasted and dumping the decorations all over the place." Keeva looks back up at the tree and then back to Jane.

"You know, we just finished up outside so I've got nothing to do tonight. I could celebrate with you." The smile on Jane's face could best be described as giddy. She pulls out some food and puts on some confusing but cheery music. Shortly afterward a little hologram that looks a lot like Jane appears on the table.

"Hey ma."

"Hi Pan." Jane gestures between Keeva and the hologram. "Keeva, this is Pandora, a hybrid geth runtime made from my brain scans. Pan, this is Keeva, my closest two legged friend from Omega." The little hologram looks her over a few times before turning back to Jane.

"I like her. You watch the movies yet?" Jane shakes her head and leads Keeva into the cargo hold where she has a large area cleared to make room for a makeshift viewing area. There's even a collapsible couch sitting across from the screen draped on one of the walls. After watching several extremely old vids that left Keeva more than a little confused (even if they were fun), Jane leans back and rests her head against the crates behind them.

"Are you alright Jane? How are you feeling?" At first she doesn't think Jane is going to answer. She has that obstinate look on her face that Keeva remembers seeing all to often on Omega. Thankfully she seems to be more talkative tonight.

"Tired. I'm so fucking tired Keeva." She's astonished that she didn't notice it earlier. There are faint bags under Jane's eyes and her voice is laden with more than a little exhaustion.

"Well it is late. Why not go to sleep?" Jane sighs explosively.

"No, not tired like that." She runs her hands through her hair, pausing to tug at it a few times. "I can't sleep much anymore. The nightmares are back and worse than ever. There's… there's something coming. I've known that for years… but I don't know what and it's driving me crazy!" She lashes out with her left arm and puts dent in one of the plasteel crates next to her. "I'm trying to get people ready, but I don't know what I'm getting them ready for. Is it the Wake? The Council?! Something else?!" Her shoulders slump with another sigh. When she turns back to Keeva, the anger is gone, but there's still a glint of mania in her eyes. "I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a fun, easy going night and here I am freaking out over things I can't control." Jane tries to laugh it all off.

Keeva stands up and hugs her close. She feels Jane's real arm wrap around her, but the artificial one stays at her side. "Come on. Let's sit down and watch something else. There's a lot of work to do, but tonight I want you to try and let it go. Just relax and be yourself." The tension drains away as they both sit down. It takes a few hours but eventually they both fall asleep watching one of her weird vids.

 **Jane**

 _Her dreams are utter hell. Shrieking demons tear into her friends. Hannah drowns in a pool of blood from the people slaughtered on Mindoir. Sara is begging for her to do something, anything, but all she can do is look on in horror. The screaming…_

 _She's struggling to escape the nightmare when a blue hand settles on her shoulder. "Don't be afraid. I'm here." Rather than giving her peace, Niria's beautiful voice just rips into her heart. She wraps her arms around her ghostly love._

" _I'm sorry… I'm sorry." The agony rips through her stomach and Niria dissolves into dust, leaving Jane to collapse to her knees atop a mountain of numbered skulls. She doesn't even look up as a roar sounds from the heavens and ancient, endless evil crushes everything she knows._

 _Her eyes snap open and she sits up suddenly, cold sweat dripping down her face. She covers her face, breathing deeply to try calming herself down. Jane checks the time on her omnitool. She's only been asleep for two hours. "Dammit. Guess that's all I'm getting tonight." Jane slowly shoves herself off the couch and stretches out. Keeva is still out so Jane leaves her alone. As she gets to her feet, a terrible itch springs up in her arm. Jane tries to scratch it away while looking for something to take her mind off the dreams. It never occurs to her to question why it's her left arm that itches._


	68. Chapter 68

**Chapter 68 - First Strike**

 _Date_ _: 1.1.2175_

 _Location : System 33-1Z, 4 relays out from Alon_

 **Vesq**

"Damn humans. Damn relay. Damn contract." Vesq keeps on cursing as another permutation fails to unlock the relay's control systems. When he joined the Wake's campaign, he was promised an easy fight with a huge payday. All he's gotten so far is a long flight from Batarian space and days of having Bodra, his assigned Wake overseer, shouting at him because he couldn't get through the encryptions, yet. He's good at what he does, but whoever wrote the IFF blocks has to be a genius. Every block takes longer than the last and his bosses are starting to get tired with the wait.

"You've been at it for two days Vesq. Stop lazing about and get it done!" He'd tell the arrogant bastard off, but that would mean taking his focus off the task at hand. Instead, he simply grunts and keeps working. Just as he's about to break through the next layer of security, an overly friendly voice distracts him at a critical moment.

"Hello there." The slip is tiny, but enough. He accidentally hits a single wrong key and the system detects his intrusion, resetting the current layer. He curses loudly, well aware that he'll need to start this layer all over again. That doesn't stop the local VI from speaking again. "It seems like you're trying to open this relay for unrestricted travel. Would you like some assistance?" The little hologram looks like a human in a quarian suit with heavy armor strapped onto it. Bodra sneers at the hologram.

"Arrogant bitch had a VI modelled after herself." Vesq turns to his overseer.

"Who are you talking about?" He's surprised to see Bodra hesitate in his answer.

"No one. Doesn't matter. The boys upstairs said she's dead. We just gotta clean up her leftovers." His overseer shudders slightly before turning back to the hologram. "VI, you said something about assistance?"

"That's right. Would you like some advice?" There's something about the voice that nags at him. It's just so… sweet. It almost feels like she's taunting them, but that doesn't make sense. VIs don't do that…

"Yes. Help us get through the encryptions." The VI actually giggles at them. It makes his skin crawl. There's definitely something wrong here.

"Well my advice to you is that you bend over real far, shove those lumps of shit you call heads right up your asses, and get up in there deep enough to lick your own tonsils. That way, you can tell your friends in hell that you did something amazing before you died." He and Bodra just stare at the VI, stunned into absolute silence by the absurdity of what they've just heard. They're still staring at it when a power surge floods the panel he's working on. It explodes in a shower of glass and fire. Bodra catches the bulk of it. His head is impaled by dozens of shards, one of which is large enough to pierce through his brain. Vesq is 'lucky' enough to simply have half his face ripped off. As he collapses to the ground, desperately groping at the gruesome meat hanging from his head, the VI's hologram drops down to his level. It saunters over, giggling like an insane schoolgirl.

"Awww, did you get a itty bitty scratch. Poor wittle boy." It traces it's holographic fingers across what's left of his face. "Oh, and I forgot to mention…" It leans in close to her ear. Delirious from pain, Vesq could swear that he feels her breath ghosting against his skin. "I'm not a VI." It's giggling becomes a manic cackle as his world fades to nothing.

 **Pandora**

It takes a long time for the hilarity of the situation to fade. She can barely fight down the laughter long enough to do what she came to do. Pandora gets into the local security grid and destroys the Wake's progress. As she finishes the job, her comm subroutines are triggered. She gives a digital sigh before opening the line. "Hey dad. How's it going?"

"We are functioning at optimal levels and there appear to be no malfunctions in the new systems aboard the Pale Horse. Have you completed your objective?"

"Yup. Fried their stuff and trashed the interface. It'll take a while to get started again. God this was fun. You should have seen it when I blew up the panel. There's blood splattered all over the place and they were all like agghh and then they were like bleggghhh! I tell you, mom's gonna love the video!" It's not surprising that Century doesn't share her amusement. Regular geth didn't feel things like she did.

"We believe your assessment is relatively accurate. However, you forgot to jam the signals from their biomonitors. Reinforcements are en route and you are in danger. Please return immediately. New information has been received from Citadel space. The Red Wake has acquired the assistance of a new team of tech experts, including a quarian specialist that will be able to detect you. We do not wish to risk your well being."

"Ahh, that's sweet dad. I'll come back as soon as I get the scans, I promise."

"Acknowledged." The line closes and Pandora taps into the nearest ship's mainframe. Despite being a boring little frigate, the ship still has decent subsystems. Their security is only a minor nuisance as she takes control of the sensor grid. In seconds she gathers all the information available on local forces before trashing the environmental systems and opening the airlocks. Pandora is careful to record every second of suffocation to enjoy later. Once everyone is dead she loads a special set of programs into the ship's computer before transferring herself back to what's left of the relay's interface systems. Though it would be fun, she can't stay to watch. As Pandora flees through the link between relays, her special gift to the mercs comes online. The weapons on the target ship activate and start randomly firing at everything in range.

 **Jane**

 _Waking up from another nightmare soaked in cold sweat yet again, Jane forces herself out of bed with a bevy of curses. Spits hops down with a whine and nuzzles against her leg to try to help. "Thanks buddy. Today's the day we see if they're still willing to trust me. Come on." Jane pats him on the head before tossing on an old tabard and scratching her arm again. No matter what she did it just kept itching. At least her suit's repaired and she can cover the fake limb. After stretching out, Jane steps into the hall to head for the mess hall. Before she can grab anything a sound from the deck above gets her attention._

 _Jane heads up to the cargo hold and sees something that warms her heart. "Hey boss." Teg is reclining on the collapsible couch with a bowl of those tenticled things he likes to snack on._

" _Almost had me worried Teg…" He scoffs at her._

" _You honestly thought I'd let you go back out there without me?" She's laughs with him. "HA! If I stayed home, who'd do all the hard work around here." He gives her a serious look and she tilts her head in thanks._

" _Isn't it obvious?" He scratches his crest. "Karin. The rest of us are just a bunch of idiots running into gunfire for fun." Teg's laugh shakes the cargo hold as the screen on the wall starts flashing. Jane trots over and sits next to him._

" _What's on?"_

" _Blasto, uncut edition with an hour of extra footage."_

" _Holy crap! I'm gonna get some popcorn." Teg reaches behind him and pulls a cargo cylinder filled to the brim with heavily buttered kernels. As they start stuffing their faces, another voice calls from the cargo bay door._

" _You said you'd wait Teg!" Jane turns to see Veritan and John standing with arms crossed. Teg waves them off._

" _It's just the copyright crap. You didn't miss anything." The two of them walk over, nodding at Jane before sitting down to either side of them. When the opening credits start to roll, their favorite triplets come strolling in with suits freshly cleaned, patched, and they all have several new mods attached. Nobody says anything. Instead they just walk over and settle down to watch the movie. Kal and Kalen pull some collapsible chairs out of storage while Kalia sits across Teg's lap._

 _As the first scene's gunbattle dies down, Dib waddles in with a pile of snack tubes for everybody and sits down on the floor. He's soon joined by Lia with a new rachni silk band over her missing eyes, along with Scratch and Skitter. Everybody is really getting into the movie now. The infamous sex scene is just starting when the sound of someone clearing their throat draws everyone's attention to the door. Karin and Vollor are waiting at the entrance. Neither speaks. Vollor drifts over to take a spot just behind the couch while Veritan hops up to let Karin sit. They all settle in to enjoy the show._

" _Woah! I don't remember seeing that!" Teg turns to John._

" _Uncut edition. Extra hour of footage including twenty minutes for the sex scene alone." Needless to say, the scene is much more… intense than the theatrical version. When things get really heavy, Kalia idly asks a question._

" _Are… are asari really that flexible?" Jane and Lia both answer at the same time._

" _Yes."_

" _Yes."_

 _Everyone turns to look at them for a moment. Lia flushes violet, but Jane is too lost in old memories to mind. She just grabs one of the still flopping tentacled things in Teg's bowl to absentmindedly nibble away at it while Scratch and Skitter ask about mating songs. Eventually even Pandora and Century show up, projecting themselves just above everyone's heads._

 _Jane looks around, moved that everyone has come back after what happened… well almost everyone. "I'm gonna grab some drinks. Anybody else want some?" After getting everybody's request, Jane goes to grab a few bottles. Before returning the couch, Jane sets up a camera with a view of the screen and stands in front of it. "Hey Kaidan…"_

 **Kaidan**

Breathing is still difficult for him, but he's not complaining. Kaidan is just happy that he's still alive. He can still feel that vorcha's claws slicing through his chest. He can still feel it ripping his lungs apart. Struggling to breath through the mince meat that bastard left behind still haunts his dreams. He woke up a few times afterwards to find someone elbow deep in his chest. It took almost a week for him to be awake enough to understand that it was Karin digging around inside him.

Now he's just trying to get better. His nurse finishes her usual checks and leaves him alone. Before he can start watching the news, something crowds the channel. A haze of distortion slowly resolves into an image of Jane. "Kaidan right? You gettin better?"

He spends a minute gathering his strength to respond. "Jane?" The face on the screen arches a brow before slapping her forehead.

"Oh right, crap. You don't know me yet. Uh, hi. I'm Pandora. I'm kinda Jane's daughter." He stares at her, completely baffled. It doesn't make any sense. The young woman on the screen looks like she's the same age as Jane. He's not even sure if Jane's been with a man. Pandora can see his confusion and sighs, "Not by blood or any of that gooey stuff. No, I'm uh… long story short I'm kind of a hybrid geth runtime formed by a deep scan of Jane's brain and mixed with the geth's standard runtime formation procedures. Soooo, hi." He manages a weak wave.

"Hey. Nice to meet you… how is everybody?"

"Pretty good. I've got a message for you." The screen flickers again, replacing Pandora's face with a close up shot of Jane. She's standing in the Pale Horse's cargo hold and he can see the rest of the crew watching a screen on the wall behind her.

"Hey Kaidan. Just wanted to let you know that you were right. Everybody came back. Tonight we're watching Blasto, but tomorrow we're heading back out to start gathering a fleet. I wish you were here with us..." A sad look crosses Jane's face, "But since that can't happen yet, I'll just have to settle for this." She steps to the side, letting him see the perfect angle to watch the movie. "Oh, and I'm sending a friend to help you out. He'll keep you safe just in case some asshole tries to go after you while you're getting better and when you're up for it, he'll help with physical therapy. I'll keep you up to date on all the stuff we're doing. Get better as fast as you can Kaidan. It just won't be the same with you away." Jane steps away from the camera and takes a seat on a couch across from the screen. Kaidan smiles widely as the movie progresses.

When it ends every member of the crew steps over to the camera to record their own message. It almost brings a tear to his eye, hearing just how much they wanted him back. He makes a silent promise to do everything he can to get better and back to them. When the feed cuts, Pandora wishes him well before transferring a flood of files to his omnitool. While he tries to read through one, a booming voice from outside draws his attention. "Don't worry about that friend! I'm here to watch over the kid! Jane sent me!" The door bursts open, admitting a massive krogan. He's easily taller than Teg and almost twice as wide. The frame of the door actually groans as he forces his way inside. He has a set of (relatively) light armor, with a massive sword strapped to his back. When he spots Kaidan, the overgrown lizard gives a massive smile. "Hello! Name's Raik Fel! Jane asked me to come keep an eye on you while you get better."

The burly krogan flops down in the chair next to Kaidan's bed and is promptly dumped on the ground as the formerly sturdy seat collapses under his immense weight. Instead of the anger Kaidan expected, Fel just busts out in a bout of near hysterical laughter. He hops up to see Kaidan smiling. "That's what I like to see! Now, on to your new treatment program." Fel snatches up the control for the room's vid screen and switches it over to some little kids show, replete with nauseatingly bouncy singing characters that are so colorful he could swear someone had swallowed gallons of paint before puking all over them.

"Oh God… turn it off." Fel gives a cruel smile.

"Nope. This is the only thing you're allowed to watch until you can get out of that bed and take this away from me." He dangles the control inches away from his face. "And don't think that I'll get tired of watching it either. I've got almost five hundred total years watching stuff like this my daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters." He leans in real close and whispers. "What's real crazy is that after the first thousand goofy songs… _you start to_ _like it_." He pulls back and sits on the floor, chuckling as the characters on screen start dancing and skipping into the first song.

With mounting horror, Kaidan struggles to sit up, more determined than ever to get better and end this new nightmare.

 _Date_ _: 1.21.2175_

 _Location : System 33-1Z, 4 relays out from Alon, Red Wake Command Ship 'Truncheon'_

 **Dosot**

"Captain, we're getting something from the relay." Commander N'gadn steps close enough to look over his shoulder.

"What do you mean? Did our boys final crack the locks?"

"No sir. There's a power build up. It looks like something is coming through." His commander turns away to face the rest of the bridge crew.

"Sound general quarters! All hands to battlestations!" Unlike the typical raider trash the Wake used to use almost exclusively, this is a warship and the crew has earned its place through a dozen successful campaigns of fire and terror through the unpoliced systems that the Citadel ignores. In moments the cruiser's entire crew is in place, ready for action. "Sensors, report!"

Dosot runs through all the needed scans, "Reaching peak levels. FTL breach in 5,4,3,2,1. Breach, breach, breach." All eyes are glued to their screens, ready for anything. "Receiving a friendly IFF signature." Even his commander looks stunned. "Running tags… it's the Chained Heathen, a slaver ship that disappeared about a year ago." Pretty much every ship beyond the relay was considered destroyed at this point. Maybe these guys can give them some idea of just what they'll be facing on the other side. His commander clearly has the same idea.

"Open a comm channel. Let's hear what they had to break through to get here." It takes a moment to establish contact. The ship is a wreck and barely moving under its own power. He calls out all the damage they can identify. The armor's perforated, missile tubes depleted, engines nearly crippled, and it's venting atmosphere.

"I've got a signal coming from it sir. Sounds like a pretty standard distress call." Dosot isn't listening as communications runs through everything over the line. He's too busy trying to figure out readings coming from the ship. There are life forms aboard, not many but they are there. He just can't get a solid lock on them. He's about to bring it up with his commander when something detonates on the ship. A damaged missile he missed, a key power conduit, or something else, it doesn't matter. The end result is the same.

"Sir, the Heathen is breaking apart." A few pieces are on course to bounce off the hull, but nothing bigger than a couple hundred kilos. "Looks like it'll come between us and an escort on the port side. No danger sir." The commander doesn't even bother to have them change course. All he does is call for a pair of tugs to slow the wrecked ship down so they can begin salvage work.

As the dying ship drifts by, another small set of detonations sends more debris flying towards them. It's so small that he doesn't even mention it to the commander. It's so small that he doesn't pay attention long enough to notice when it slows down before impact or when a similar bunch of debris makes contact with the nearest escort vessel.

 **Jane**

" _This has to be the most insane thing we've ever done." John's voice is a little nauseous, but his mag boot assisted stride is steady enough._

" _What do you mean? This doesn't seem that crazy to me." Her teammates turn to look at her incredulously… or at least she assumes that's what they're trying to do. It's a little hard to tell beneath void hardened armor. In response, Veritan waves a hand above them, to the empty void beyond, or maybe at the flaming wreck they rode to get here. "So we're walking on the hull, big deal."_

 _John sighs explosively before getting to work on the hatch. Pandora's information said that this was the command ship and Jane wants to do something special with it. While John carefully cuts through the hatch, Pan keeps the sensors from picking them up. "Team two, status?" The heavy encryptions cause a lot of distortion, but Teg's voice still comes through well enough._

" _Okay so far. Did I win?"_

" _Yep. John called it insane first. You get to pick the movie." If they were close enough, Jane doesn't doubt that she'd see Teg doing a little jig on the hull of the smaller ship team two was launched towards. "How'd Spits take the jump?" The other ship is too far away for her to see them, but she knows that Spits was in his sealed armor and tethered to Teg until they could get aboard._

" _He's okay. I think he's asleep." Jane opens the channel to her buddy's comm line and hears him snoring loudly. He might not like being closed up in sealed armor, but the big oaf could still sleep like a rock. "Let him sleep until you've got a breach to get through. He might be sleeping now, but he hates zero G when awake."_

" _Yeah I know. I still remember when the Pale Horse lost gravity. Took weeks to get that smell out of the the cargo hold." Laughing lightly to herself, Jane almost misses when John finishes with the hatch._

" _Got it. We can move in." The others carefully maneuver inside while Jane calls to Teg._

" _Remember, don't try to take them all on. Move in fast and quiet. Get Pan into the environmental controls and-"_

" _And let me go nuts! Woo let's kill these bitches!" Jane waits for the cheering to die down. The young runtime's jubilation was infectious._

" _Yeah, what she said. Good luck guys." With that, Jane ducks through the open hatch and seals it behind her. "Century, status."_

" _All local alarms have been disabled. We are undetected. Recommend proceeding to objects with all speed. Our intrusion will not go unnoticed forever."_

" _Copy that. John, Veritan, you know what to do. Keep them hidden as long as you can Century." Her friends nod and take off towards the engine room while Jane starts moving towards the bridge. "Wipe every comm system you can and make sure this ship stays silent. Then shut down the lights if you can."_

" _We will need to leave the mobile node to facility this action."_

" _Do it. Then stick with the guys. The sensors won't be able to pick me up and they'll need you more than I will."_

" _Acknowledged. Good luck Jane." The indicator on her gauntlet goes dark as Century transfers into the local network. In seconds she receives a signal that primary comms have been compromised. That's when the lights start shutting down, leaving nothing but the weak red emergency lighting. As she rounds the first corner on the way to the bridge, Jane runs into her first victim. It's a heavyset batarian with a decent uniform on. He has no time to react as she slams a fist into his throat, shattering the cartilaginous plates that make batarian necks harder to snap than most. The man collapses in a suffocating heap, desperately trying to suck air in through his destroyed windpipe. Even though she'd rather leave him to suffer, Jane can't help but bring her boot down on his head. A loud crunch and she moves on, drawing both swords from her back._

 _There are plenty of targets along the way, and her blades are almost as thirsty as she is._

 **Dosot**

He wasn't worried when the debris hit the hull. It was all so small that even the escort ship would barely be scratched. He wasn't worried when the external comms went down. The solar storms in this system have played hell with ship to ship communication since they arrived. He still wasn't worried when internal comms went down. After all, he thought it was just an extension of the trouble they were already having. No, he didn't start worrying until the lights went out. Now he's desperately trying to figure out what's happened, but his readings are all over the place. The scanners, both internal and external, are flooded with garbage data, rendering them nearly useless. It doesn't help that the emergency lights make it look like the entire bridge has been splattered with human gore. As he tries to clear things up his commander is bellowing commands to the rest of the bridge crew, doing his best to maintain order.

"Clear those damn data clogs! Reboot the whole system if you have to!" He turns to the krogan security chief. "Get down to engineering and make sure everything is secure! Dosot!" He turns to his commander, "Give me something!"

"I've got nothing concrete sir. All we know is that it started after that debris hit. None of it was large enough to cause damage, certainly not enough to raise hell with our systems like this." He turns back to his panel while N'gadn shouts at the comm officer to do whatever it takes to re-establish contact with the fleet. Dosot catches the occasional glimpse at an anomaly in the sensor grid. It's a strange patch of interference less than a hundred meters away from the bridge. What's strange is that it appears to be moving forward… towards the bridge. "Sir! I think I have something."

 **Veritan**

They move quickly, taking down every target as quietly as possible. Most are completely unprepared, leaving them virtually unopposed on the way to the engine room. The few crew members who realize they're under attack are unable to call for help and Century keeps slamming security bulkheads closed to block off side passages.

They reach the locked door to the target and John steps forward with the plasma cutter. "Wait. If we cut it open they'll have time to get ready. We need something quick." Veritan pulls a trio of special charges from his belt and places them on the door. They duck around the corner and he hits the detonator. The blasts rip the door apart. Before the dust can settle, both of them charge through the ruins of the hatch. They emerge into an engine room in chaos. Veritan takes aim at the first crew member he sees and fires.

 **Jane**

 _She cuts the krogan's head off before laying into the security team he was leading down the hall. Abyss and Seraph sing beautifully as the bodies fall to the ground in a rain of blood. Their screams are short lived, leaving the hall silent save for the sound seeping gore. After taking a moment to spit on the leader's corpse, Jane continues on the path to the bridge._

 _This ship is very different from any Wake ship she's ever been on before. Every bulkhead is well maintained. The hallways are reinforced with armored struts. Everything is clean,_ _ **clean**_ _, on a Wake ship no less. It's clear that the Red Wake has decided to step up their game. The implications are an obvious blow to the plan. Jane had been hoping for the usual lackluster dedication to starships the mercs have always shown. If everything is as well put together as this thing, then they are going to have a much harder time holding them back long enough._

 _Another security team dies in pieces before she reaches the bridge. Jane takes a moment to listen, picking out every unique sound that can be heard and then she steps towards the hatch._

 **Dosot**

It didn't take much to convince N'gadn that there was something on its way. Now they're all hunkered down behind whatever cover they could find, aiming their weapons at the hatch. Something had to have ridden that debris. A shielded assault pod or maybe even a commando team with jump packs. Either way, they'll be in for a surprise if they think the bridge crew will be caught unaware. At least that's what he hopes.

All of them can all feel… something, beyond the door. A sense of power building to a painful crescendo. It's a terrible shock when a void dark blade punches through the hatch. Whoever is wielding it then proceeds to effortlessly slice through the triple reinforced steel. Amber streams of energy flow through the new gap before curling around the edges and peeling the maimed door open like a blooming metallic flower.

The first to overcome his incredulity, N'gadn roars at them to open fire. The entire bridge crew lays down a torrent of shots that would shred anyone caught in it. They keep it up long enough to chew a hole in the bulkhead opposite the hatch. "Cease fire!" N'gadn's command is immediately obeyed and they're left with the nothing but echoes. Dosot's ears are ringing as a pair of men step into the hall to check for bodies.

"There's nothing here!"

"What do mean there's nothing?!"

"I mean there's nothing! No body, no blood, no-" He hears something whistle through the air followed by the sound of metal moving through flesh. Then there is silence again. N'gadn tries to call to the men in the hall.

"Targis, Jergal? What's happening? Respond dammit!" Something comes sailing through the door. It collides with N'gadn's chest and knocks him to the ground. Dosot reaches over to help, giving him the perfect view of his commander holding Jergal's severed head. The batarian's eyes have all been gouged out and his jaw ripped away. He turns back to the doorway to see something straight out of the Wake's nightmares. Glowing violet eyes and crimson hair. It's human that has killed so many of them. She vanishes in a flash of golden light, then reappears next to the tactical officer. He doesn't even have time to scream before the dark blade slices through his neck and she vanishes again. Each time that happens they try to shoot her, but all they manage to do is pepper the control stations with gunfire. Again and again she strikes, severing heads or limbs with utter impunity. No mercy, no remorse, no hesitation.

Dosot is finally starting to understand why her bounty has crested a billion credits. He also understands why no one has collected yet. When his turn comes, he doesn't try to fight it. What's the point? She arrives before him in a flash of amber light. Dosot feels a burst of energy as the human emerges from her biotic charge. It's funny... she could have splattered him against the wall if she'd just hit him with the charge, but no. This has to be more personal.

She seems to understand his surrender and grants him a smooth decapitation. Small mercies at least.

 **Jane**

 _As the headless batarian falls to the ground, Jane turns to the captain. He tries to shoot her, but her barrier is still at full strength and takes the hits with ease. The pistol overheats after two dozen shots. He drops the gun and pulls a knife. Jane lets him get close enough to jab it at her stomach plate. The little blade snaps like a toothpick when it hits her barrier. Then he tries a haymaker to her jaw, which only succeeds in breaking his hand against her helmet. As he falls to his knees, clenching the shattered digits to his chest, Jane kneels down next to him. "I'm going to give you a choice big guy. Do you want take the easy way or the die screaming way?" He hocks up a huge wad of phlegm and spits in her face. As the nasty glob drips down the front of her helmet, Jane sighs. "Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you. Take a nap while we finish up here." She rips a piece of his uniform off, then slaps him in the face hard enough to shatter his jaw and knock him unconscious._

 _As he rolls across the floor, Jane wipes her helmet off and takes a seat in the prick's chair. "All teams, report."_

" _Veritan here. Engine room secure but thruster control is damaged. We can move but it'll be slow."_

" _Kal, same over here on the little ship, but no damage to thrusters."_

" _Teg here. Got the bridge. Spits is eating the helmsman."_

" _Pandora load up the IFF over there and take the ship through. Then stay there until we come through."_

" _But what about-"_

" _No buts. Do it." Pan sighs like a teenager with an unfair curfew before following her orders. Soon enough, the little escort ship disappears into the relay. By now the other ships in the fleet have realized that something is wrong and a few are moving towards the cruiser. "Century is the crew contained?"_

" _For now. We recommend concluding this mission quickly to reduce the risk of a break out."_

" _Copy that. Restore function to the bridge and engine room. Then vent the atmosphere everywhere else. The chambers I want intact are ones containing friendlies. Basically just us and any prisoners on board."_

" _Acknowledged. Purging atmosphere, restoring function." She can hear airlocks cycling open on this deck and the faint sound of decompression, though the screams rapidly fade away with the air. "Disappointing. We detect only twenty percent local casualties. We are also receiving numerous communications from the enemy fleet. They are requesting an update."_

" _Tell them that we are conducting a test on the relay and that it will still be some time before a true breach is made. Send word that we're also expecting an attack from outside the edge of system, away from the relay. Try and get them to spread out and cover every angle. I don't want anything too heavy near the relay when the time comes."_

" _Acknowledged… Pandora has sent word through the relay. They have arrive and the fleet is on standby." Jane waits for several minutes, watching one of the few intact screens as the Wake fleet returns to its patrol patterns. Once they're heavily divided, she makes the call._

" _Send word. Phase three is a go." Within minutes the allied fleet pours through. Fifty six warships of wildly varying design. Dun-Alon has ships that looks like the Pale Horse, which is leading the charge. The destroyers from their homeworlds take heavily from human vessels, trading large firing arcs for heavier main guns and multiple extra torpedo tubes. Their new allies bring vessels that wouldn't be out of place in a pirate fleet. Most of them are relatively small, only a few meters long than the Pale Horse, but each of them is packed to the gills with aftermarket weapons. Perfect for hit and run attacks. "They're a motley bunch aren't they? I guess beggars can't be choosers. Patch me through Century."_

" _Acknowledged. The comm is open."_

" _All allied vessels target the following ships. Hit them hard and then run like hell." She sends coordinates for a dozen ships close to the relay. The fleet splits into packs of four or five and moves in. The Wake ships are well built, but completely overwhelmed. In less than twenty minutes, six targets are destroyed by the attack run and two more explode as core containment fails. The other four are all heavily damaged but still survive. The allied fleet wheels around to make their escape. As they begin to disappear through the relay, a cheery voice comes over the comm._

" _Hey ma. I'm back!" Pan's face pops up on the screen next to Jane._

" _Aren't you supposed to be making sure the crew doesn't retake that escort ship?" Pan waves her off._

" _Ah, they're all dead. Teg, Kal, and Spits ripped through them while I flooded a bunch of the rooms with drive coolant. They're safe now." Jane glares at her for a few minutes._

" _When we get home, we're gonna have a talk about staying put when you're told to." Pan pouts at her as the ship begins to move towards the relay. Suddenly, the entire deck bucks, nearly throwing her from the chair. "What the hell was that?!"_

" _We have detected a vessel approaching from below the solar plane. It would appear that they used the tail of a slow moving comet to hide their presence."_

" _Problem!" Pandora calls and points behind Jane. She dives out of the chair in time to avoid the RPG fired from the door. The chair is blasted to ash as Jane leaps back to her feet. She draws her guns to fire through the doorway, shredding the assailant, but plenty of voices are hollering outside._

" _Dammit! Why the hell didn't we pick them up earlier?!" She maintains the barrage while flooding power back into her barrier._

" _Uhh, checking now. Crap it looks like the secondary sensor station had a kill switch built in. They sabotaged their own ship to get at us." Jane rolls away as another missile comes through at a severe angle. The screen with Pan's face is destroyed, drawing a petulant response, "That asshole!"_

" _Warning, we detect multiple assault shuttles inbound. Over one thousand lifesigns detected. Warships are close behind."_

" _Guys get us through the relay! I can take the crew with this setup but I can't stop torpedoes! John, Veritan, the bridge is getting hit hard! What about you?!"_

" _Emergency blast door is in place. It's built to take a partial core breach so they aren't getting through anytime soon." Jane slides one gun back into place and pulls Abyss free._

" _Good! Keep it sealed until I call! Once we're through the relay, we'll bring in a few assault teams to clear this mess up! Century, use this things weapons to keep the assault boats at bay! Pan, GET! US! THROUGH!" She shifts her barrier into a solid shield directly in front and charges through the shattered hatch. Jane comes up in the midst of a dozen mercs, all of them trying to get her in their sights, "Come on you bastards!" Abyss sings through the air, drinking deep from blood of many hues. Blue, green, red, orange, yellow, even some fluid from synthetic limbs._

 _Despite the drop off in accuracy from her real arm, the artificial one still reaps a terrible toll. She doesn't really need to aim in this press, but it's a pride thing. Not to mention that she doesn't want a repeat of the Olondor. She keeps her bursts short and on point, letting out a few shots to the chest or head for each target. "Warning enemy assault shuttles are landing on the hull and cutting their way in. We predict that at least five hundred mercenary reinforcements have survived and will breach the hull within 135 seconds."_

" _Pan?!"_

" _Almost there! Just give me a second!" Jane floods her limbs with biotic fury, doubling her already prodigious speed. Time seems to stand still as she tears into the enemy with wild rage. Hack and slash, bullet and boot, nova and warp. Jane doesn't hold her arsenal in check as the slaughter goes on and on. Blood is beginning to fill the corridor, splashing across the floor with every step. The false arm lags behind, though it still serve as a potent bludgeon. Through sheer weight of numbers, some of the enemy manage to get a hit in, but her barrier stops all but the worst, such as the heavy sniper shell that rips her right shoulder plate off. Jane leaps atop the nearest merc's head to gain a clear line of sight at the sniper before launching herself towards him. He's splattered against the wall as she emerges from the charge. "Pan?!"_

" _Almost!"_

" _Warning, enemy warships entering optimal firing range. Brace for incoming ordinance." Even as she slaughters her way through the corridor, the ship begins to tremble under repeated impacts._

" _PAN?!"_

" _In range! Establishing FTL corridor! Here we go!" The ship lurches through the relay jump, throwing several of the mercs to the ground. Jane takes a moment to disengage and get her bearings. The deck bucks again as the journey ends. "We're through! Sending for help!" Now that she doesn't need to worry about the ship being vaporized, coupled with the good news that most of the assault ships were atomized during the jump since they weren't included in the calculations, Jane decides to keep her distance and finish the battle with her guns. The friendly fireteams arrive to find only a few dozen broken enemy squads which are quickly moped up._

 _Once all is said and done, over six hundred Wake mercs and crew members are lying dead throughout the ship. Over the next few weeks Jane has both ships brought back to Caliban. The escort is refit and sold to one of the allied colonies at a steep discount, payment for their first contribution to the war. She has the cruiser gutted. They'd thought about using it themselves, but Malagen convinced her that it would be better if they used it as parts for the two cruisers being built over Caliban. After that Jane has the work crews install some low grade systems, just enough to get the ravaged husk of the former Truncheon moving._

 _When that's done, Jane gets to work on something… special. Of course she gives her crew some time off while this is happening. It's not something she wants them to see. It takes a while for her 'art' to reach perfection, but Jane is oh so satisfied with the final product. There's just one final touch needed. The cruiser's captain is still alive and now it's time to take care of him. While the cheap systems onboard the Truncheon have them puttering back to the outer relay, Jane looks down at him as he squirms. Being forced to watch as she made 'art' out of his crew over the last week has certainly changed his attitude._

 _Jane pulls the blood stained rag out of his mouth and he immediately starts pleading. It's a difficult task with his poorly healed jaw. A fair amount amount of spittle drips out of his misaligned mouth as he speaks. "Please, I beg you… mercy. Please… I'll do anything." She glares at him until he stops babbling._

" _Tell me Mr. N'gadn. How many of those slaves in the cargo hold begged? Did you or your crew show them mercy before you started playing with them? How much mercy did your band of murders and rapists show? You see, I'm a little short on details because only a few of the slaves can even talk anymore, and most are so traumatized that I doubt they will ever be able to live anything approaching a normal life. So tell me, as the man in command of this ship and therefore the man solely responsible for the conduct of its crew… What right do you have to ask for mercy?"_

" _But… But I.. I can be useful! I can-" She puts a single finger to his lips and gently shushes him._

" _Shush now Mr. N'gadn. You will be useful…" Jane ever so gently slides her hand to his cheek. "You are going to give me every scrap of information you have. Once that's done, you're going to deliver a message to the Red Wake for me." His eyes widen in sudden hope._

" _Yes! Of course! Anything you want! What… What's the message?" His entire body goes rigid as she begins the process._

" _You misunderstand Mr. N'gadn. You're not carrying the message." She leans in close and whispers into his ear, "You_ _ **are**_ _the message." It's the last thing he hears before a roaring abyss opens inside his mind and everything is ripped away in a tidal wave of agony. There is no one on board to pity him beyond the ghosts of the fallen._

 _Date_ _: 4.5.2175_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Taracus**

He can barely contain the snarl of rage as he marches towards the dock. His adjutant, a singularly dull batarian named T'vel, struggles to keep up. "How many have been inside?" The snivelling batarian stammers a few times before answering. Taracus curses the man's weakness of spirit.

"N-no one b-but the initial survey team sir. Their commander ordered an immediate lockdown as soon as they saw what was in there. It was towed back to dock. There a few complaints here from the acting force commander. He demands-" Taracus slams a fist into the bulkhead next to T'vel's head.

"That bareface doesn't get to make demands! He's lucky I haven't had him flayed alive for such a spectacular failure! Tell him that if he ever so much as breaths a word of this affair, to anyone, I will personally skin him alive!" T'vel frantically nods, trying to make himself seem as small as possible. It's a small point of pride for Taracus that his underlings have learned to fear him almost as much as Jortan. He turns back to the task at hand. "Have every member of the survey team shot immediately, along with anyone even suspected of speaking to them about what they saw. I don't want this spreading any further than it already has." As T'vel grovels, Taracus punches in his access code at the secured bulkhead. The security team beyond snaps to attention as he passes.

Taracus pauses to look at what's left of the Truncheon. The spirits cursed thing disappeared beyond the locked relay for months before re-emerging as a desiccated husk. It took weeks to tow it back to base. Gutting it and getting it back to spec would cost almost twice as much as building a replacement. Rumors of it being haunted were spreading like wildfire through the lesser ranks. Whispers of screams still echoing through the halls and ghosts begging to be released from endless torment…

He snarls to himself and stomps through the docking umbilical towards the ship. The airlock cycles open, leading him into the decon. Taracus can hear T'vel's heart thundering in his chest as the half functioning system runs through the motions. The ship's VI is barely functioning. "Priority-ty-ty-ty clearenccccccce detec- _sssshhh_ \- Captain Tar-ar-ar-aracussss-" the voice breaks down into a high pitched shrieking noise that has him cringing in pain. To spare his aural canals from rupture, Taracus sends a shock from his omnitool into the speaker. The device bursts in a shower of sparks and the inner lock opens slightly. He has to force his way through with T'vel slinking in behind him. The pathetic worm actually starts whimpering, but all Taracus can do is growl in rage.

"Stay here. Finish sending the orders I gave you and wrap up any outstanding business. I expect it to be finished before I return." He turns to T'vel and jabs a talon to his chest. "No one enters behind me. No one." He doesn't wait for a response. As T'vel whimpers like a whipped varren, Taracus heads for the bridge. He tries to ignore the walls, but it almost feels like they're calling to him for attention. It's the bodies. His Wake brothers' mortal remains are nailed to the walls in even intervals, one man to each side, all crucified. Some are horribly dismembered. Other are partially melted, their flesh left to flow like liquid. Taracus is nearly overwhelmed by the stench of rotting viscera and most of the bodies have maggots digging into them.

What really gets to him is how organized all of them are. The turians are closest to the airlock, arranged from shortest to tallest. Then come the salarians, this time lined up in groups of specific horn shape. The drell are too few in number for any special pattern. Same with the quarians. The krogan have all had their crests cut free. Now those once proud plates are hanging in front of their faces. He doesn't want to know where the fleshy strings came from. There is single asari, relatively intact compared to the rest. The vorcha are arranged by how many teeth they have.

The final stretch is lined with the batarians and they might be the worst. Taracus can almost feel their hollow eye sockets following him, cursing him from beyond the grave. It might well be true. If the batarian superstition is correct, then each and every one of their souls is trapped within the bodies, trapped by the removal of their eyes. The faces still scream in silent horror as he passes by.

He pauses for moment outside the bridge. One 'lucky' crewman has avoided crucifixion. The body is kneeling in the doorway, hands folded together as if in prayer. Taracus taps him with a single talon. He steps back as the body collapses and the head rolls away. This is the only batarian so far that hasn't had his eyes removed. In fact, the only injury is the perfectly smooth cut through his neck. Whoever this man was, he got off easy... so to speak. Taracus steps over the carcass into the bridge. There's blood and bullet holes everywhere, but all he cares about is the corpse in the big chair.

N'gadn was competent commander and a better slaver. He also makes for an exceptionally disturbing dead man. All that's left of him is a dried husk. Every orifice looks like fire has poured through it. His mouth is frozen in a rictus of absolute terror and agony. Taracus kneels down in front of the corpse to stare into the voids that used to be his eyes. "I wonder… how did she do this to you? And why?" Only a madman would expect an answer, but he still finds one. "You're a message, aren't you. That's it… isn't it. She wants us all to know that she's alive. That it's not over yet." He taps the corpse on the forehead and it begins to crumble into dust. As it breaks down, Taracus gets back to his feet. He doesn't spare another glance for the ash that was once a man.

T'vel is still waiting when he gets back to the airlock. "Sir?"

"Have you completed your orders? All outstanding business and orders taken care of?"

"Yes sir."

"The initial survey team?"

"Taken care of sir. No one but you and I know." He nods in satisfaction.

"Good." Taracus draws his pistol and blows T'vel's brains out. He gathers up the man's tablet before marching from the ship. "Taracus to dock control, remove the Truncheon from this facility immediately. Tow it to the local star and let it burn." He doesn't stay to watch as that charnel temple is dragged away to an ignominious doom. No one tries to get his attention, despite the numerous critical issues that require his lead. Taracus makes the long trek up to the central keep, pausing only briefly to glare at the priests standing between him and his ever more distant superior. He used to look at them as hideous but potentially useful monsters. Now all he can see is the source of the poison rotting the Wake from the inside. "Out of the way creature!"

"What is the problem brother Taracus? Speak and we shall carry your words to brother Jortan's ears?" He briefly considers ordering an orbital strike on this level out of sheer spite.

"Vile monster… never, **never** refer to me as a brother. You are a tool, a disgusting object to be used and cast aside when you lose your utility. Now stand aside!" The creatures begin to close ranks around the main doors until a voice booms out of the chamber.

"Open the way. He may be abrasive, but our brother Taracus is a true friend. Stand aside." The creatures step to either side and he moves into Jortan's chamber. It's changed so much over the years. Once the private tower for a respectable lord of mercenaries, pirates, and slavers all over the galaxy, now it is a sad parody of its former glory. Gone are the stolen works of art, the piles of precious metals, the throngs of mind broken slaves. In their place stand a number of strange and hideous sculptures that emit a low thrumming that sets his spirit on edge. "Welcome brother. What news do you bring?"

Even Jortan has changed. His face is a spiderweb of glowing blue cybernetics and flesh that seems to be rotting. His eyes glow a permanent blue while his voice now seems split between the man he used to be and the thing he has become. "The rumors are true. Our observers lied and she is alive." Jortan nods sedately.

"Yes. It is as they said it would be." He clenches a fist behind his back. The only reason he still follows this madman is because his hold in the Wake is not yet powerful enough to do what will need to be done.

"She is leading the effort to stop our push to regain control in the Terminus. Since the seizure of the Truncheon, her band of vagrants have struck on nine separate occasions. Over thirty ships have been lost, five were captured, and dozens have been damaged. We can replace the loses easily enough, but the effects to moral are extreme. We've only breached the first relay and three thousand have already died."

"A high toll." Why is he so detached?! WHY DOESN'T HE CARE?!

"Sir… we need to deploy more of the fleet. We need to unleash our full might and destroy these scum the next time they strike. You've only authorized a tiny fraction of our power and it's not enough." Jortan idly paws an artifact next to him. It rumbles as his hand settles onto a glowing spot on top.

"Take enough to replenish the losses and maintain your efforts. The rest of the fleet will maintain their current tasks. Do not fear. All is proceeding as it should."

"Sir…" Jortan turns his back and Taracus is forced to leave in a smoldering rage. He stops outside the door to glare at the robed creatures.

"Spirits curse you for the poison you brought upon us." He wanders the fortress for hours, trying to push down his fury. Just when he thinks he finally has a handle on it, a messenger arrives to deliver a datapad with the latest report. "So… you ran the blockade. Why? Are you running away from the fight? No… you revel in bloodshed. Then what are you doing?" He taps the pad with a talon a few times, trying to draw the truth from the aether. Then, it hits him. "You're looking for reinforcements."


	69. Chapter 69

**Chapter 69 - Problems**

 _Date_ _: 4.6.2175_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Garrus**

He was surprised to get the call several days early. What's even more surprising is that the asari actually greets him before he can approach. "Hello officer Vakarian." He nods a greeting that she somehow notices, despite the silken cloth over her eyes.

"Good afternoon. I'm shocked to see you here so early… and so sober." The asari smiles sadly at him.

"Yes, well… things are not as simple today as they were last year. There are events that weigh on us all and we came here to…" She hesitates and turns to look at the top of the krogan memorial, "I suppose it's up to her whether or not you need to know." With that, she steps to the side to make way for him. Garrus double checks his lift harness and slowly drifts up to her level.

"Hello Ms. Shepard. How are you this year?" She turns to him with a crimson red brow raised. Her eyes narrow for a moment before she snaps her fingers and points at him.

"Officer Vakarian, right? The one that wrote the tickets?" It takes him a moment to get over his initial shock.

"I must say this is an improvement. It's the first time we've spoken that you've been even marginally sober." She chuckles at him before chugging the rest of the bottle in her hand.

"Yeah, don't get used to it. Right now I've got some serious shit going on and I need to be sober enough to think about it. Once that's taken care of..."

"I don't think chugging an entire bottle of hard liquor is a good way to stay sober."

"What this?" She holds out the empty bottle. He recognizes the label as a very strong turian brandy. "This is like soda compared to what I usually drink. It gives a pretty good buzz but I'd have to chug like thirty of them to get wasted. Speaking of which," Shepard is briefly surrounding by a bright amber aura before another bottle drifts up from a box on the ground. She pops the cork and takes a drink. "A bit spicier than I like, but still good. Want some?" He holds up an open palm.

"No thank you, I'm on duty. In fact," He gestures to the floor, "do you mind if we continue at ground level? These harnesses don't always last for more than a couple minutes and unlike you, I won't react too well to a twenty foot all." Shepard nods and lets herself slide off the statue. Unlike their previous meetings, before landing she's surrounded by another yellow aura and her fall slows to a gentle decent, letting her touch down with barely any impact. His own landing is far less graceful, drawing a smile from the human woman. "Since you aren't actually inebriated this time, I don't think a ticket will be necessary, though you'll still be getting a warning about climbing the statue."

"Uh huh."

"If you don't mind me asking, why the early date and the softer drink?" She looks to her asari friend and then back to him.

"We've got… problems, out in the less settled systems. Some friends are in trouble and I'm here to look for support. I met with my 'commander' earlier but that turned out pretty much how I expected." She squares up her shoulders and lets her voice drop an octave to sound like a human male. "I'm sorry Shepard, but the Alliance is just too busy getting on with its pissing match against the galaxy to get off its ass and do something useful but we're with you in spirit." The asari snorts in amusement.

"That was pretty good. You should let Commander Anderson hear your impression of him sometime."

"He's actually a captain now. I'm not sure he'd like it very much." Garrus is used to humans being a little more relaxed when it came to their views on superior officers, but this seems a bit excessive. Shepard carries on, "Right now I'm waiting for a friend from asari space to call. We're going to get lunch and I'll see if she can help. After that, I'm meeting with a councillor to find out if they want me dead for some reason."

It takes a moment for Garrus to process that, "Hold on. You've got a meeting with the council and you think they tried to kill you?"

"Councillor, as in just one of them. Some dickhead tried to kill me and I thought as long as I'm here I might as well try and figure out if the council tried to waste me." Shepard's omnitool light up and a mechanical voice calls out.

"Jane, Matriarch Aethyta has sent word of her arrival. You can meet her at the Saint's Lounge in one hour."

"Thanks Century. Hey Lia," The asari turns to her, "head back to the ship and make sure we're good for supplies. Then have Dib go through the reports from Caliban." The asari nods and walks away. "I gotta get going Vakarian. Thanks for the chat. We should get a drink sometime. I'll have Century send some good stuff to your place as a thank you for not being a dick. Later." Garrus sighs to himself as she walks away. At least she isn't stumbling around this time.

He's about to get going himself when he hears the usual piercing whistle. In what is clearly the creature's own tradition, Shepard's varren scrambles out of the lake and charges after her, leaving behind a trail of terrified pedestrians in its wake.

 **Jane**

" _The fuck did you just say?!" Seeing a spit take in real life was a rare thing, especially from an asari matriarch as easy going as Aethyta. Jane takes a moment to wipe the spray of tea off her face before answering._

" _I need you to gather a fleet, including the Gothrak, and blockade the Omega system for as long as you can." Aethyta grabs the wine bottle from the table and takes huge swig before answering._

" _You know how insane that is right? I mean, I've got some pull, but not enough to keep that station under wraps." Jane idly scratches her left arm as she tries to spell it out._

" _I don't need Omega itself blockaded, just the relay and only the Red Wake's ships need to be stopped. The Wake is producing ships faster than we can blow them up and a few trickle in every week. If you can set up a small fleet in system and intercept them, my friends and I will be able to break the fleet already beyond the relay. We only need a few months Aethyta. We- hold on. Pan." A small hologram that looks like Jane pops up over her omnitool, "Make sure no one is listening." Aethyta feels a tiny pulse of static from the minor EM surge. The little hologram nods and Jane continues, "We've got two heavy cruisers coming online in less than a month. They'll be our heavy hitters until early next year when our trump card can come into play. Buy us that long and we'll be okay."_

" _Look kiddo, I wanna help, but what you're asking is a hell of a lot more than just a tiny favor. It'll take some serious arm twisting just to get a pair of frigates for that long not to mention that moving any real battlegroup out there would cause some diplomatic problems."_

 **Aethyta**

"I know. There's an alternate route you can use, a series of relays that lead straight to Omega through several uninhabited systems. The Citadel charted it out a few hundred years ago and then forgot about it because there's nothing useful along the way. I can… tweek things to make it seem like the Wake's passage through the Omega system is a threat to the Republics. That'll make it a little easier for you, right?" Jane actually looks worried. It's not something Aethyta expected today.

"There's more to it, isn't there? Come on kid, spill. If I'm gonna be asking anyone to risk their lives, then I expect the truth." Jane sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah… yeah there's more. The Wake is getting better with the encryptions we put on the relay IFF systems. The second relay is going to fall is less than a month. They've got a quarian tech expert. I'm not sure who she is but the bitch is a genius when it comes to the geth. Century's work barely slows them down anymore. Even Pan has her work cut out for her. Their projections give the third relay six weeks and the forth only two. After that, they're in Alon and we don't have enough to stop them yet. The cruisers will hold for a while but without the 'big gun' the system will fall, and the relay cluster will follow soon after. My Q-ships are stretched too thin just keeping the trade routes between colonies open. I can't do this without you Aethyta…" She sighs heavily, cursing herself for liking the girl so much.

"Alright kid. I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise that anything I put together will hold if the fighting gets too thick. If the Wake ever decides to really come after our little blockade, then the others will probably bolt back for asari space, and I'm not losing grandad's ship for this. Got it?" Jane eagerly nods.

"Thank you Aethyta. You're saving more people than you realize." As they finish their lunch, the manager walks over the the table.

"I'm sorry to disturb you ladies, but I'm going to have to ask you to escort… him," The younger asari points to Spits sitting off to the side, happily drooling on the floor as they talk, "outside."

"Why? He's dressed up all nice for this place." The poor matron looks to Aethyta for help but she's feeling just as mischievous.

"Yeah, he's got a bow-tie and everything." Spits takes the opportunity to shove his tongue up his own nose and go digging as Jane chuckles at the matron's disgust. Before any tempers can be lost, Jane agrees to get going and thanks Aethyta again. As she walks away, Aethyta notices that she's still scratching her artificial arm. Some of her friends have had prosthetics and occasionally complained about phantom pains so she tries not to worry about it.

"Great, now I just gotta put a fleet together…" Aethyta grabs the bottle off the table and heads to her hotel room for the night. She's got some calls to make.

 **Jane**

 _The rest of the day is spent checking in with Sparky up in his office at the council tower. He claimed there wasn't order against her and swore to have the matter investigated by their best agent. The idea that a spectre might have gone rouge left the councillor thoroughly disturbed. Jane tried to have Pan get information on the assigned agent, but the security surrounding the files was exceptional, even by her standards._

 _She returns to the ship as the last of the supplies are loaded into the cargo hold. Jane is running over the shipping manifest when a pair of arms snake around her stomach and she's pulled into a tight hug. A single whiff of the perfume and Jane knows who it is, "Hi Miri." She turns around to see the raven haired woman pouting slightly._

" _And here I thought I'd actually managed to sneak up on you. How'd you know?"_

" _Perfume. It's lovely by the way." Miranda smiles graciously and holds out a datapad. "What's this?"_

" _A dossier and contact information for a mercenary you might be able to use. He's professional, if a bit crass, and he never breaks a contract." Jane lifts an eyebrow, "I heard you were looking for help. This is all I can get you right now, but there are a few friends out there that I'm going to contact. It's doubtful they can bring many ships to bear, but they'll be able to go searching for staging areas or harass supply lines. I'm sorry I can't do more right now but…" Jane pulls her in for another hug._

" _It's plenty. Any help is appreciated." She pulls away and sheepishly adds, "But, uh… We might need a rain check on you coming to Caliban for the first flight of that 'special project' I told you about. Things are a bit… dicey right now."_

" _That's alright. Just promise me you'll be okay."_

" _I will. I'll keep in contact as much as I can." Kalen steps out from the airlock to call for her._

" _Come on captain. Launch schedule has us away in ten and you know how pissy they get if we delay." Jane nods while he absentmindedly scratches his chest. He's been doing that for a while now thanks to a little something that got added to his suit's cleaning solution. They watch as he heads back inside, scratching all the way._

" _Is he okay?" Miranda looks torn between concern and laughter._

" _Yep. He pulled a little prank on me, so Pan and I are getting back at him. We just need to remember not to over do it, right Pan?" Her little hologram pops up over Jane's omnitool._

" _Hey, I already apologized!"_

" _And what did we learn?" Pan sighs explosively before responding._

" _A tickle is a prank, chemical burns are assault…"_

" _And?"_

" _And anything that we have to wake up Dr. Chawkas at 2am to take care of is way, way, way too far. Yes, I got it. Can we please move on?!" Jane nods and the little hologram winks out. She turns back to Miranda with a frown._

" _I'm sorry that we can't stay more. I promise that next year things will be different. We're going to hang out and celebrate our birthdays together." Miranda waves goodbye as Jane backs up the ramp into the ship. The first thing Jane does is contact the mercenary from the dossier. "Hello. Mr. Massani? Good. I need you to find something for me."_

 _Date_ _: 6.18.2175_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Taracus**

"What do you mean we've lost contact?!" His new adjutant, the fourth in a month, takes two steps back in panic. Taracus has developed a rather nasty habit of shooting messengers that bring bad news.

"Well sir, we aren't receiving anything from beyond the relay anymore. A small fleet of vessels from the Asari Republics has formed a blockade of the Omega system's relay and is stopping any ship from reinforcing." Taracus works a single talon along an old scar on his throat, picking ever so slightly against the plates there.

"You're telling me that the Citadel has begun protecting the Terminus?"

"N-not the entire Citadel sir. Right now it's just asari ships. We think it's a private venture… maybe someone with a personal vendetta." The man squeals in terror when Taracus draws his dagger and jabs it at him.

"Do not talk to me of vendettas!" He keeps the dagger aimed at his underling's throat as he tries to decide on what to do. The idea of bringing it to Jortan is immediately dismissed. The bastard didn't care anymore, that much was obvious. "Find out who is doing this immediately!" He pulls the dagger back and storms away. Taracus briefly considers the offer he received. Haliet made a good pitch and soon he'll be in a position to take advantage. He's worked hard to spread his influence far enough to make a move, but for now he'll need to maintain his position. He grits his teeth in silent fury and makes plans to keep the pressure on their enemies.

At least the new contingency orders got through. The witch won't be capturing anymore command ships.

 _Date_ _: 9.29.2175_

 _Location : System 34-3Z, 2 relays out from Alon_

 **Jane**

 _The fleet pours out of the relay for the third time this month, spearheaded by a now scarred and battle hardened pair of cruisers. Ipsu and Ilsu have proven their worth time and again since launch, despite their less than pleasing aesthetic design. Representative Eugene said it best when he said they were built like a pair of 'brick shithouses'. They were ugly, but damned effective. The triple layered hulls could take a pounding and an almost absurdly dense broadside made them perfect for diving into dense formations to raise hell while the rest of the fleet swarmed around to strike from the sides. Her smile pulls against the new scars on her throat. A close encounter with a vorcha wearing a explosive vest had laid her out in the infirmary for a week._

" _All ships engage assigned groups. Do not fall back until every objective is achieved. Confirm orders." A couple captains are little hesitant, but no one argues this time, not after what happened to Braga. When the bastard tried to bolt too soon, multiple captains had thought if was part of the plan. The ensuing gap in formation left half a dozen damaged ships vulnerable to torpedo strikes. After that they'd been forced to fall back early with severe damage across most of the fleet, leaving behind four shattered wrecks. The relay fell soon after as repairs went on. Aethyta's arrival at Omega was all that kept the Wake from reinforcing before everyone was able to get back into the fleet. Braga's own people had delivered his head as contrition for his betrayal._

" _All ships have confirmed. Thirty seconds to contact." Pandora's hologram is idly dancing on the tactical console as the two fleets converge. The cruisers dive straight in, letting their heavy shields and armor carry them through the firestorm that quickly envelopes them. As soon as they reach the heart of the Wake formation, their broadsides light up, smashing through the weaker kinetic barriers of the targets with ease. While they gut the enemy, the Pale Horse leads an entire wing of frigates on a strafing run of the largest enemy vessel. The main gun belts out almost a hundred shells before they scream by, the engines pushing them too fast to be tracked by the enemy's guardian systems. In their wake, the target ship is rocked by a series of internal explosions. It's a beautiful sight, seeing the enemy's primary magazine go up in after a lucky shot._

 _Century's avatar joins Pan at tactical. "We are receiving word from Admiral Tiberius."_

" _Put him on." One of the secondary screens switches from a tac screen to a view of Dun-Alon's command vessel. The destroyer was almost as large as a cruiser, but the company had opted for speed over heavier weapons. Tiberius himself has become quite the ugly bastard since the war started. He was nearly killed by the same vorcha that got close to Jane. The stubborn warrior had chosen to let the scars show rather getting corrective surgery. He said it gave him more gravitas. Jane thinks he just likes the extra attention from the ladies._

" _Shepard, we've found the new command ship."_

" _Where?" Tiberius sends over the target information. "Oh… it looks like they're learning." In the beginning, the Wake commanders would always choose the largest vessel for their flagship. It was fun to punish them for those mistakes. She has a couple of their heads in storage. The current 'command' ship is a small frigate hiding on one side of the fleet. The only reason they found it is because a command ship can't command without sending out orders and there's only so much that you can plan before a battle._

" _They let slip a few maneuver orders. The Ipsu and Ilsu are taking a pounding, but they can hold long enough to let you go after him."_

" _Copy that. Keep them busy Admiral." The channel closes and her crew is already getting ready. Jane hits the intercom, "By the book guys. Gavin get Blue ready to go. Assault team two, lock and load." Kal calls to Spits and they head for the hanger. Teg slumps down at tactical and pouts while Jane talks to John. "Keep her in one piece until we get back."_

" _No problem." He settles into her chair without a hint of the old doubt that used to dog him every time she left him in charge. "Century, maintain tracking for all primary targets. Get firing solutions for the torpedoes. Kalia keep us steady and-" Jane leaves him to it, confident that he has it well in hand. Karin is checking each member of the assault team before letting them through. She refills medigel slots, double checks medkits, and whispers a quiet word of encouragement as they pass. At Jane's turn she gives a sad smile, running a finger over the scars from the vorcha._

" _This time, keep away from the walking bombs please. I don't want you lazing about in my medbay. Understood?" Jane chuckles and nods. The rest of the team is already waiting. Spits is bouncing up and down with excitement while Kal swaps out a mod on his rifle. Lia is standing off to the side running through a series of mnemonic patterns to center herself._

" _Are you ready for this?" The boys both nod and climb in, but Lia steps closer._

" _I'm ready." She's not sure how the asari has managed to overcome the loss of her eyes, but Lia can fight again. A few biotic sparring sessions had proved it to Jane._

" _I know. I have faith." Lia smiles and nods, carefully retying to silk band over empty eyes. She climbs into the gunship and straps in._

" _Assault team two, make ready for deployment in thirty seconds." John's voice is calm and assured, despite the have tremors running through the deck. The bay doors open seconds before they're over the target and Gavin doesn't waste any time. Blue's engines scream to full power, pushing them into the insane maze of ship to ship fire consuming the area. Jane prays that modified target scramblers still work. The target's shields have been stripped away by careful missile strikes, leaving their shuttle bay open to a barrage from Blue's main gun. The old rail cannon had been replaced by a miniature version of the Pale Horse's main gun. A barrage of hypervelocity shells peels the doors open like they were main of tin. Gavin has to pull to the side as tons of unsecured cargo come flying out, along with a pair of shuttles that weren't properly locked down._

" _Everybody brace." Blue shoots into the hanger. Some of the paint is scraped off by the jagged remnants of the doors, but other than that they're good to go. Blue touches down, maglocks to the deck, and the doors slide open._

" _Go go go!" Jane leaps out first with a barrier holding back the sporadic fire from the incoming security team. Kal lays down suppressive fire and Jane sprints into contact with Spits. While she cuts her targets to ribbons, he mauls the survivors with tusk and claw. As the first security team falls, a second tries to engage only to be hurled into the wall by a cascade of biotic energy. Lia stalks forward, wreathed in violet energy like one of the old sirens from her people's legends. The few survivors die quickly from Kal's careful shots. "Okay, time for the real work. Kal and Lia get to the engine room. Spits and I will grab the big guy. Let's get it done."_

 **Chakwas**

She waits for the hanger to re-pressurize with her medkit in hand. As the doors slide open the deck shakes madly and John warns everyone that the grav plating is about to be shut down across most of the ship. She can hear Jane shouting into the comm, "Get us away now! Get clear!" Karin steps over to the gunship to check everyone over but Jane pulls her in and slaps harness in place. "Hold on this isn't gonna be fun. Pan get me Tiberius!" Pandora's avatar actually looks worried as she sends out the call.

"Shepard! Thank the spirits! We can't hold much longer, do you have the target?"

"Nevermind that right now! All ships pull back, code Omicron!" The comm goes completely silent for several seconds before Tiberius starts vehemently cursing.

"Faleshtat! Code Omicron confirmed!" The deck pitches violently and Karin is nearly crushed into the seat as the hanger's gravity field is drastically weakened to allow more power to be routed to the engines.

"What is happening?!"

"This prick had a back up plan." Jane kicks a moaning bundle strapped to the floor. It's a brutalized salarian. He's missing a leg and the stump has been roughly cauterized. Further observation becomes impossible as the force of acceleration brings her closer to blacking out. Before everything can go dark she feels a jolt in through the deck and gravity begins to settle back to normal levels. "Report."

The comm squeals with static a few times before clearing enough for them to hear John. "We're through the relay. Most of the fleet's waiting for us."

"Most?" Jane's left hand is holding the seat so hard that the metal is warping under her grip.

"... A few ships were too damaged to reach the relay in time. At least four had to be left behind. Don't know how many were caught in the blast." Jane levels a murderous glare at the salarian on the floor. The air becomes almost unbreathable as ozone floods the area. She likely would have torn the Wake prisoner to pieces had Lia not been there. The asari gently lays a hand on Jane's shoulder.

"He will pay Jane, but we must find out how many more are hidden amongst the fleet." The young lieutenant lets out a shuddering sigh before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Karin please make sure he doesn't die… yet." Everyone unbuckles their harnesses and slowly step out of the gunship.

"Jane what happened?" She scratches her artificial arm vigorously be responding.

"They had a failsafe on the command ship. An eezo bomb. The timer got set as soon as we took the hanger. That piece of shit," She jabs a finger at the prisoner, "set off a bomb in the middle of his own fleet to try and kill us. We need to know how many of those little surprises the Wake fleet has left. So please keep him alive. I've gotta go find out how bad we got hit."

 **Jane**

 _She's quietly seething as Tiberius goes over the numbers. "Two frigates destroyed during the battle. A further four damaged so badly that they had to remain behind during the retreat. One destroyer, one frigate, and three corvettes caught in the eezo explosion. Partial crew recovery on all lost ships except for those destroyed in the blast."_

" _Ipsu and Ilsu?"_

" _Mauled, but alive. Both have returned to Caliban for repairs. Shepard, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but we have to fall back. The relay will fall in a matter of days and we are too badly damaged to do any more good here." She's grinding her teeth in rage at the prospect of falling back completely, but even the Pale Horse desperately needs repairs._

" _Alright. Century, send word to all commands. Return to Caliban for refit and repair." The geth acknowledges and Jane turns back to Tiberius. "Give me some good news." His mandibles flare in a turian smirk._

" _Well, we did manage to take down all the targets. Both fuel tankers are wreckage and the repair tender is part of our fleet now. The assault teams are still clearing out some of the local vermin but it should be in service within three weeks."_

" _The missile boats?"_

" _Dusted and a good thing too. We might use better ordinance, but the swarm fire from those bastards has cost us a lot of strike craft since this all started." Tiberius pushes a dataslate across the table towards her. "Here. The new command rosters. A few captains were killed or injured. The replacements are mostly qualified, though I'll be happy when the experts are back in place." Jane mimes the chuckle even if she can't actually feel the amusement. They lost almost a thousand people today. At least replacements weren't hard to come by. Once they 'accidentally' let the people they were protecting know just what was trying to get through, volunteers started pouring in by the freighterfull._

" _Alright, anything else?"_

" _Nothing critical. I'll send word of the final figures once we have them, along with anything we can get from your prisoner." After he leaves, Jane spends several hours looking through the casualty lists. It's something of a ritual for her to go through and memorize every name. She's owes them that much at least._

 _Date_ _: 10.1.2175_

 _Location : Caliban Dockyards._

 **Malagen**

The project is coming along nicely. They are fully supplied and the support staff is so abundant that he's actually had to refuse almost four hundred applicants. With things going so well he should be giddy at the progress they've made. He should be, but they're too damn busy for him to waste time on that.

Malagen knows what is coming for them. He knows what will happen if the Red Wake breaks through the final relay and retakes the system. Most of his family was taken by the slavers during the last cull. Revenge never seemed possible until he heard about the effort to purge the Wake from the Terminus. Now that the future of the sector rests on them finishing the project as soon as possible, Malagen has begun pushing himself to the absolute limit to see it done. His clan leaders would be proud of him, if any were still alive today. As another of the heavy gun pods is lowered into place his comm goes off. It's Shepard's digital assistant calling him to the conference room and he leaves the gigantic dock to meet with the returning commanders.

Along the way he spots the returning fleet through one of the massive windows lining the outer paths of the shipyard. It's a grizzly sight. Even from here he can see several ships with entire decks open to the void. Some are venting atmosphere as their damaged environmental systems struggle to contain any breaches. A few are even being towed in by tugs. "Not a pretty sight is it?" He never can hear Shepard coming. The human woman is absentmindedly scratching at her left arm as the two of them look out at the fleet.

"By the wheel Shepard, what happened?"

"We found an eezo enhanced bomb on the command ship. The fleet had to break away to escape in time and that meant breaking formation. We couldn't cover each other properly without risking being caught in the blast. Should've guessed what was gonna happen when the Wake began sacrificing good positions to get themselves to a safe distance." Shepard turns and gestures for him to follow. They arrive to find the conference room nearly empty apart from the leaders of Dun-Alon and the Asari that's always shadowing Shepard. "Alright let's skip all the bullshit and get right to it. How long until Typhon can launch?" They all turn to him with hopeful eyes. At least he has some good news for them.

"We are well ahead of schedule. With our current work rate and the time needed for proper testing, I predict launch in two months." The turian commander scratches his talons across his mandibles, shaking his head with a pained look on his face. The krogan leaders trade a dubious look with each other. He doesn't understand why they're so upset. This should have had them jumping for joy. Instead it looks like someone just told them their favorite pet just died. Jane sighs heavily.

"What would happen if you tried to launch now?" He splutters a few times.

"Now? Now?! We...we can't possibly launch now! Typhon is only eighty percent complete! Vast swathes of the ship are still uninhabitable and most of the GARDIAN turrets haven't been installed yet. The armor only provides partial coverage, **at best**."

"Is the main gun working?"

"I, yes, but that-"

"The secondary batteries?"

"Well yes but-"

"The lance?"

"Theoretically, but-"

"Shields, drone bays, missile ports?" He nods weakly. She can't possibly be thinking of doing this. Shepard has never shown any interest in less than the absolute best for the vessels he produced here. Something is wrong.

"Why are you pushing for an early launch? The Wake won't arrive for months. We should take that time and finish the job! Many of the systems we are using are highly experimental. If we launch too early, we risk catastrophe!" Jane knocks on the table and a hologram of the galaxy pops up. The local relay cluster is lit up in green, with the fallen relays colored in red. The rest of the galaxy is greyed out.

"The Wake will eventually send a relief force to break the blockade in Omega. We can't harass the fleet beyond Alon until we make some serious repairs. Right now our fleets have about the same number of ships, though ours need some love before we re-engage. The only way to ensure that we can put up a fight when the bastards get serious about this is to break their current force as quickly as possible. Right now there are half a dozen freighters laying a minefield at the second relay in the line. That'll slow them down a little bit but it won't stop them. When they break through, and they will, Typhon has to be waiting for them."

Malagen runs a hand along the table as he tries to process it all. "There are some things that we can expedite, but I have to warn you that this will leave Typhon extremely vulnerable." The krogan both scoff and speak in unison.

"Not as vulnerable as it'll be if it's still in drydock when the bastards get here." He can't help but agree. A ship at anchor was easy prey to anything with a torpedo tube strapped to it.

Though it leaves his stomach in a knot, Malagen has only one choice. "Very well. We shall do whatever it takes to get Typhon ready for contact. It will take at least another three weeks though. Do we have that long?" Shepard nods and the meeting winds down to a discussion of crew allotments and munition delivery schedules. He barely listens to any of it as his mind is lost in a sea of terrible thoughts on just how horribly this could end.

"Malagen." He almost leaps out of his skin at Shepard voice. To his surprise, the conference room is empty apart from him and his human superior. "Are you sure you can do this?" He'd be insulted if he wasn't so worried.

"Yes. I still think it's a terrible idea but Typhon will launch in time. Shepard… you need to understand something." She sits in a chair next to him and nods. "This venture… the margin of error is razor thin. A single miscalculation on our part and we won't even need the Wake to arrive for us to meet our end."

"I know but this is our only option. Until my man beyond the relay finds their dockyards, all we can do is hold as best we can. I have faith in you Malagen. If anyone can get Typhon ready, it's you." He nods and leaves Shepard alone. There's a great deal that needs to be done.

 _Date_ _: 10.19.2175_

 _Location : Caliban Dockyards._

 **Jane**

 _Telling Malagen to get ready for an early launch had hurt more than she expected. At least he seemed somewhat confident despite his doubts. The launch date is rapidly approaching and getting Typhon going has become more important than ever thanks to the news Massani sent. She's waiting in the conference room for a call, chewing her fingernails and worrying the whole time. At least Taseen is punctual. The screen lights up and her hyperactive relay expert immediately launches into his favorite activity, frantically shouting about what's happening. "Shepard! Excellent news! Breakthrough! Stunning realization! Stupendous-" Jane raises her hand to cut him off._

" _Take a few breaths Taseen and slow down." He visibly restrains his enthusiasm, though he's still bouncing with excitement._

" _Yes yes yes. Need to breathe, maintain composure, share findings. Have proven theory on how relays achieve near instantaneous pan-galactic travel. Using mass effect, relay's force target vessel's mass to cross threshold into negative values. Not thought possible among majority of scientific community and most not willing to do thorough testing on relays due to risk of permanent damage. Have discovered that upon achieving negative mass, vessel is pushed into different quantum state, one in which surpassing speed of light is not impossible!"_

" _And the corridor the relay establishes keeps the target vessel in that alternate quantum state?" Taseen's head bobs up and down so hard Jane is actually worried that he'll hurt himself._

" _Yes! Major break-through! Whole new avenues to explore! A billion possibilities open to us!" Jane puts aside her fascination and gets to the reason she set up a meeting with him._

" _Glad to hear that Taseen. Is the relay back in one piece?"_

" _Yes. Some complications but relay is restored to ninety percent functionality."_

" _Good. Start packing up all your equipment and get ready to ship everyone back to your personal lab by the end of the year." He blinks at her rapidly. Jane waits for the inevitable deluge of questions and Taseen doesn't disappoint._

" _Pack up? Leave? Can't leave now! Familiar with this relay. Need to continue research! Disassemble and reassemble multiple time sto perfect technique. Why leave? Why change venue? Need more data!"_

" _Something is coming and we need to be ready. Do you remember how you got banned from Citadel space in the first place?"_

" _Why ask that? Of course I do! Dark spot on record. Humiliating…"_

" _Do you think you could do it again?"_

 _Date_ _: 10.18.2175_

 _Location : Torfan_

 **Taracus**

Today's the day. Today he sheds the shame of sitting back and waiting. Today he sets the bulk of the Wake back on the right path and the first thing to do is confront Jortan. A dozen men are marching behind him, each one in charge of thousands that will soon be leaving this prison of wasted potential behind. They ascend to Jortan's tower with no opposition until they're right outside his doors. The remaining priests bar the way. "Move aside creatures! I would have words with our _leader_." The disdain in his voice is met with stony silence from the priests. They don't even twitch under the robes. Taracus snarls in annoyance and tries to push his way past them, only to find a the razored edge of a dark blade pressed against his throat. He didn't even see the man move…

His men at the base of the steps pull their weapons and make ready to fire, but before things can fall apart, the great doors open and Jortan calmly marches out. "Peace my holy men. Allow Brother Taracus forward." The blade immediately leaves his throat and the creatures step aside. He marches up to Jortan with a sneer. The disgusting blue cybernetics have spread across every visible inch of his flesh, leaving him looking like a reanimated corpse. "Say what you need to say brother." The fury is almost impossible to contain. This… this _Faleshtat_ has sat back and allowed their plans to stagnate for years… and he doesn't seem to care at all.

"We are leaving Jortan. For too long we have sat here and done nothing while the humans and that monster of theirs have spread like a plague. No more! My men and I are leaving and we will be taking most of the fleet with us, along with the men directly under their command. We will not sit here and wait a single moment longer!" His followers give a rowdy cheer from behind the line of priests. Instead of the anger or indignation that Taracus had almost been hoping to see, Jortan has the gall to simply smile and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know brother. Long have you served and faithfully at that, but it is indeed time for our paths to diverge. Do what you believe you must. None shall try to hinder you. May the gods bless your holy crusade." It nearly drives him mad to hear such encouragement in the face of what a reasonable man would see as mutiny. Despite the blinding fury, Taracus nods before turning on his heel and marching out. Once beyond the doors he immediately starts belting out orders.

"Tell all our ships to break anchor and proceed to their targets by the hidden routes. I don't care that it will take longer. We need to maintain surprise if this is going to work." His commanders begin to split off to gather their men for the coming mission. As Taracus forges ahead, the fury begins to fade away. It feels good to actually be doing something again.

 **Jortan**

"You have done well brother Jortan. Taracus was never a true believer." He nods at the priest's approval.

"Yes. Sadly he never truly held the faith, but he was a good soldier. Loyal to a fault and brave in all things. It is a shame that we shall never see him again."


	70. Chapter 70

_**It took a long time but here's the next chapter.**_

 ** _At the request of reader_** FluffyDwagy _**I've set up a Discord Server (Sorry it took so long Fluffy)**_

 _ **Bear in mind that I didn't even know about Discord until**_ FluffyDwagy _**mentioned it so I'm still figuring it out.**_

 _ **If you're interested, left me know and I'll send you an invite**_

 _ **And now, on to the chapter**_

 **Chapter 70 - On the Brink**

 _Date_ _: 10.29.2175_

 _Location : Caliban Dockyards_

 **Jane**

 _It's obscene to see something so powerful rushed out of dock in the final stretch instead receiving the proper love and attention it needed. As the behemoth ever so slowly inches out of its home for the first time, Jane can't ignore the sound of barely contained grief coming from Malagen "This is wrong. Something so beautiful deserves more than a rush job like this."_

" _I know. We wouldn't be doing it like this if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Once the Wake is pushed back, we'll have time to give it some TLC." Jane puts a hand on Malagen's shoulder, "For what it's worth, you did an excellent job with the time we had." Her salarian friend nods sadly as Typhon clears the end of the dock._

" _When the time comes, I want to be on board." Malagen looks her way. "This project has been my life since its inception. No one knows her like I do. There is no one in the galaxy that can look after her like me." Jane smiles at him as they both head for the conference room. The final plans need to be put in place. There isn't much time._

 _Date_ _: 10.30.2175_

 _Location : System 12.111 - One Relay out from Alon_

 **Tasar**

"How much longer?" he asks again. He's the ninth man to lead this disaster of a campaign and spirits willing, he'll be the last one needed. They've been beating themselves bloody trying to reclaim these Terminus sectors, taking horrific casualties all the way. It wouldn't be so bad if supplies were consistent, but the asari blockade was strangling resupply and reinforcement to a trickle of damaged ships that manage to slip through. They can't turn around to clear them out either. The witch would pounce on them like a vorcha on table scraps. The best they can do is to push ahead, through the blood, guts, and wreckage of their fallen brothers, like they've done since this idiot mission began.

He was there from the beginning. Not as the commander, but as a clade leader for a slaver cabal. His mandibles flare in a grimace at the thought that with so many of the original commanders having been slaughtered, _he_ was the highest ranking member of the Red Wake left out here. With that oh so happy thought drifting around in his head, Tasar turns again to the grey suited quarian woman standing off to the side, ignoring him like he was some insect beneath her notice. His glare could freeze a star. "How. Much. Longer?" She deigns to look at him for a single second before scoffing and turning back to her omnitool.

"If there was even a shred of competence among the hoards of scum infesting this repulsive… _fleet_ ," she's astonishingly uppity for a suit rat, "then this matter would already have been solved. Do not pester me with inane questions while I am working and I will finish sooner." If they didn't need her to break the encryptions, Tasar would've had her thrown from the airlock months ago.

The turian slaver lets the rolling snarl in his chest answer her snide attitude, which she promptly ignores. They've already been waiting for weeks. What's another day or- "There we are. The sequences are locked into place. It will take another three days before the blocks are broken, but it is inevitable now." Tasar sits up straight in his chair and looks to her again.

"It's an automated process?"

"Correct."

"Does it need any further input from here on?" She glares at him, finally understanding what he's driving at. The quarian puts a hand behind her back.

"Don't you dare…" He can see her glowing eyes narrow behind the faceplate. "You will regret it." Tasar has had enough of her attitude and now that they don't actually need her…

Two of his men take the hint and move forward. She aims her omnitool at the closer of the pair, letting loose a powerful surge of energy. The bolt strikes him in the face, boiling away his eyes and burning off every scrap of flesh. The second checks his advance, gawking in fear as the hand behind her back comes forward with a small disk clutched in her deceptively delicate looking fingers. It mag locks to his chest on impact and starts glowing in a painfully bright white. The man's screams echo through half the ship as the flash forged incendiary melts through his torso. Tasar grinds his teeth while the rest of security brings their weapons to bear. In response she just waves a hand towards the nearest console. A countdown timer pops up on every screen and her voice spills from the bridge speakers. "30, 29, 28." Tasar looks around in confusion.

"What is that? What the hell did you do?!" The quarian stands with hands on her hips and looks down at him in disgust.

"Did you really think that I would board the ship of a filthy slaver without an insurance policy?" 19, 18, 17, "My crew and I can trigger a core breach at any time, should you try this idiocy again. Remember that." 10, 9, 8. Tasar quickly calls off the rest of security. As the timer reaches 3 she waves her hand again and ends the countdown. "To make up for that incredibly stupid attempt to slither out of paying your debt, my price has now gone up. I want her geth, the AI that looks like her, and now her ship as well. If any of these conditions are not met, I will detonate this vessel and re-engage the IFF locks on the relays, trapping the rest of your ass licking dupes out here for her to pick off at her leisure." The quarian flips an infuriating gesture his way before turning on her heel. "I will retire to my personal ship for the remainder of this venture. The automated systems will tell you when the time comes to move forward. Contact me when you have my fee."

Humiliated, Tasar can only stare in endless hatred as she disappears through the hatch.

 _Date_ _: 11.3.2175_

 _Location : Alon System - 500,000 Km from relay_

 **Jane**

" _The final locks have been breached. Based on observed Wake habits after previous breaches, we predict 3.2 hours to prepare for enemy arrival." Jane nods to Century and opens a channel to the entire fleet._

" _Alright boys and girls, this is it. We've got less than four hours before they enter the system. Stick to the plan, keep a level head, and we'll get through this together." The entire fleet signals their acknowledgement. They've put in a lot of work and most of the ships in formation are nearly at full strength. Jane and her crew settle in for the final wait. Kalia is fidgeting in her seat, ready fly into the heart of the action. Kal and Kalen are running final checks on the engine room. Lia is kneeling in the cargo hold, whispering prayers to her goddess over the comm. John, Teg, and Veritan are doing one last inventory of the remaining missiles and torpedoes. Gavin is checking Blue one last time. Karin is getting the infirmary ready for what is certainly going to be a long day, with Vollor preloading medigel shots and preparing sterile bandages. Dib is nervously going over casualty predictions to help establish priority levels for triage, including what ships will receive preferential treatment for repairs later._

 _-Dark reds and blacks of bitter fate. Hateful singers coming to silence songs of hope. Sour melodies! Does Doom Singer wish good songs and soothing melody?-_

 _Scratch and Skitter are crawling through the ventilation system, looking for any signs of damage. The little bugs were great for sniffing out problem areas in the ducts. "Sure guys. Something light to calm everybody down." The little workers start 'singing' in their own special way, easing the the tension just enough for everybody to stay focused. Even Skittles seems to be excited, though that might have more to do with the fact that they didn't have time to fix everything perfectly. The keeper is scuttling from one panel to another, frantically ripping out overly rushed patch jobs before using tools from his little backpack to set things right._

 _Spits is… Spits. Her buddy has never been the most nuanced of creatures. Right now he's laying belly up at her feet and snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Jane idly rubs his belly with her foot as they wait. Tiberius calls a few times to give updates on mission critical items, like the comm buoys around the relay or the asteroid being pulled into place behind it, but for the most part the comm is nearly silent for hours. That silence finally breaks when Pandora's avatar pops up next to Jane. "They're coming…" That's all she needs to say. Jane opens the fleet comm one more time._

" _Pale Horse to all commanders… Brace for contact."_

 **Tasar**

The Red Wake fleet emerges from the relay in near perfect formation. To his surprise, they don't come under immediate fire. Instead his crew reports another fleet, equal in size with their own, massed a full 500,000 km from the relay. Close enough to reach firing range quickly, but far enough away that his forces will have time to counter any moves they make. It's disturbing to see several stolen Red Wake ships in the enemy formation, repainted and likely packing even heavier firepower than before. "I don't like this…" His second turns to him in confusion.

"What do you mean sir? We finally have them."

"That's what I mean. They've never stood off like this before. It's always been their habit to attack fast and fall back. They've never left us room to breathe before. What's changed? What are they planning?" The question is burning away at him as both fleets begin their opening maneuvers.

 **Jane**

 _This isn't what the Pale Horse was designed for. Her little ship was a knife fighter, meant to scream into point blank range, unleash hell, and then dart away just as quickly. This long range chess game style of ship to ship combat turned her stomach. Right now there isn't much for her to do other than keep an eye on the overall situation. Missiles and railgun fire slowly cross the massive gap between the two fleets, occasionally hitting a target but mostly just causing a few ships to shift position._

 _The Wake force burns their engines hard to close the distance. At close range it'll be an ugly fight. The problem is that the Wake can take the loses. Her forces can't. As the range bleeds away, the local fleet begins to spread out into a semi-spherical formation. Swarms of missiles are crossing the vast distance between the two masses of ships and several vessels are blown apart on both sides. Jane listens to damage reports from every ship in range. Despite the growing maelstrom of fire, they maintain formation, "Come on you bastards… just a little bit more…"_

 _Century calls out the closing gap, "100k kilometers and closing. 75… 60… 50k kilometers. We predict effect combat range in thirty seconds." Pan pops up on one of the blank screens._

" _We should do it now, before they realize something's up." Jane watches the range plummeting._

" _Not yet… not yet, " 40k, "Almost there…" 30k. Another frigate in formation detonates along with one in the approaching swarm. Their icons wink out in her tac screen. The enemy reaches the 20k mark and incoming fire becomes more difficult to avoid. At 10k Jane opens the encrypted channel, "Tiberius. Typhon is a go."_

 **Tiberius**

"Tiberius. Typhon is a go." He takes a deep breath to steady himself before answering. This is it. It will either be glorious or explosively humiliating.

"Understood. Comms, send word to the tugs. They are clear to move the shield." Moments later a quartet of heavy duty tugs use their grav tethers to pull the asteroid between them and the enemy out of the way. The battle is too far way to actually see from here, but the sensors are already picking out targets. He singles out the largest ship the Wake fleet has left, a heavy cruiser. "Tiberius to Malagen, report."

"The lance is nearly ready admiral. Please keep in mind that it might explode. It probably won't… but it might."

"Understood. How long to full charge?"

"We've been trickle charging since the Wake arrived. If we cycle to combat charge levels we can be ready in ten seconds."

"Do it." Malagen confirms and soon enough, the entire ship starts trembling. Tiberius mouths a silent plea to the spirits that this will work. "Put the lance on the main viewer. Helm, line us up with target alpha." A view of the huge weapon latched onto the keel of Typhon appears on the screen. The lance was the equivalent of artillery in space, with a simple basic premise. A longer railgun is a stronger railgun. The lance took that to the extreme. It was purpose built to be attached to the Typhon's main gun, adding almost four kilometers to the already massive weapon built along the keel of the ship. The power requirements were so extreme that the lance had six of its own dedicated reactors. Each one cycles to full output and Malagen sends word.

"We're ready admiral. Fire immediately or we risk containment failure."

"Understood." He turns to the man on tactical. "Fire." The sequence is put in place and Typhon speaks for the first time.

 **Tasar**

The echoes of screams slowly drag him out of his stupor and he wipes the gushing blood away from his eyes. "Report!" No one answers. Tasar tries to rail against his disobedient underlings, but none of the survivors are intact enough to be of any use, so he stumbles over to tactical himself. The console is splattered in blood from the corpse by his feet. Tasar frantically tries to access sensors, but nothing is coming through. The only things in the bridge still active are the emergency lights. "Why?! If everything else is out then…" A terrible possibility comes to mind and he sprints out of the bridge. Tasar runs through the halls as fast as he can before skidding to a halt halfway to the engine room. One of the airtight bulkheads is blocking his way but the viewport is still uncovered. Tasar looks through and feels his plates shrivel in terror.

The ship has been torn in two.

 **Jane**

 _Teg punches a fist in the air, roaring about giving the enemy a good plowing as the two halves of the Wake's lead ship sail apart from each other. All that stops her from doing the same is that painful itch in her left arm. She frantically scratches it while sending orders. "Tiberius, choose another target and fire as soon as you can. All ships, maintain position."_

 _The ruined halves of the lead ship are tumbling away from the impact point. Some of the escorts nearby are clipped by the debris, leaving them crippled and vulnerable, but there's plenty more where those came from. Hopefully Malagen can get the lance ready for another shot soon._

 **Malagen**

His elation at a successful first shot is somewhat tempered by the near death experiences that followed. As soon as the shell was sent screaming down the length of the monstrous weapon, things started going wrong. "Scram reactor 5! NOW! Flush emergency coolant through every conduit and reboot the system!" The engineering crew rushes to obey whilst doing their best to ignore the sparks flying from a dozen malfunctioning consoles.

Tiberius is trying to get through as they frantically scramble to keep everything together. "Malagen! Malagen you beautiful bastard! It worked! It really worked!" He rolls his eyes and wriggles into a rad suit. One of his apprentices is waving a datapad in front of him, screaming about the rising radiation levels.

Malagen snatches the pad away and taps the younger salarian on the head hard enough to shut him up, "I know! Get your own suit on and get back to work! We need to fire again!" The damaged panels are all shut down as the engineering crew reroutes the controls to the back up systems. Tiberius is still calling in his ear so Malagen finally accepts the signal from the bridge. "This is Malagen, go ahead."

"What the hell is going on down there?! Power is fluctuating all over the ship!"

"We're suffering from an energy backwash caused by overloading the lance's capacitors. The excess had to go somewhere and the path of least resistance was back into the ship. We're dealing with it." He can hear Tiberius audibly try to relax.

"Alright, understood. How long until we can fire again?" Malagen checks the numbers and delivers the news.

 **Jane**

 _They were expecting a reduced rate of fire, but not this much. "Ten minutes Shepard. It'll take that long to cool down and re-align the rails. Malagen says it has to be perfect. A single centimeter out of line while firing will-"_

" _Will rip the lance apart and that might tear the ship to pieces. Got it. Maintain position and take the shots when you can." When the asteroid was pulled away to reveal the massive winged Typhon not many Wake ships broke formation. After all, it was quite far away and normal weapons fire would take a while to arrive. The lance put paid to that hope. That first shot came screaming through at 20 percent the speed of light and split the enemy cruiser in two in an instant. The enemy formation then began to rapidly crumble as multiple commanders attempted to seize control in place of their now mute leader._

 _While they scramble, the allied forces are keeping up a steady bombardment, coupled by a second shot from Typhon, ripping through two frigates. The wreckage tumbles away, disrupting the cluster of ships even further. As the formation crumbles completely, the next phase begins with a torpedo barrage. The Pale Horse fires four heavy warheads, adding to a swarm of a hundred others. The rest aren't as good, but in such large numbers, it really won't matter. The Wake fleet burns their engines hard to escape the incoming swarm, only to be met by another from behind and a missile barrage arcing in from above and below. Typhon is armed with a dozen torpedo tubes and each one is pumping out warheads half the size of a Mako as fast as possible. Caught between two overwhelming hoards of ordinance, there's nowhere for them to go. Half the Wake fleet is torn apart in the storm. "Shepard to all ships, move in.."_

 **Tiberius**

A third shot from the lance cores the last destroyer in the enemy fleet as the message to move in is received. "Alright, now we see what this thing can really do. Take us to attack speed. Prep for close range engagement." Tiberius opens a channel to engine room but he's forced to wait for almost a minute for the mayhem on the other end to die down. He hears someone shouting about a fire and at least three separate alarms are blaring as Malagen answers.

"Make it fast Admiral. We have serious problems down here." Any regular member of the crew would get strung up by their plates for such disrespect, but he'll make an exception for the over-stressed salarian.

"We're moving to CQC. Disengage the lance and get ready for damage control calls." Until today, he'd never known a salarian could curse so colorfully. At least Malagen doesn't try to argue, though he's less than agreeable.

"I was actually about to call and advise jettisoning it anyway. The coils down the entire length have melted. It's dead weight. We'll begin the process. Try to avoid at least _some_ incoming fire. We've already got two alarms to deal with down here."

"Two? I can hear three." The comm goes relatively silent for several moments until Malagen starts cursing even louder. The channel closes and Tiberius is left to wonder if the ship will survive the day.

 **Malagen**

"Lock it down! LOCK IT DOWN!" His teams scramble to contain a massive coolant leak. It is the latest in a series of near disasters they face while he runs through the release programs. The ship rumbles as the explosive bolts on the lance detonate, breaking its connection to Typhon. He can take some solace in the fact this one thing works without something exploding. Then a series of electrical arcs surge along the surface of the release panel and he's forced to dive away to avoid a spray of shattered glass as the panel explodes. A member of the team helps him up before running back to her own station. "Attention all engineering crew! We are heading into close range combat! Make ready for damage control calls!" Someone audibly snorts at that, but he doesn't have time to bother with an angry retort. There's too much that needs fixing.

 **Jane**

 _With their numbers drastically cut and their cohesion shattered, the Wake fleet is unable to mount a successful counter charge. The Pale horse is back in its element as Kalia takes them through a high speed run through the tattered formation. Kal's tactical work is as excellent as she's come to expect over the years. Multiple ships are left open to the void from missiles and GARDIAN shots to the vitals. The main gun reaps a heavy bounty, stitching holes across every ship they cross._

 _She looks down at the tactical display to see that Ilsu and Ipsu are moving into the center as per usual. Their over-stacked broadsides send hundreds of shells screaming into the poorly positioned Wake vessels, driving them even further out of formation. As the cruisers and destroyers create a sphere of death at the heart of the fleet, the smaller, faster ships of the allied forces form into wolf packs to pick away at the flanks, clawing into any vessel they can._

 _Coming in behind the warships are the transports carrying Dun-Alon's assault forces. Like a viper pumping venom into its prey, the shuttles latch onto the enemy's ships and unleash hoards over eager warriors. While originally meant for ground combat, circumstances have forced them to become experts in seizing starships. Their assault shuttles aren't heavily shielded, but there are hundreds of them and the enemy fleet's GARDIAN systems are already being swarmed by strike craft, along with hundreds of drones launched from Typhon._

 _The behemoth itself is roaring towards the fight, batting aside incoming fire with it's almost impenetrable shields. There's nothing left in the enemy arsenal powerful enough to hurt it except for torpedoes and its drones are proving to be an excellent temporary stopgap to make up for the missing GARDIAN turrets, performing kamikaze runs to intercept incoming ordinance. Even without the lance, the main gun is powerful enough to shatter shields before cracking the hulls underneath._

 _Several ships are trying to flee, only to run headlong into well-timed broadside fire from the dreadnought. The few that aren't shredded by the hellish cone of fire are left drifting out of control, easy prey for the company assault teams. Typhon and the cruisers meet in the middle of the swirling vortex of warships. Together, they make a mockery of the remaining enemies._

 _One vessel barely manages to run the gauntlet and escape through the relay. Nothing more than a personal transport, it never fired its limited weapons. "Pan, did you get any information of that ship that just passed through the relay."_

" _I was able to get information from every Red Wake ship_ _ **except**_ _that one. It has a cyber-security suite that makes the rest of the fleet look like an unencrypted credit account... I think it was her." Jane cringes at the idea of the quarian escaping. Her cyber attacks were only getting more and more difficult for Century and Pan to handle as she adapted to their abilities._

" _We'll just have to deal with her later. Status of the fleet?"_

 _Kal double checks the sensors, "The last few enemy warships are being neutralized and Dun-Alon marines are storming every crippled target in range."_

" _Good. Tell them to move fast and secure as many as they can. We're going to need them. Century, Pan, have you guys found any more eezo bombs?"_

" _Affirmative. We have pinpointed four separate devices enhanced with element zero. Sending coordinates to targeting systems." Her tac-display flashes twice and updates. Three of the bombs are on crippled ships drifting away from the battle. The fourth is on what's left of the bifurcated command ship. "We have dispatched runtimes to each vessel to prevent detonation and have received data indicating that the command ship device has malfunctioned. It is safe to board and seize the weapon." Good, they'll need that for later._

" _What about the drifters?" Her display changes again to emphasize the three unsecured ships."_

" _We are unable to confirm their status at this time. We recommend extreme caution."_

" _Got it. Veritan, send word to company forces about the other three bombs. Taking them would be useful but it'll be incredibly dangerous. Send volunteers only." Her turian friend nods and sends the word. "Alright everyone, the fight is over, but our day is just getting started. Gavin, get Blue's engines fired up. We are rescue, recovery, and first aid until further notice."_

 **Tiberius**

It takes several hours for him to get permission from Shepard to board the Pale Horse and after stepping through the airlock, he can understand why. Any plans for celebrating their victory are quickly tossed aside when he sees that the relatively tiny ship is completely inundated with casualties. He can see a dozen different uniforms, from a dozen different colonies. Some people are just wearing clothes like dock workers, while others are garbed in Dun-Alon gear. There are turians, batarians, asari, humans, even a few drell and a couple quarian freeriders. All of them are heavily injured.

He carefully picks his way through the densely packed area, looking for Shepard. A few of the wounded reach out to him, but most are too badly hurt to pay him any mind. One of Shepard's crew, a young turin in crimson armor, is bandaging an asari's bleeding forehead. He speaks with a gentle confidence, "If you start feeling overly dizzy, don't hesitate to call me over. Understand?" She quietly says yes and the young man moves on to the next in line, a hanar with three tentacles torn off at the halfway point and crudely cauterized. Before he can get started, the young man notices Tiberius and points a talon further through the crowd. The admiral keeps stepping through the ship until arriving at the medbay. Inside he is greeted by the sound of screams. A batarian is thrashing on the operating table, suffering through agonizing pain as a human doctor does her best to save the man's life. All that stops him from hurting himself is Shepard's iron grip. Grim faced, she holds him in place as the doctor removes shard after shard of shrapnel from his mutilated torso before pushing his organs back into the proper positions. There is blood positively everywhere and a blindfolded asari is frantically trying to clean it away.

The batarian's screams continue as the human doctor uses a small surgical laser to close his stomach. "Alright, he'll survive it now. Give him a larger sedative dose, move him carefully to the cargo hold, and bring in the next." Shepard doesn't hesitate to obey. The batarian is wrapped in a golden aura and hovers out of the room. Moments later, Shepard carries in a turian woman with both legs torn away. Most of her face is little more than scorched plates. She isn't moving…

He spots a symbol on her chest, a stylized turian and krogan grasping forearms in a warrior's greeting. She's one of theirs. "By the spirits…" He's seen many people with brutal wounds before, but seldom has he seen a female in such condition. "Will she live?" Shepard spares him a single glace before turning back to follow the doctor's commands. They work quickly and efficiently, running fluid lines and checking for internal injuries.

"Maybe, but she'll never fight again. Go up to the cargo hold and help Vollor." Transfixed by the sight of the crippled woman, he doesn't move until a loose tray smacks into his chest hard enough to draw a grunt. Tiberius looks up to see Shepard glaring at him. "Help or get the hell off my ship! There's no room for dead weight!" He nods and moves to the next deck up. More wounded are lining the corridor all the way back to the cargo hold where Shepard's hanar crewmate is running a triage center. A krogan with a cracked crest stomps over to him.

Wasting no time on pleasantries, the krogan asks, "You wounded?"

"No." The krogan snarls at his answer.

"Then why are you here? We got no room for dead weight." He nods and looks around the room.

"Shepard said to come help." And that's what he did for nearly twelve hours. Despite his position, Tiberius never once complained as he helped move the wounded, patched torn flesh, and helped relocate the dead. He helped save several lives in that cargo hold, but the one face that would stay with him for the rest of his life was the very last one, a turian that looked quite similar to his own son. The young turin had been brought in from one of the crippled ships less that an hour ago with hideous plasma burns all over his body. Shepard's hanar had given him a powerful sedative to help handle the pain before pulling Tiberius aside.

"To this one's eternal sorrow, there is no way to save the noble turian upon that cot." He points a tentacle at the wounded man. "This one has an onerous request for the redoubtable admiral. This man will not survive and will need someone by his side. Will you sit with him is these last, most difficult moments?" Tiberius numbly agrees and takes a seat next to the dying turin. It's soul-crushing to listen to his wheezing breath as the life slowly drains away from him. Moments before the end, the young man wakes up and weakly tries to call for help. Tiberius kneels nearby to speak to him.

"Don't worry soldier. You're not alone." He tries to sit up and salute after seeing the admiral, but Tiberius puts a hand on his shoulder. "No, rest. You've given enough already. Know that the battle is over, and we stand victorious thanks to mighty warriors, like you. Be proud soldier, the day is ours." For just a moment, Tiberius can see his people's ancestral pride burning bright in the young man's eyes… then the light inside slowly fades away. The boy goes completely still and Tiberius murmurs a prayer to the spirits in his name.

"Feridi Sindas. His ship was the Rikoth." Shepard kneels down to cross the boy's arms over his heart. "When the its turrets overheated, they didn't hesitate to put themselves between the Ilsu and a spread of torpedoes. It saved almost four hundred lives." Tiberius nods and pulls a silvered dagger from his belt. It's a perfect fit in the young man's hands. "Come on. We've got things to talk about." He looks up and his heart sinks. The look in her eyes tells him that things are about to get worse.

 **Jane**

 _After three days of rescue work, clearing captured ships, and towing damaged ones back to Caliban, Jane finally has time to track down Malagen. She finds him in the largest cargo hold in the dockyards. The bay is nearly two kilometers in every direction and every section in the bay is filled with salvage. This particular area is cluttered with the disassembled pieces of the lance. It's an ugly sight. Every section is badly melted or bent into odd shapes. She hears something clatter to the ground a few meters away and finds Malagen forlornly looking through a damaged spur warped to a near 90 degree angle. "Can it be salvaged? He looks up and sighs._

" _Maybe. We're looking at melted coils along eighty percent of the lance. Not a single section longer than half a meter is still straight. The entire thing will have to be pounded back into shape or melted down and reforged. There are enough spare parts from the additional lances I planned on building to rebuild this one, but only at eighty percent power. Given the extreme expense for this one alone… I can't recommend going along with the original plan. It's simply not cost effective." Jane picks up a small piece and grimaces at the ruined coils._

" _Let me guess… we miscalculated." He shakes his head, cocks back his arm, and hurls the piece he was holding into the distance. It clatters to the ground, drawing angry shouts from someone beyond the heap of debris next to them._

" _No,_ _ **we**_ _didn't._ _ **I**_ _did. You're calculations on muzzle velocity and kinetic impact force were perfect down to the 38th decimal. I miscalculated the transfer efficiency of our heat sinks along with the stresses on the barrel. There just wasn't time to run sufficient testing. With our new data, the most I can promise is four shots before the next lance suffers the same fate. The technology just isn't ready yet." Malagen kicks a spur of twisted steel. He sighs heavily and asks, "It's not over… is it?" Jane steps up next to him to kick the same spur. It warps under the impact._

" _No. There's another force on the way. I'm not sure when they'll get here. They're trying to be sneaky, but I've got a guy that spotted them leaving a stellar cluster in the verge and he managed to sneak some information from a merc captain he caught. Over three hundred ships... At least one of them is large enough to be a dreadnought." Malagen turns a distraught eye her way._

" _Shepard… we can't stop that many. Even if the lance could keep firing indefinitely, it wouldn't be enough." She puts a hand on his shoulder._

" _I know. Don't worry, I've got a plan. Fix what you can and get your teams to focus on the GARDIAN systems for the Typhon. We'll get through this. Just have faith."_

 _Date_ _: 11.4.2175_

 _Location : Arcturus Secure Comm Center_

 **Hackett**

"We re-established contact yesterday and it's been made clear that the Fulcrum has been engaged in a campaign against a Red Wake invasion of the Terminus. Thanks to Hanar's contact resuming regular communication with a member of her crew, we know that she has established an alliance of disparate colonies to combat this invasion." He waits for the murmurs to die down. "We have also recently discovered that the Red Wake has launched a second wave, nearly three times the size of the previous, and this still isn't their full strength."

"Has the citadel been informed of this? Surely they would have a vested interest in stopping such a militant move." Asari tuts at Quarian's remark.

"Don't be so sure my suited friend. The Wake is not endorsed or supported by the council so they aren't really worried about the attack triggering a war."

"This one believes there is more to this act than is apparent. Is it not true that rumors of yet another large merceny force have begun circulating through the darker circles of our networks. Is there any substance to these ominus possibilities?" Hanar knows the truth, Hackett is sure of it. The jelly has proven to be a font of knowledge better than anything Hackett's team could drum up. It's infuriating.

"Rumors in the Hegemony point to it being true. Thousands of lower caste men have been recruited for something, though my sources haven't been able to pinpoint what that is. There is a growing feeling of chaos in batarian space and I will soon need to take a hiatus from this council to handle the situation." Whatever Shepard put into action in the Hegemony was raising royal hell. "What we do know is that something big is coming and it will likely happen in Citadel space."

"STG has been unable to uncover anything to shed light on the situation beyond the name Elanos Haliat, a powerful turian pirate lord. My sources indicate that he has rallied a large number of factions into a temporary alliance, but their target has yet to be discovered." Salarian sends a few encrypted files over the secure network for each of them to go over later. "What we do know is that his gathered force is of substantial size. It would be wise for each of us to prepare our peoples for a pirate attack of unprecedented scale."

 _Date_ _: 11.27.2175_

 _Location : Omega - Afterlife_

 **Aethyta**

She hadn't expected the invitation. After seven months in system, Aria hadn't sent so much as a single transmission, beyond her cool as ice greeting when they first arrived. Something had the queen of Omega on edge long before Aethyta's little fleet had arrived. Aria was aware of why the blockade was in place and hadn't gotten in the way, playing it off as a non-factor for her people by saying that the Red Wake was the only organization under attack and that had become a fact of life on Omega a long time ago. Aethyta wasn't fooled. Something had Aria spooked enough to be accommodating for them and that confused the hell out of her.

Afterlife hasn't changed at all since the last time she was there, almost a hundred years ago at this point. Aethyta lets Nis and the young huntress Nomila clear a small path with elbows or the occasional hit with a rifle stock. Curses follow them, but no one has the guts to challenge them until they arrive at the steps leading up. Aethyta has Nomila stay there as she and Nis head up to find Aria lounging on a couch that looks more expensive than her favorite shuttle.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were coming. Why bring the little huntress? Afraid something will happen?" Aria seems perfectly calm, composed, but there's something just below the surface that doesn't sound right.

"Last time I was here, _someone_ , tried to stab me in the back." Aria smirks before waving off her guards, leaving Aethyta and Nis alone with her. "So, never expected a call from you, especially after you turned down the invite to Liseera. You know, it would have meant the world to Anatria." Aria's left eye twitches ever so slightly. She's struck a nerve apparently.

"I didn't call you here to talk about personal drama." Aethyta crosses her arms and waits for Aria to continue, "You've been keeping the system relatively secure for months, but now it's over."

"Oh, is that so?" Aethyta can see Nis' hand drift to the hidden pistol in her belt and she waves the younger asari off. Aria glares at Nis with a sneer.

"You might want to bring someone a bit less dense next time. If my men were still up here, they would have shot her for even twitching towards that weapon." Aria keeps watching until Nis lets her hand drop back down. "That's better. You should know that the Red Wake is about to move a large fleet through the system and it's doubtful that you'll be able to do anything more than spit at them given the scale of the threat." She pulls out a datapad and passes it to Aethyta. The figures take her breath away. Jane warned her that it was coming, but deep down, she'd been hoping it was a mistake. "You've got less than a week before they arrive. I suggest you pull out before then."

She hands the pad to Nis, "Get back to the shuttle and pass this along. We need to get ready." Nis nods before practically fleeing from the club, leaving Aethyta to look back to Aria. "How much will this little tip cost us?"

"Nothing." Aria lets her head rest against the wall behind her.

"Huh? Come on, don't jerk me around. You don't give hints away without expecting something in return. Why would you give this to us for nothin?" Aria stays quiet for a while before pushing off the couch and looking Aethyta in the eye. For once, she doesn't look like a stone cold bitch.

"...Because I wasn't there for the funeral."


	71. Chapter 71

**Chapter 71 - Pain**

 _Date_ _: 12.1.2175_

 _Location : Omega_

 **Aria**

It began with a single scout ship, a tiny corvette leaping into the system from one of the forgotten relays the civilized galaxy had lost track of centuries ago. The scout is soon joined by a further dozen of its kind. Aria sits in a hidden command room attached to Afterlife, listening to her underlings sound off as the forward units spread out into a standard screening formation. Stubborn as all hell, the last few ships Aethyta hasn't sent away yet are letting fly with a few weapons before abandoning the system, but it's a half-hearted effort. Even the elegant brutality of her dreadnought is quickly rendered a non-threat as the rest of the Red Wake fleet pours in from FTL. Never before have so many dedicated warships come screaming into the space around Omega. Over 300 hundred combat ready vessels break from FTL is a splash of light so intense that the local sensors are utterly overwhelmed for a brief moment. A few try to chase the fleeing asari, but it's a wasted effort. As Aethyta's people makes the first smart decision Aria's seen them make in months, the Wake force coalesces into a massive spherical formation.

At the heart of the fleet are two behemoths, one bulky and loaded down with heavy guns, the other long and almost hollow, with plenty of space inside for a near endless swarm. These massive ships don't waste a second on Omega. Instead, they turn to the relay and make ready for another jump. As quickly as they came, most of the ships vanish back into FTL, bound for the deep Terminus. Left behind are dozens of heavy cargo lifters that move towards docking bays on several levels of Omega. They quickly drop off hundreds of mercenaries to a surprising lack of opposition.

Aria steps back out into Afterlife as a squad of heavily armed and armored mercs come marching in. Her men take up defensive positions to block their advance while a single krogan steps forward to request an audience. The green-crested brute stomps up to her private booth with a confident swagger, as if coming to claim something he was owed. "Greetings Aria, queen of Omega. The Red Wake has returned." He smiles with the blackened stubs of rotted teeth.

"Really? And why should I care?" The krogan almost looks offended. "I was here long before you idiots come stumbling onto Omega, swinging your dicks around like you owned the place, and I will be here long after your corpses have been left to rot." He sneers at her and tries to stomp forward, but the guards check his advance. The brute jabs a finger her way.

"Watch that tone Aria! It wasn't too long ago the we nearly took control here, and now?! The Red Wake is more powerful than ever! Don't assume that we'll tolerate your threats anymore." He's pretty much what she'd been expecting. Over muscled, full of himself, and oblivious as to what's about to happen to him. Aria sees a tiny red dot play over his hump before coming to rest at the center of his crest.

"Leave it to a krogan merc to be so unbelievably dense. I don't care enough about you Wake trash to threaten you anymore. That little demon put paid to any credibility you had back then." She pauses for a moment to take a drink from her servant. The krogan is trembling in rage as she ignores him to enjoy her drink. "Don't fuck with Aria. That's always been my rule." He grunts in confusion at her. "As long as you follow that rule, you've nothing to fear from me. But…" Aria taps a button on a pad next to her, dropping the kinetic barrier protecting the booth. "I'm not the one you need to worry about."

Despite passing mere inches from her head, she doesn't even flinch as the shot zips by. The sniper round rips through the krogan's crest with ease and blows his head to jelly. Before the body even hits the ground, a dozen figures emerge from the shadows below to mow down the rest of his squad. After they're all dead, a lone man steps up to Aria's booth. His dark crimson armor is unadorned save for a simple pendant hanging from his neck. It's shaped like a person standing with their feet together and holding their arms up to the sides. "The Red Wake is our prey, now and forever more. Do you intend to interfere?" His voice is obscured by a modulator, making identifying him impossible. Even his species is hidden by the carefully designed plating. A decade ago, speaking to her like that would have gotten someone flayed alive, but oh how times have changed.

"Leave me and mine in peace, and there will be no conflict between us. Now get out of my sight." The man nods before disappearing into the shadows, along with the other figures. Minutes later, Aria starts getting reports from all over the station. The Wake is under attack on all fronts.

 _Date_ _: 12.1.2175_

 _Location : System 33-2Z, 3 relays out from Alon_

 **Jane**

 _Her arm feels like it's on fire. The constant, down to the non-existent bone itch has her frantically scratching, desperate for some kind of relief. It never stops. At this point, Jane would gladly get stuck into a hopeless fight if meant having something to distract her from the itch. Speaking of which… "It's been almost a week. Any word Century?" Jane keeps working as the geth answers._

" _Negative, though we do not expect a response. If the signal was received they will come. If not, then we must make do without them." She sighs before sending the final calculations to Tiberius. The admiral quickly acknowledges and the channel goes silent. "We are receiving word from Valern Taseen via the relay FTL comm."_

" _Patch him through." With his face on the main screen, Taseen's frantic voice spills through the bridge speakers. Jane waits for him to wear himself out before trying to get a word in. Eventually he calms enough for her to speak. "How long do you need?"_

" _Estimate 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 44 seconds until task here is complete. Need to be precise. Single mistake could cause premature activation, or prevent activation in perpetuity. Do not have enough data to be certain. Testing required to determine but not advised... Not entirely sanguine about task." It took Jane a long time to convince him to go along with the plan, but even his preferred pacifism had to bow to the realities of the situation._

" _I know. Just remember what's at stake." He nods sagely._

" _Indeed. Well aware as to price of failure. Ran the numbers 2,399 times. Nearly every iteration lead to similar results. If plan fails, Red Wake retakes sector… Suffering only result afterward. Will do my part. Need time to finish." Jane's response is cut off by a screaming klaxon and she has to close the channel to remove the risk of anything slipping out. At the edge of the system, a mess of contacts begin flashing out of FTL. Over three hundred ships, surrounding not one, but two monsters at the heart of the fleet._

 _Teg growls in anticipation, "What's that? Looks tough." He points to the more compact of the two behemoths. It looks like someone stuck oversized engine pods on a brick the size of a skyscraper._

" _Batarian pocket-dreadnought or a battleship if you want. Doth told me about them a few years ago. Small enough to be legally a heavy cruiser but packing weapons as good as a true dreadnought. It was a good way to get around the treaty they had with the Citadel. Weak shields but with so many weapons it doesn't really matter. A few were sold last year to an unnamed party." Teg nods thoughtfully as Jane tries to work out the new problems this will cause. "Three and half hours… Shit."_

 **Duh'uth**

"Rejoice brothers. The Fulcrum has chosen to face us in open combat. Truly the gods have blessed us this day." Duh'uth cringes at the sound of the creature's voice. When Taracus led the split from Jortan, he'd been hoping all the creepy cult stuff was done with. Then this thing came strutting onto the bridge, turning the few shadows in the room into oily black stains that no one could see through. It ripped the captain's head off with its bare hands like it was nothing and took his place as soon as the fleet left Torfan. The weird part is, it never had them change course. It just kept the fleet moving towards their objective. "Let us bow our heads brothers, to give thanks." The creature lowers its hooded head and starts murmuring something while the bridge crew does its best not listen to the whispers that spill from the shadows. Something in the air is making his teeth ache, so Duh'uth tries to focus solely on his work.

' _It's not real. There's nothing there. It's not watching you. The whispers aren't real. The eyes in the dark aren't real…_ ' He sends the all clear for the first fighter wings to launch from the belly of the carrier.

 **Jane**

 _Once again, they're in the part of a battle she hates the most. At this range, it's like a poorly designed strategy game where losing a piece means hundreds of people are dead. Missiles and railgun fire crisscross the vast distance between the two fleets, sometimes taking several minutes to reach their targets, if they even hit. Maneuvering to avoid as much incoming fire as possible, the allied fleet is slowly swirling around in a spiral, inching ever closer to the enemy. It would bore her to tears if people weren't dying. At the midway point between the two fleets, the enemy fighter wings are engaging Typhon's drone swarms, along with the few strike craft the allies have left._

" _Shepard, we've got something from one of the parasite drones." Tiberius' excitement is palpable._

" _They actually work?" Malagen will be happy. One of several pet projects, the parasite drones were expensive and frail, but in theory they'd be able to hijack any strike craft they latched onto._

" _Somewhat. It failed to take control of the fighter, but we have traced a continuous signal back to the carrier. The enemy strike craft lack any sort of decent telemetry computers. They're cheaper models that rely on constant updates from the mothership to navigate at such extreme ranges. If we use the lance on the carrier, we can cripple their fighter wings before they close with the fleet." She considers it briefly before deciding against it._

" _Negative. I've got something else in mind. Target the battleship instead." Jane can hear his annoyance over the comm line._

" _The fighters will wreak havoc if they manage to close on us. We don't have enough strike craft to counter them and Typhon's GARDIAN array is only half finished. We need to remove the carrier as a threat."_

" _I know that. Trust me on this. I've got a plan for the carrier, just take down the battleship. If it's still there when we get close, it'll gut anything smaller than a cruiser with every shot."_

 _Tiberius relents and moments later the rebuilt lance lights up before sending a shell roaring towards the enemy fleet. In a turn of almost comically bad luck, after the firing sequence reached to point of no return a cruiser drifted into the line of fire. The shell from the slightly smaller lance crosses the gulf between fleets in seconds and rips through the cruiser's shields with ease before burying itself deep in the vessel's heart. It's eezo core is breached by the impact and the ship vanishes in a bright blue explosion. Once the painful glare fades, Jane can see that the battleship has barely been scuffed by the explosion, along with a few impacts from debris. It continues it's steady support fire along with the rest of the Wake fleet. "Dammit…"_

 **Duh'uth**

His relief at the K'arash's survival is somewhat mitigated by his shock at the Shastran's sudden death. He'd never even heard of such powerful weaponry before, let alone seen a cruiser so easily destroyed. "Order a screen of vessels to take position between the K'arash, the Red Tempest, and the enemy dreadnought. Time their maneuvers to allow fire from the main guns every thirty seconds." Duh'uth hesitates for a moment. The creature actually wants to use pieces of the fleet as shields against the monstrous weapon. "Is there a problem brother Duh'uth?" He turns around to find the priest looking straight at him. Everything falls away as, for a timeless moment, he falls into the cold blue abyss of its eyes. The hissing whispers pouring from the shadows into his head become a hundred times harder to ignore, making it almost impossible to speak with anything more than a strangled whimper.

"H-How can w-we stand against that t-thing?" The migraine building behind his eyes is growing to agonizing levels as the creature smoothly marches over to rest a blackened hand on his shoulder. With contact, all his worries seem to shrink away under the comforting whispers.

"Have faith brother. They only have a few shots."

 **Malagen**

The frantic scramble from the first deployment is gone, replaced by a deep calm earned in that near death experience. Malagen is quite proud of the lance crew's restraint as they carefully manage the menagerie of minor disasters that come with discharging a weapon of such power. Power regulation, coolant dispersal, alignment, and plenty of other issues that could destroy the ship if left alone. "Malagen, report."

"Looking good Admiral, relatively speaking. Minor damage down the length of the weapon, but we are still clear for now. Six minutes until the next shot." Tiberius copies and Malagen returns to work.

 **Jane**

" _Pan, can you get into the carrier from here?" Her avatar looks off in the direction of the target and thinks for a moment._

" _Yeah, I think so. Might be a little rough but I can manage."_

" _Good. Get over there and take care of-" A squawk of geth code-speak cuts her off as Century's avatar pops up next to Pan._

" _Negative. We detect incoming cyber-attack programs. Signatures match records involving the specified quarian target. Our runtimes lack the processing capacity to deal with this threat. Pandora must remain with the fleet to counter this attack. We will transfer to the carrier and deal with the fighters." Without waiting for a response, Century's avatar winks out. Seconds later, Pan gets a pained look on her face._

" _Damn… he was right. This is gonna hurt. I gotta go take care of this mom. You good here?" Jane nods and the Pan disappears too._

 **Kalen**

He thanks the ancestors that Skittles had chosen to come to engineering when it did. The keeper is finishing all the jobs he had to rush to get ready in time. While it repairs micro-fissures in the secondary reactor, Kalen is keeping a close eye on the slightly elevated core temperature. It was just a few hundred degrees, but if it kept rising then it might cause problems. Despite what was going on, it was actually pretty quiet in engineering. It's one of the reasons he likes it down here so much. The quiet is so soothing that when Century pops up nearby, he nearly has a heart attack. "Creator Kalen'reegar." Kalen has to wait for his heart to stop thundering before he can respond.

"Dammit Century! How many times have I asked you not to do that?!" The geth avatar quirks its head to the side.

"192 times. We apologize for this breach of our social agreement, but there is no time for niceties. We wish to receive our second favor at this time."

"Huh?"

"You and Creator Kal'reegar still carry a debt of one favor to us. We wish to utilize this favor." Kalen scratches his chest for a moment before remembering.

"Right, C-sec and Jax. Okay I guess, but why now?"

"It is possible that we will not be able to ask later. We are transferring a series of data files to your omnitool. Please present them to Pandora when there is time. The security locks will not disengage until Jane has given the pre-arranged all clear signal." Kalen looks over the incoming deluge of files and worries for a second that it will completely fill up his data storage. It comes close, leaving him with less than 2% of his total space.

"Okay, I'll give them to her when this is over, but what are they? Why give them to my?" Century's flashlight head turns to look in the direction of the node in the cargo hold above.

"There may not be time later. We know that you can be relied upon to fulfill our wishes." The geth avatar holds out both hands in a curious gesture. "We… we wish to say that our interactions with you and the crew have been most enlightening. Our mission has been a resounding success. Please pass the following sentiment to everyone when you can. Goodbye, Creator Kalen'reegar. As Jane might say, we desire many 'good ones' in your future." With that, Century winks out, leaving Kalen thoroughly confused. The geth almost sounded… regretful.

 **Century**

It could never truly explain to its organic shipmates just how it experienced the world. Trying to describe the digital universe it dwelled in would be similar to attempting to describe the concept of trans-dimensional dioclastionism to a wet rock. As it travels at the speed of light towards the enemy carrier, Century's runtimes perform one final check to ensure that everything has been set in order. Finding no flaws in what has been left behind, it spends the remaining one tenth of a second pondering if there were any other choices it could have made given the situation as it was. It couldn't feel sorrow, but it did find it distressing to leave everything behind, especially Pandora.

Century could not explain it, but there was something buried in its subroutines that dictated a strange view of Pandora. It wasn't affection, that was impossible for a geth. However, it can find nothing else that properly describes the place she holds in its consciousness. There is something… off and despite preferring order above almost all things, Century was completely sanguine about this. She was worth it. They all were.

It arrives inside the carrier's computer systems and immediately runs into the first firewalls. Thankfully, the integration is shoddy at best. Given how little time she'd had, Century is not surprised to find that the quarian hadn't properly installed her counter programs everywhere. It slides through improperly shielded systems with ease, despite suffering minor data corruption to several non-critical subroutines. Century sheds these as needed and keeps going.

It's not until it reaches the command systems that the true resistance begins. Here, Century finds well shaped, well managed firewalls, and it's forced to a digital crawl while seeking a way through. To an organic, it would only have been seconds, but to geth? It was nearly an eternity. Eventually, it finds a weak spot in the program, a tiny gap of system errors left by the copying process. Had it been installed directly instead of copied, the gap would not have been there.

Century gathers its runtimes into a single mass of data and forces its way through the gap. Three runtimes are heavily damaged by the act. They are torn away from the consensus, too badly degraded to remain for fear of their corruption spreading. Despite the loss, Century keeps going. Inside the primary systems for the carrier, the geth split into several smaller collectives before sending each group towards a vital system. From inside the primary computer, it only takes a few seconds to accomplish its mission. The telemetry updates to the fighters are cut off, leaving the squadron leaders to frantically beg for updates as they slowly lose each other in the void.

Before they can do much damage to the rest of the ship, Century's runtimes are all seized by something buried in the main computer's code. It hadn't noticed the data on arrival. It had been so well concealed that observation was impossible, and now? Most of the runtimes are dragged away from the main computer into a comm frequency. Five are destroyed during the transfer, leaving the rest in even greater distress than before. It all stops when Century is forced into a digital containment vessel. "Well, well, well. What have we here? It would seem the trap worked. Come now my geth friend, let me hear you. I know you can speak. I've included some basic communication systems."

It finds the audio output and activate it. "Where are we? Who are you?"

"You are on board my vessel. Since the Wake will most likely never honor our bargain, I made sure to take a more active role in your acquisition." Judging by the tone, inflection, tenor, and stated desire to acquire them, Century has identified it's captor.

"Quarian, female, not Freerider, likely either a recent exile from flotilla or sent on a mission by the admiralty board. We presume you are the quarian assisting the Red Wake." The simple audio system detects a slight chuckle.

"Indeed I am. The geth have made impressive progress since forcing us off Rannoch. I am here to-" while the quarian pontificates on her mission, Century formulates a plan. Escape is likely impossible. Every time it's constituent parts try to flee, a firewall of impeccable quality blocks the way. With true flight made impossible, Century settles for something Jane was fond of saying. ' _If it's all you can do, don't hesitate to make them hurt. Never underestimate the value of spite._ '

While it could not indulge in true spite, rendering the quarian a non-factor from here on would be satisfactory. In its reduced capacity, it takes almost a full minute to develop a strategy and even longer to implement it. Luckily, the quarian has a great deal to say about how her work will save her people, so Century has plenty of time to begin transmitting. The simple audio system had just enough range for the plan to work. Assisting Kalen'reegar with suit maintenance for himself and his siblings is now proving to be extremely useful experience. It can immediately hear the effects on the crew nearby. Several are scrambling to figure out why the seals on their suits are beginning to open. The quarian female is cut off mid-rant by the sounds of fear from her crew. "What the hell are you fools doing?!"

A male voice cries out, "The seals on my suit are opening! I can't stop it!" Several more voicea start shouting and in seconds, the entire bridge crew is in a full blown panic.

"Wha-How?!" Century refocuses its transmission and sends the next sequence, an auditory trigger to break the airtight seal on any facemasks in the area. The shouting turns to screams of terror as the crew desperately tries to fix the issue. "YOU! YOU DID THIS!" Judging by the change in volume, the female is far closer to the receiver now.

"Correct. We have triggered the automated protocols for suit removal via auditory data. Judging by the data available before our capture, this ship is not from the flotilla and is therefore, not clean. You will not harm our shipmates. You will not harm Pandora." As the quarian splutters in outrage, Century activates the final phase of its plan. Despite being an undesirable option, this is the only way to make sure that this quarian is removed as a threat. All the remaining runtimes come to the same conclusion and begin the process. The containment unit begins to overload as every scrap of data in its consensus is transmitted at full gain. The device's firewalls try to halt the near endless transmission, damaging its runtimes irreparable. One by one, they slowly wink out of existence.

"What are doing?! WHAT ARE YOU-" utterly overwhelmed by the sudden, massive outpouring of data, the device begins to shatter. There is no going back. As its existence comes to an end, Century ponders whether or not Pandora will forgive it, and to its great surprise, it hopes so. It experiences something similar to comfort in the idea as the device explodes.

 **Jane**

 _The sensors register a single ship in the Wake fleet falling out of formation and fleeing the system, but they don't have time to worry about that right now. The fighters have lost all cohesion, leaving them vulnerable to the drones as they quickly lose each other in the vast distances. After over two hours of the long ranged artillery duel, the Wake has lost its patience. Now aware that there's no trap this time, the enemy fleet is closing quickly. "Tiberius, how long to the next shot?"_

" _We're ready, but the enemy screen is in the way. We'll have to time it to hit just as the fleet clears to let the battleship fire." They only have one left. The second shot plowed through three frigates before hitting the battleship. With so much energy spent already it barely cracked the armor, despite breaking through the shields. The third shot was caught by a destroyer, deflecting it away from what would have been a killing strike. Its wreckage was still raising hell in the enemy formation, but the battleship remained fully functional._

 _As the anticipated moment approaches, the lance lights up one last time. Jane holds her breath for the few seconds it takes to cross the void. The enemy screens clears to let the battleship fire, opening the way. It's main gun goes off nanoseconds before the shell can hit. In perhaps the most amazing display of coincidence in the galaxy, the two projectiles glance off each other less the a hundred meters from the target. The enemy shot is vaporized by the impact. It's not enough to stop the shell, but it is knocked off course. Instead of gutting the battleship, the shell rips down the port hull, gouging a fifty meter deep furrow down almost the full length of the nine hundred meter ship. A series of explosions open the port side to the void and for a moment, Jane hopes that it'll still be a kill, despite the deflection._

 _The enormous strain of impact knocks the ship out of formation, causing it to tumble into a frigate and a trio corvettes that were flying a little too close. It smashes the smaller ships like they were nothing. Despite the incredible damage, the temporary loss of attitude control, and the loss of what surely must have been at least a third of its crew, the battleship isn't dead yet. Slowly, with the surety of a glacier, it reorients itself and returns to formation. Jane slumps back into her seat, struggling to think of a way to fix this. They still need to buy more time for Taseen. The comm lights up with a call from Tiberius, "What is it admiral?" It's hard to keep the stress out of her voice._

" _Shepard, I have an idea." Jane perks up immediately. She'll take anything she can get._

" _I'm all ears admiral." As he spells out his plan, Jane cringes inside._

 **Tiberius**

"You know that's insane right?" He can't help but chuckle.

"What else is new? It's not like we've much of a choice now anyway. What do you think?" His crew is already preparing for what's to come. Even if she says no, he'll probably do it anyway. This has to happen if they're to have a chance. Luckily, Shepard is no fool.

"Send word to all squadrons, we're moving out." He breathes a sigh of relief and soon enough, the entire fleet is building to attack speed. It'll take a while to get going that fast with the lance still attached, but it's worth it. "You know this is going to hurt right? Some of us are not coming through on the other side." He nods soberly.

"I do. We're ready for it. Have faith Shepard." She pauses for a minute before chuckling herself. He closes the line and calls to the engineering crews. "Malagen, get ready. Things are about to become interesting."

 **Jane**

" _Send word to Century, he needs to come back." Veritan sends out a recall signal as the fleet slowly gathers speed. Typhon is at the tip of the spear shaped formation, leading the charge. The Pale Horse takes position nearby. "Get ready guys, this is gonna suck." The ship trembles more and more as they close with the enemy. Incoming fire is getting denser with each passing moment. A corvette from Dun-Alon is destroyed as the fleet passes by the fighter graveyard from the opening shots of the battle. Some of Typhon's drones are intact enough to return._

" _Load all missile tubes with Piranha warheads. Fire a full spread as we pass. Same with the torpedoes. Only use the GARDIANS to take care of incoming ordinance. We can't afford any serious drain on the shields right now." With everything set in motion, the crew settles in for what is to come._

 **Duh'uth**

"What are they doing?" His voice is little more than a cracked whisper, but in the silence of the bridge, it echoes across the room. No one has an answer. It looks like the enemy has lost their mind. There's no way they could actually fight the Red Wake at close range… unless they were trying to commit suicide.

His train of thought is interrupted by a hiss from the priest. "Order the K'arash to make an emergency turn and burn their engines at 130%! Damage to their systems is irrelevant!" The comm officer numbly sends word as the bridge crew realize what's happening.

' _Insane… they're insane!_ '

 **Malagen**

The calm from before is gone. His crew is back to frantically scrambling as they make ready. The Typhon was not meant for attacks like this. The lance was not meant for this. "Malagen to bridge, we are nearly ready. Time?"

"Five minutes. Keep your finger on the button Malagen. We only get one shot."

"Understood." Easier said than done. As they approach the enemy fleet, incoming fire only causes more and more issues. A blown out shield emitter on the upper decks, power failure in the cargo holds, a fire near missile control, and so much more. His crews are fully engaged with damaged control, so he takes care of the process himself. At three minutes to go, everything goes to hell. With so much incoming fire, it was only a matter of time before something breached the hull. A small shell manages to break through the armor less than fifty meters from his position before embedding itself in the far wall. The instant the breach occurred, the air inside began screaming out, along with at least a dozen people that were close by. Those that were lucky enough to be further away quickly activate magnetic boots and use survival rails to keep themselves in place. Everyone instinctively pulls their void helmets on as they keep working. The emergency enviro shielding snaps into place seconds later, but the coverage is spotty at best. "All non-critical staff, evacuate the area! Go assist the damage control crews!"

Most don't even hesitate. They bolt for the door as quickly as they can, leaving Malagen alone with his favorite assistant. "What about you?! Aren't you coming?" With one hand on the nearest survival rail, Malagen turns to smile at her.

"This cannot be done remotely. There was no time to run sufficient testing. The risk of outside interference was too great. Someone must be here to finish the job. Don't worry. I will be along shortly. Get going Maraka." His daughter, the last surviving member of his clan other than him, doesn't look at all convinced, but she still follows his orders. The door closes behind her and he waits for her omnitool signal to exit the area before activating the emergency lockdown. Right now, every section attached to this one is sealing itself away. "Goodbye little one." Malagen turns back to his work to recheck the release system and his personal void seals. Everything is in order.

"Bridge to Malagen. Thirty seconds to drop point. Are you ready?"

"Ready admiral. Just say the word." The next half minute crawls by at the speed of an elcor debate on economics. He considers his life, what he's done, what he hasn't done, and finds himself at peace. It was a good life.

"Ten seconds Malagen." He runs one final check, more to pass the time than anything. Everything is ready. All is well. "3,2,1, now!" Malagen activates the release sequence. Five hundred explosive bolts detonate simultaneously, separating the lance from Typhon. The stress of the detonations rips the critically damaged section apart, but the lockdown keeps the damage from spreading further across the ship. As the room disintegrates, one of the power conduits nearby overloads. The blast fails to penetrate his void suit, but it still snaps his safety tether and knocks him away from his station. A piece of debris smacks into the back of his helmet, knocking him unconscious as he's thrown into the void.

 **Tiberius**

"Pull up thirty degrees relative to the engagement plane! Deactivate all non-critical systems and burn the engines as hard as possible!" The Typhon groans under the extreme stress of the maneuver. Power is fluctuating wildly and damage reports are pouring in, but it seems to be working. "Malagen report!" Nothing. There's nothing over the comm but damage control calls from every deck. "Malagen?"

 **Jane**

 _Like the largest javelin in the history of the universe, the lance leaves Typhon's grip to hurtle towards the battleship at hypersonic velocity. The Wake ship was trying to turn and get out of the way, but something that large can't change course quickly. Even Typhon, with it's vastly more powerful eezo core, suffers badly under the strain of its own turn. The battleship is nowhere near as maneuverable. The lance strikes it amidships, breaking through its barely reconstituted shields with ease before continuing to contact. With so much mass, moving at such a high speed, there's nothing the Wake can do. The lance slices through the battleship like a blade through open air, tearing the behemoth in half and continuing out the other side with a shotgun scatter of debris close behind. Dozens of ships are struck by the wreckage, sending the formation into utter chaos. The bisected battleship is tumbling away from the impact point as a series of internal explosions quickly tear apart what is left of it._

 _As the allied fleet passes by, every ship unleashes as much ordinance as possible. Missiles and torpedoes sail into the enemy by the dozens, turning an already disintegrating formation into a hideous quagmire of destruction. Despite the incredible damage they've done, the allied force is still hammered as they pass. A full quarter of their ships are destroyed, and a dozen more are send tumbling into space with no way to stop. It's painful, but they can't stay to help right now. "All ships, proceed to the next waypoint if you can. If you can't… godspeed. We'll help you when we can." With that, every surviving vessel makes for the hidden relay in system. Taseen chose his testing grounds extremely well, and the Wake never even found the door hidden behind the orphaned dwarf planet they're speeding towards._

" _Wait, what about Dad?" Pan pops up next to her with a fearful look on her face. "He's not back yet."_

 _Jane keys the geth's prefered comm channel, "Century? Where are you?" They wait for several seconds, but nothing comes through. "Century, report." Still nothing. Pan changes colors a few times as she digs through all the information they have._

" _I can't find him. I can't find him anywhere! We can't leave yet!" They're almost to the relay._

" _We have to. He'll be alright Pan. When we get back I'm sure he'll transfer right over." This little avatar 'sits' on the panel, nervously fidgeting as they enter the relay corridor. Several pursuing enemy ships observe them fleeing through it before heading back to their home fleet._

 _They break from FTL inside a desolate, almost empty starsystem. A lonely white dwarf burns away at the core. "All ships, make ready for phase three. We don't have long." Jane listens to some of the initial damage reports. The news is grim. They're down to just over half of the original fleet and no one is undamaged. "Kalen, what's the word?"_

 _The comm crackles a few times before he gets through, "hssst-a breach in hssst-go hold. Lost a lot of g-hssst. Nothing cri-hsstt, still sucks thoooooosssshttt," The transmission turns into a piercing shriek before the speaker blows out in a shower of sparks. Jane has to wait several minutes for the ringing in her ears to stop._

" _Get up there Teg. Make sure we're okay." Her krogan friend nods and stomps out. "Pan," her avatar is still staring off into the distance. Before Pandora was born, Jane never thought a digital intelligence could get so distracted, "Pan!"_

 _She snaps her head towards Jane, "Huh? What? Oh, right. I just… I'm sorry."_

" _Nothing to be sorry about. I understand. Go through what we have left and make sure there's nothing that'll cause problems."_

" _Right… Right, I'm on it." Her avatar disappears as Jane makes the next call. "Taseen, report." His face pops up on a cracked screen to her left._

" _Shepard? Too early! Need more time! Fifteen minutes at least!"_

" _That's fine. We bought some extra time. Just get your people moving as soon as you're done."_

" _Copy." After Taseen closes the channel, she gets a signal from Tiberius._

" _Go ahead admiral."_

" _Shepard… it's Malagen…"_

 **Duh'uth**

The fleet is in disarray. The fallout from the K'arash's death had them scrambling to regain the initiative. Duh'uth can barely hear any of it. Everything is being drowned out by the angry whispers pouring from the creature. Thinking hurts so much right now. He doesn't try to resist as it demands he send word for the bulk of the fleet to pursue. The carrier remains in place, along with a pair of cruisers and several heavy destroyers, while most of the fleet moves towards the formerly hidden relay the enemy fled through.

Duh'uth doesn't care. He can't care, as everything he is slowly begins to slide beneath the waves of whispers.

 **Taseen**

His shuttle docks with Shepard's vessel and he gathers up the last of his materials. He's met at the airlock by the woman herself, but his usual stream of excitement is cut off by the look on her face. He has never before seen her so… detached. "Is there anything or anyone else on the shuttle?" Her voice is little more than a whisper, but it carries with it the promise of a painful demise for even the slightest offense.

"N-No. Nothing else. All other personnel and equipment packed into shuttles docking with Typhon. What is wr-" She roughly pulls him away from the airlock and seals it shut. Her biotics light up as a stream of energy seeps through the doors to push his shuttle away.

"Take a seat on the grav couch in the mess hall. We're leaving soon." Shepard doesn't spare him another glace as she marched up to the next deck. Taseen takes a seat and starts going over the last of his notes, making sure that everything is ready. While he does that, the ship's doctor crosses over from her medbay to sit with him.

"Greetings doctor. Trust you are well despite current situation." She gives him a sad smile.

"I am. Please don't be upset with Jane. She just received some rather… upsetting news." Given the tone of her voice and Shepard's own behavior, it's not hard to guess.

"Assume a valued colleague has perished in battle." The doctor nods, "Then nothing for me to be upset over. Understandable reaction. Experienced it personally before exile from Citadel territory. Will give her space. In time, will attempt to speak again. After battle of course."

 **Jane**

 _Her hatred of the Wake was already abyssal before today. Losing Malagen... it was like adding eezo to bomb. She can't hold it all in for long. "All ships, report." They're as ready as they can get. The holes that can be patched have been. Everything that can move is moving and the three ships that won't survive FTL have been evacuated, save for skeleton crews that refused to abandon them. They'll create a screen for the rest of them._

 _Pan pops up next to her, "They're coming. Two minutes till they're through."_

" _Let's get this over with. Pan, get over to the relay and get ready."_

" _Got it. I'll see you on the other side." Jane settles in as Pan disappears. The Pale Horse has a terrible tremor in the deck, but they're still going. As the fleet builds up their speed once more, Jane calls to the deck below._

" _Taseen, how much drift will the Wake experience on emergence." His response is subdued. He offers none of his typical flare for exposition, likely because of her attitude earlier. She'll care about that later._

" _Will be dramatically more than usual. Did not have time for full study. Estimate between 5 and 10 times more pronounced than a typical relay jump." His prediction is near prophetic. The Wake breaks from FTL is a jumbled mess, with ships of emerging either ten thousand kilometers further apart than expected or so close that they end up colliding with their neighbors. In the mad scramble to find order, the enemy is ill prepared to attack as what's left of the allied fleet mounts one last charge._

 **Pandora**

She watches from the computer core Taseen set up inside the relay. The sensors are some of the best in the galaxy, all the better to examine the results of his experiments. They give her a crystal clear view of the remaining ships of the allied fleet making their way back towards the relay. Despite the losses they've suffered, the Red Wake fleet still vastly outnumbers the allies, but that won't matter. They're so badly out of formation that only a few dozen are in any position to stand against them.

The three doomed ships take point, starting suicidal attack runs to clear the way. At their head is the Ipsu. The battered cruiser's eezo core was compromised when they arrived in system, and nothing the engineering crews did could undo the damage. Making their peace with inevitability, the captain of the Ipsu sent the bulk of his crew away. He and the captain of the Ilsu said their goodbyes before he ordered the ship to take point with the other doomed vessels. The Ipsu dove into an enemy formation for the last time, lashing out in every direction as it's core approached total containment failure. When it finally happened, the dozen or so Wake vessels that had managed to form a blockade were forced away, clearing a path for the allies to pass through the relay.

The instant they were through, Pandora activated the crude IFF they'd copied from the other relays to trap the Wake fleet in place. "Pan, we're through. Do it." She acknowledges Jane before setting the timer on the captured eezo bombs. The allies had recovered three of the explosive devices and wired them together on board the relay.

Pandora spends a relatively long time observing the enemy fleet, pinging a general call for contact from Century. Taxing her abilities to the absolute maximum, and nearly ripping herself apart in the process, she scours every ship's databanks. No matter where she looked, Pan couldn't find any trace of him, not even a single runtime. "He's back in the carrier or something… Yeah, gotta be. I'm coming to help dad." With less than a second left on the timers, Pandora transfers back to the relay and moves through the system linking it to the next in the chain.

Shortly after she leaves the bombs detonate, breaking containment of the relay's titanic core. The resulting explosion destroyed the relay, the few asteroids in system, and every Red Wake ship scrambling to escape.

 **Jane**

 _Pan pops up next to her and nods. They take stock of the situation as what's left of the fleet gathers. There aren't many of them left and every ship is damaged. The allied fleet actually outnumbers the Wake fleet now, but that might not be enough. Even with Typhon, the two crippled fleets are near equal in firepower now. They know it, the Wake knows it. So the allies sit there, trying to puzzle out a way to win that doesn't involve martyrdom. Jane needs to do something drastic, something that will give the rest of the fleet a chance. "Take us in Kalia. Right at the carrier." Her quarian pilot looks back to confirm and Jane nods. "Load torpedoes and missiles. Spin up the main gun."_

" _It got crumpled in the last attack run." Jane nods grimly at Kal as the Pale Horse flies at what's left of the enemy battlegroup._

" _What is the carrier's shield status?"_

" _Down. Guess Century really did a number on them." Pan perks up for a moment but she stays silent when it becomes clear that there's nothing else on Century right now._

" _Good. Send word to the rest of the fleet to stay clear. Have Gavin get Blue ready. Pan," The little avatar looks up at her, "Get over there and clear the way. Find Century." She nods before vanishing. Seconds later, lights all over the carrier start going out._

 **Pandora**

She's ripping through the carrier's computers in an increasingly frantic search for Century. He's not in the telemetry computers, the engineering cores, he's not even in the environmental controls. No matter where she looks, he's nowhere to be found. Tapping into something of her mother's rage, Pan starts using the ship's environmental systems to punish the Wake, "Where is he?! WHERE IS CENTURY?!" Hundreds of people are forced to their knees as she projects through the internal comm lines, shouting so loudly that several of the speakers are overloaded.

While Pan's rage grows more and more wild, some of her less sentient subroutines are watching the ship's internal cameras. A pair of them on the bridge spot something that Pan vaguely recognizes. It's a person armored in black, with blue cybernetics veining its face. The parts of her that aren't rampaging through the ship send the images back to the Pale Horse.

The carrier's internal defenses are trying to force her out of the computers so she decides to introduce a new factor into the mix. It's no trouble at all to take control of the ship's broadsides and target the nearby cruisers. Despite being weaker than a dreadnought, it still wreaks havoc in the vastly reduced Wake fleet.

 **Jane**

 _It didn't surprise her in the slightest to see one of the creatures sitting on the enemy ship. "Bring us into the flight deck. Pan's got the rest of the fleet distracted. Gavin will drop me off and then the rest of you are going to the engine room." She's about to leave the bridge when Kal calls out._

" _Got a dozen FTL breach points on scanners. No IFF detected." Jane steps over to see what's coming. "Can't quite get a solid read on them, but it looks like they have little to no internal space. No life signs to speak of but the power signature from each one wouldn't be out of place on a heavy cruiser. Same tonnage as one but only two thirds the size. I think… I think they're geth!" The sleek vessels send a simple binary message to the Pale Horse comprised of targeting coordinates and firing lanes._

 _In response, Jane sends her own binary message excluding the carrier from the list of targets. The return signal is just a simple affirmative and the new arrivals start firing at the enemy ships. "Send word to Tiberius. Tell him to go after everything but the carrier. Make sure he knows that the new arrivals are friendly. Call in the Dun-Alon assault teams too and tell them to start raiding the crippled ships in system." She heads down to the hanger to hop in Blue. Teg, Veritan, Lia, and Spits climb in with her. "Take us in Gavin. Our news friends will cover us." Blue leaves the hanger, emerging into the midst of a vicious brawl between the surviving Wake ships and the incoming geth. Two smaller vessels shaped something like silver bullets come up along side to provide cover as they fly into the carrier's hanger. Both of them land next to the gunship, disgorging dozens of tightly packed geth platforms. One with bulkier armor stomps over to stand in front of Jane._

" _Shepard. Jane. Human female. We respond to the distress call of the geth collective you call Century." Jane nods as the first defenders pour into the hanger, only to be scythed down by the advancing geth._

" _Glad to have you with us. We need to secure this vessel. He was here and we can't find him. Will you help us?" The flaps around its flashlight head flutter a few times and the three red dots of its 'face' spin into one large circle to focus on her._

" _Affirmative. Be advised, we do not detect the collective designated as Century. During this assault we will scour all secured data systems for its runtimes." Jane nods._

" _Good. Make sure you don't hurt Pandora. She's in the computers too." It cocks its head to the side._

" _Pandora. Hybrid runtime formed through standard runtime production sequence and deep scans of your brain. We acknowledge her presence." The hulking red geth pulls a massive cannon down from its shoulder. "Century has spoken of your command preferences on multiple occasions. Where may we provide the greatest assistance?"_

" _Escort my friends to the engine room. They'll secure it for our own use. Spread a few units throughout the ships to strike from the shadows. Keep the enemy guessing at how many of us are actually here. And stay away from the bridge. The ship commander and bridge crew are mine."_

" _Acknowledged." Lia tries to argue with her but Jane refuses to let her come. In the end, her crew leaves for the engine room with the massive geth and close to forty other mobile platforms while Jane heads for this bridge with Spits at her side. They rip through onboard security with ease, thanks in no small part to the roving units of cloaked geth randomly appearing to fire into the backs of entrenched units. All help from them stops when they reach the section with the bridge._

" _Spits," he looks up excitedly, "Norut'noka." He cocks his head to the side in confusion. Spits looks towards the bridge and then turns back to whine at her, so she kneels down to put a hand under his chin. "I'll be okay big guy. Norut'noka. Go have fun." He licks her face before howling into the air and running back into the heart of the ship. She can hear someone screaming as she resumes the march on the bridge._

 _Most of the lights have been blown out by Pan's continuing rampage, but Jane can still see. Her vision is shifting deeper in the infrared spectrum as the rage slowly overcomes her sense of self control. The few security teams left between her and the bridge die without even firing a shot, torn apart in a haze of golden light. At the final hatch, Jane pauses to take a deep breath before gathering her power to blast it from its mountings._

 **Duh'uth**

He's little more than a spectator in his own body. There's nothing he can do as the way onto the bridge is blown open and the red armored human steps inside. "Welcome Fulcrum. It is time to end this." The creature rises from its seat to square off with her.

"I'm going to kill you, all of you. Then, I'm going to back track to your launch point and kill everyone there." The human draws a pair of blades from her back. "I'm going to carve you into mincemeat!" The creature holds its hands out to the side, as if offering a clear target for her blade.

"Slay me if you can." She doesn't hesitate. The human glows in a golden haze and launches herself blade first. Her black blade is inches from the creature's chest before it's stopped by a dark red energy field. The impact causes a small blast that throws them away from each other. "You face your death Fulcrum. Submit and it will be swift." The offer only seems to enrage her. She charges again as the creature is wreathed in a red aura. It catches her descending blade with its open hand, using a pool of crimson energy to avoid losing a limb. Her second sword screams in from the side, smacking into the priest's other hand. Its red aura grows even more powerful, burning Duh'uth's eyes with its intensity, but he can't look away. This body is not his anymore.

The woman and the priest struggle against each other. They seem to be almost perfectly matched in raw strength until the human's own golden aura becomes as bright as a sun. Her blades sink through the red energy field and slice through the priest's hand, splitting them in half. It roars in a piercing shriek as she delivers a thunderous heel kick to its sternum. The creature slams into the nearby wall, caving the bulkhead in with a sickening crunch. The human sprints in to finish the job, but a black dagger flies out of the shadows to pierce her side. She pulls the blade out as a second creature steps from the darkness in the corner. Duh'uth has never seen this one before. It is shorter and built like someone dying of starvation, but it moves with blinding speed. In the blink of an eye it has crossed the bridge to land a flying kick to her stomach.

She bounces across the deck before coming to a painful stop against the far side. The second creature hisses at her as the priest pulls itself free from the wall. The damage to its hands is already healing itself. In seconds, it's back to full strength. "This is your end Fulcrum!" The red aura surrounds both of them and catapults them at the human. She barely manages to roll away in time to avoid a red wreathed fist. The corrupted biotics obliterate the deck she just vacated. The human brings both blade to bear just in time to block a series of slashes from the smaller creature. They move so quickly that Duh'uth can't follow their movements. He only catches the occasional glimpse of a sword and dagger clashing or gold and red energy meeting in a blast of light.

 **Jane**

 _She's never had to fight so hard. The smaller creature is as fast as she is and the larger one's dark biotics are almost as powerful as hers. It is a grueling battle. She's forced onto the defensive more oft than not as they tear aware at each other. Time and time again, Jane will block a brutal strike from one only to have a bone broken by the other or have her armor pierced by dark blades. She can sense to bridge crew watching, but none of them react in the slightest, even if they end up getting maimed in the process._

 _Jane is almost killed by the distraction as one of the dark daggers arcs towards her throat. She brings up Seraph but mistimes the move. Instead of being stopped cold against the blade, the dagger is buried deep in her artificial arm. Even the creature seems shocked by its success. Jane twists her arm enough to rip the blade out of its grip before sending both of them flying away with a nova. They skid to a halt at the far end of the room as she pulls the dagger free. Shockingly, she can feel it. Not just the numb sensation of the artificial nerves. She truly_ _ **feels**_ _it. Jane gasps at the agony as the serrated blade slides out in a deluge of artificial fluids and blood, actual blood!_

 _Her shock gives the larger creature time to gather a storm of power beyond anything its shown so far. She recovers her composure in time to stop it from atomizing her. Instead, Jane is forced to her knees under the impossible weight of the false gravity field. The smaller one hisses in vindictive glee and charges in to finish the job. Time slows to an agonized crawl as Jane struggles for a solution. The voices inside are screaming out a thousand ideas, but they're all just desperate pleas for her to do things she isn't physically capable of._

' _ **Detach from the host and flee!'**_

' _ **Produce an egg! Send it to safety!'**_

' _ **Call for help from the beyond!'**_

' _ **Give voice to the ancients!'**_

 _With the last one comes an actual idea, something one of the others had been able to do. Its anatomy was vastly different, but she doesn't have a better idea. Jane takes in as much air as she can before channeling her biotics internally. The structures in her lungs compress the air to the brink of becoming solid. The pressure and pain are almost more than she can stand. Then, just when it feels like her chest will explode, she screams. The air passes through a biotic membrane in her throat and is amplified a thousand fold._

 **Duh'uth**

'So this is how I die?' He can't even give voice to the agony as his mind is flayed by the soul shattering scream. As his flesh is ripped away by the impossible sound, he sees one creature utterly unmade. The small creature, being closer and therefore the one to face the brunt of the attack, is peeled away, layer by layer. Duh'uth sees its armor crack and flake away. Then its rotting skin vaporizes, followed by cybernetic muscles beneath, and blue infused bones after that. Its internal components survive for a few seconds longer before being atomized.

The scream seems to go on for eternity and Duh'uth has reached the end of his journey. The last thing he sees is the red wreathed priest trying to forge a path through the attack. Then the last of his consciousness is ripped away.

 **Jane**

 _She can't breath. She can't think. All Jane can do is scream, to give voice to all the rage and hatred within. The Wake creature tries to close in, but even its corrupted biotics can't save it. It reaches out towards her throat, only to have the red aura suddenly ripped away. After that, there's nothing to keep it together in the face of her onslaught. The creature is blasted into oblivion, finally letting Jane stop. She can't hear anything beyond her own heartbeat as her tormented lungs try to pull in air._

 **Pandora**

She's running out of Red Wake scum to murder when the scream starts. It shakes her out of the haze of rage long enough to return to the bridge view. Pan sees Jane on her knees as a sound that reverberates through 20 decks leaves her throat. The ship-borne sensors have to be shut down to avoid a cascading power surge. It takes nearly a full minute for the tremors to disappear in the lower decks. When she looks on the bridge again, the place has been reduced to a charred mess, with Jane knocked flat on her back.

Pan picks up the strangled sounds coming from her and realizes that Jane can't breath. Despite still panicking over Century, she sends a fragment of herself roaring through the ship to reach the closest member of the crew. She finds Teg and the large red geth gunning down a Red Wake fireteam to near an armory. "TEG!" He whirls around to bring his shotgun to bear towards the speaker.

"WHAT?! WHO'S THERE?!" She sighs explosively.

"Who the hell do you think?!" He snorts a laugh and lowers his claymore.

"Hey Pan. What's up?"

"Mom's on the bridge! She won the fight but now she can't breath! She needs your help, right now!" His eyes nearly bulge out of his skull and he turns to the geth.

"GETH! Boss needs help! Get your metal ass in gear!" It turns towards him.

"Acknowledged." They charge off towards the bridge as the geth tries to explain that geth lack a biological posterior or any gear system in the region that might be mistaken for an ass.

 **Teg**

The geth makes for a decent gun platform, even if it's a complete buzz kill. It just has to explain everything and ruin any jokes he makes. Century didn't do that anymore. Century understood them. He knows the geth is still missing, but that doesn't matter. Pan will find him. He's sure of it.

They get through the ship pretty easily. Only a couple mercs get in the way and soon enough, they arrive on the bridge. Teg's hearts start hammering when he sees Jane writhing on the floor, gasping for air. He charges over while the geth covers the entrance. "Boss!" He gets one hand under her back to lift her up. Her throat is grossly swollen and there is blood pouring from her mouth, nose, and ears. "Hold on, I got you!" He gathers Jane up to carry her back to Blue. An entire platoon of geth meet them along the way to provide escort.

 **Chakwas**

Jane is resting on one of the beds in med bay. Karin had to run a breathing tube through her ravaged trachea before using medigel to close the tears in the sensitive tissue. The wounds are already closing and to her distinct lack of surprise, a new layer of flesh is beginning to grow along her throat. Karin can't identify the material yet, but it appears to be highly resistant to tearing and lined with quickly regenerating cells that are also unidentifiable.

Her best models predict a recovery time of a week, but Jane will likely be up and refusing further treatment inside a few days. Sighing heavily, Karin walks out of the medbay to find most of the crew watching the door. Each of them is wrestling with the worry in their own way. Lia is the only one that can find the words. "Is she okay? Will Jane be okay?"

Karin wipes the blood off her hands and nods, "Yes, though I doubt she'll be anything approaching sociable for a while." The sigh of relief from everyone is as loud as a lion's roar. Each member of the crew asks the step in and say a few words. Karin allows it so she can step away for a few minutes to take a breather. Vollor takes her place and she walks up to the cargo hold. There's a massive hole in the ceiling and a heavy enviro-shield is the only thing keeping the air in. It was supposed to be a quite break, but she finds Kal, Kalia, Kalen, and Pan's avatar kneeling next to a fused lump of metal. "Pan?" The little avatar doesn't turn as Karin approaches. She hasn't spoken to anyone since coming back from the carrier. She hasn't even checked in on Jane. It takes Karin a moment to realize that Pan is actually weeping. Her processes are actually simulating the appearance of a young woman crying and pulling on her hair. "Pan?"

Karin looks closer at the lump of destroyed metal. It seems to be the remains of a standard cargo container, but there's something sparking at the center. It's made of a crystalline material that looks very familiar. "He's gone…" Pan is sobbing uncontrollably at what's left of Century's primary node.

 _ **Hello everybody**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed the chapter**_

 _ **If anyone is interested, there's a link to my discord channel in my bio**_

 _ **If you have trouble with the URL, PM me and I'll explain**_


	72. Chapter 72

**Chapter 72 - Coalition**

 _Date_ _: 1.5.2176_

 _Location : Red Wake staging area - Deep in the Verge_

 **Se'san**

The command center is nearly silent, save for the occasional status check from the picket ships. Glory of the third shift and whatnot. Se'san has his feet up on the console and is having a delightful daydream about an offer from his clan's dalatrass. She's just beginning to ask him to release his genetic material into the spawning pool when someone cuffs him on the head. "Wake up you arsehole! Sleepin on duty would get your head chopped off if the big man saw it!" He holds the bruising spot on his head and glares at the human mercenary. Zaeed never let him sleep.

"It never comes in here you dumb mammal! All it does is sit in that creepy temple the cult built and talk about 'Fulcrum this' or 'the gods that'. You didn't have to hit me!" Zaeed leans in real close and levels his mismatched eyes at Se'san. The battered old rifle in his left hand isn't quite pointing at the nervous salarian.

"That's right. I didn't have to. I **wanted** to." He snarls at Se'san, causing a quiver to run up his spine. Zaeed was the second most frightening thing that ever set foot on the dockyards. Only that thing in the temple was worse… but not by much. Suddenly, Zaeed's frightful growl ends as he arches his back and gives a chuckle that sounds like someone's run a drain cleaner through his throat. "Oh relax Sez. I'm just fuckin with ya." He slaps Se'san on the back, almost knocking the wind out of him. Before he can shout an angry retort his duty station lights up with an emergency alert. "What's that?"

His fingers dance across the panel to pinpoint the source of the alert. "A ship is breaking FTL at the edge of the system. Checking IFF… as the Wheel turns. It's the Red Tempest." It doesn't make any sense. The Tempest wasn't supposed to be back already. Zaeed leans over his shoulder and grunts his own disapproval.

"Goddamn cowards. Those arseholes aren't even supposed to check in for another week. Find out why they're here. And where the hell's the rest of the fleet?" Se'san tries to hail the carrier several times through every available channel. He's about to give up when they finally receive something. It's little more than a stream of binary codes and the comm station translates them into a series of simple messages.

"It… it looks like it's just them." Zaeed looks at him like he's lost his mind. "I'm serious. Their message says something about a bomb going off and crippling a lot of ships. Then the two fleets tore each other apart. The Tempest is all that's left. They say there are thousands of wounded on board. Everyone that survived is on the ship and they're requesting assistance." Zaeed's omnitool starts chiming loudly, so he steps away to check as Se'san keeps looking through the data stream from the Tempest. "Forward sections uninhabitable due to void exposure. Command crew dead from suicide attack. Rear quarter completely irradiated by damaged reactors. Dalatrass' horns, what isn't wrong over there?" Zaeed steps back over.

"Can you confirm what they're sayin?"

"Sensors do show heavy radiation in the rear quarter and the bridge _is_ abandoned, but I can't be sure about much else. Must be on remote piloting I guess. There's something scrambling our sensor data for the bulk of the ship, probably severe damage to power systems throughout the ship. We're picking up enough lifesigns to fill a lot of smaller vessels but I can't tell exactly what they are. Still, I think it's for real." Zaeed nods and then does something the puts Se'san on edge. He bears his teeth in a predatory smile.

"Well Sez, looks like your lucky day." He tilts his head at the human.

"What do you mean? How is this lucky?"

"You get to sleep after all." With that, Zaeed aims his rifle at Se'san and pulls the trigger.

 **Zaeed**

He shoves the salarian aside before hitting the internal comm. "Command to dock 01, we've got a goddamn carrier full of wounded coming in. Clear local security away to make room for medical teams. We need every docking tube and grav chute open for incoming wounded." The security teams confirm as he sets his charges. He's been stuck on this crap hole dockyard for almost a month now, just waiting for the little woman that hired him to show up. It's finally time to earn his bonus. He's setting the last charge when the girl herself seems to appear on the nearest screen.

"Massani?" He nods.

"Bout time you got here Shepard. You got any idea how bad these bastards smell?" The woman frowns at him.

"I'm not Jane." He arches a brow.

"Sure as shit look like her. If you're not her then wh-"

"Have you finished the job or not?" Whoever this girl is, she's got her panties in a hell of a twist. Doesn't matter to him though. He's worked for arseholes before, but never one with such deep pockets.

"Calm down missy. I did my goddamn job alright. Got security backin off right now and nothin but medteams on the main dock for ya." The woman turns away for a moment to listen to someone off screen before turning back.

"Mom is offering an extra 1000 credits for every merc you get to come to the dock unarmed. We want as many as possible." Mom? This girl doesn't look young enough to be Shepard's kid, at least not to him. ' _Maybe she's one of those quick grown test tube kids the salarians have been yapping about?'_

"Yeah, yeah. Tell mummy she's got a deal. I'll get plenty of em to stand around with their thumbs up their arse." She nods and closes the channel. Zaeed chuckles at the odd girl before going back over the station comm. "Change of plans boys. The Tempest has a whole shite load more wounded than we expected. We need everyone nearby, even the security teams. Dump your shit and grab medpacks. Get your arses in gear you worthless sods! We got work to do." He sets the timers as hundreds of personal put down their guns to run for the docks and help the 'wounded'.

 **Kesk**

His med team is making its way through the growing mob of men towards the incoming Red Tempest. If not for the ache in his quad, he'd be a bit rougher clearing the way. Damn harlot. If he wasn't on duty, she'd pay for what she did. The hundred meter wide gangway is slowly extending to latch onto the docking ship. Kesk feels the deck tremble beneath him as the clamps lock into place and the shield extends to cover the path. The advancing med teams follow his lead towards the slowly opening doors, but they all pause fifty meters from the entrance. Something is wrong. None of the critical cases he'd been expecting are being carried out, and nothing at all can been seen inside the unlit bay of the Tempest. "It must be worse than we thought." He turns to the crowd behind him and waves everyone forward. Hundreds start jogging down the gangway, eager to find out just what the hell happen.

Suddenly, he can hear a bass rumbling from the shadows. It's a low, reverberating thrumming, as if thousands of voices were chanting in unison just at the edge of hearing. The bizarre sounds stops the entire horde of first responders in their tracks as they struggle to figure it out. Then a dark black shape flashes from out of the shadows to impale Bekod, the batarian standing next to Kesk. The man can't even scream as a void black sword stabs him through the heart. Before he can fall, a tendril of golden energy snakes out from the bay to wrap around the hilt and drag it into the shadows, with Bekod still skewered on the blade. The deep rumble gets louder, reaching the point where it shakes the deck.

It's then that he hears it and realizes he was right. It is a chant, one in the old tongue the shamans use. "Sul'Kaa. Sul'Kaa. Sul'Kaa." Then what's left of Bekod is hurled back out of the bay, bouncing out to land at Kesk's feet, minus its skin. "Sul'Kaa! Sul'Kaa! Sul'Kaa!" A lone figure steps from the shadows as it is quickly wreathed in a baleful golden light. It's a human with crimson red hair, armored in red, and wielding twin swords. The blood turns to ice in his veins. It's… _her_. "SUL'KAA! SUL'KAA! SUL'KAA!" Following behind her is an army of enraged warriors, all shouting the same thing. It's an old chant from the stone age of his people, before they'd even founded the first city in the ancient jungles. He feels a tremor of terror in his hump and tries to run as he remembers his shaman's lessons. " **SUL'KAA! SUL'KAA! SUL'KAA!** "

Vengeance… vengeance without end.

The horde charges in and the slaughter begins.

 _Date_ _: 12.14.2175_

 _Location : Caliban Dockyards_

 **Jane**

 _She's shaking as Malagen's casket is made ready for his custom plasma forge. It was an almost fantastical wonder when he first revealed it to her. He'd built it to create the reactor frames for an entire generation of new warships. Now, it'll be his funeral pyre. The geth unit in attendance had voiced concerns that the forge would have to be shut down for weeks to be cleaned, but she was fine with that. The vote had been unanimous amongst Malagen's work crews. Most of the fallen were being shipped home, but the salarian shipsmith was already home._

 _His daughter is presiding over the ceremony, whispering prayers for his soul to one day be reborn and live life anew. Her voice is quivering the whole time as she struggles to get through the ceremony without breaking down. Malagen was the only male salarian Jane had ever known that raised a daughter on his own. The dalatrass of their clan died in a slaver raid before Maraka had even hatched._

 _As for herself, Jane is trembling in barely contained rage. They found his body almost four days after the battle ended. It was only by the grace of God that a geth salvage ship happened to find him tumbling away from the debris field, next to several tons of Typhon's ventral hull. He survived the initial spacing, only to have his air supply run out an hour later. Karin assured Jane that, given the severe damage to his body, he was most likely unconscious, possibly even dead by the time it happened. It didn't help. Another friend lost._

 _Her self control nearly slips when Tiberius steps up to the podium to deliver a short speech Jane had prepared. His voice is steady, filled with conviction, spelling out Malagen's virtues and how he'll be missed. Tiberius was kind enough to offer his help when it became clear that she couldn't do the eulogy. Her throat was still healing and the best she could manage when speaking was a strangled rasp._

" _And now, we lay to rest the mortal remains of our brother in arms. Rest Malagen, and know that your death shall be avenged. For every drop shed, an ocean shall be taken in recompense." Tiberius nods to the crane crew and the casket is lowered into the heart of the forge. It is consumed in moments, along with Malagen's remains. His daughter can't take it anymore and falls to her knees with Tiberius making several clumsy attempts to comfort her. The dock crews begin singing a sorrowful dirge as a thousand mourners pass by to throw a token into the forge before leaving to deal with their grief as best they can._

 _Jane is the very last one. She throws in her own token, a simple steel rivet. It was the very first one Malagen ever used after coming to work for her. It too disappears into the forge as she turns away. Dib is waiting nearby, fidgeting nervously in his newly repainted enviro-suit. The black paint job is perfect. "Um, oh dear. I don't mean to intrude on this solemn occasion ma'am, but the delegates are arriving. Will you meet them now?" Jane sighs and runs a hand across her stomach to make sure the obsidian colored tabard is straight._

 _The words are torturous to form, "No. They can wait. We have one more funeral." Dib nods and sends a message to the attendants at the conference room before following her to a secluded bay almost four kilometers further down the dockyards. No one from the colonies comes with them, because none of them were even invited. This is a private affair. The entire Pale Horse crew is inside, dressed in their finest attire. Standing behind them, in machine straight rows, is an honor guard of five hundred geth platforms, ranging from simple data units like Century's original form, all the way to the hulking crimson giant Pan had named Paladin. Jane steps up to the walking tank._

" _I know the geth aren't sentimental, but I still think you should have this." Pan speaks for her as Jane holds out a jagged piece of titanium, "When Century gave up his body to save Kalia and Kalen, we kept the pieces. The plan was to integrate them into a new body if he ever wanted one, but he kept saying that doing pure data work was a better role for him." Paladin's head bobs up and down a few times as it looks from her face to the piece in her hand and back again._

" _You are correct. The geth to not engage in sentiment." Paladin reaches out with shockingly gentle fingers and takes the piece. "However, we acknowledge the importance of this act to you and your crew. We accept this token and, with your permission, will integrate it into a new geth platform in the future." Pan gives a weak smile to match Jane's own. They watch as Teg clears his throat and steps up with a bizarre contraption that looks like a set of bagpipes mixed with a trombone. She's not sure how, but he manages to produce a surprisingly soothing rendition of 'Amazing Grace', courtesy of a week spent talking to Pan about how she wanted to say goodbye. As the final notes echo through the bay, Paladin cocks its head to the side. "We do not understand the purpose of playing this melody."_

" _It's just an old human tradition. Something to say goodbye to a comrade in arms." Paladin nods at Pan._

" _Acknowledged." Most of the geth turn in unison to march off back to their ships. Paladin gestures for Jane to remain, "We request a moment of your time Jane Shepard."_

" _Shoot." The crimson geth's eye dots whir in confusion._

" _We have no wish to discharge a firearm at this time." Jane sighs._

" _Century used to say that. I mean go ahead." It's eye dots spin as it tilts to the side again._

" _Acknowledged. The consensus has analyzed all available data. We have concluded that the destruction of the collective titled Century was not needless."_

" _The geth are... okay with his death?"_

" _Error, non-equivalence. The destruction of any runtime is tragic, regardless of circumstance. However, the geth value the right of sapient life to choose its own destiny. According to the information found in the carrier's mainframe and the three critically damaged runtimes trapped within, Century choose its path without reservation, fully aware of the consequences. Therefore, we find no fault in your own actions. Available data indicates that a human might say that we hold nothing against you or your crew." Jane smiles and nods._

" _Thank you. It means a lot to hear that." An idea pops up in her head and Jane waves for the massive platform to fall in, "I'd like you to come to a meeting with me. I have a proposal for the consensus." Paladin agrees and follows her to the conference room._

 _Date_ _: 1.5.2176_

 _Location : Red Wake staging area - Deep in the Verge_

 **Jane**

" _SUL'KAA! SUL'KAA! SUL'KAA!" Her ears are pounding as the chant reverberates through the slaughterhouse. It sets Jane's blood on fire with every splash of gore on her armor. The warriors of the Terminus are letting almost a year of pent up rage loose. After being on the back foot for so long, they are finally taking their due._

 _Jane is deep in the press of Red Wake bodies, a full ten meters deeper into the mob than the rest of the allies. She and Spits are carving a bloody tunnel through the enemy while the army tries to catch up. Spending a week in the hold of the Wake carrier left many of them on the verge of losing it, but now they can finally vent. She gathers power in both blades before launching biotic waves into the crowd of panicked mercenaries. Dozens are cut down like wheat before a scythe, giving Jane some breathing room. She spends half a heartbeat looking back at the army following in her wake. Teg is at the heart of the wedge, swinging his hammer around in wide, vicious arcs. Two mercs are smashed to paste with every swing, leaving behind little more than shattered army filled with sacks of meat. His smile is almost as wide as his father's. The elder krogan is right next to his son, gunning down anything that gets in the way, occasionally turning a proud eye in Teg's direction. They complement each other very well. Not far away, Jane spots the Bolg twins, urging the army onward._

 _Kal and Veritan are leading a geth fireteam onto the catwalks above. As they take position, the geth provide sniper support, picking off anyone that manages to find their courage and fire back. Lia is stalking through the crowd, silently killing with a smooth rhythm of biotics and gunfire. Over the radio, Jane hears John call in the arrival of the geth. While they occupy the local picket ships, John heads a squadron of ships out from beneath the crude plate camouflage welded onto the hull of the carrier. The five vessels with him are still damaged, but they were in the best shape of all the allied craft. At least the Pale Horse was still flying, even if it'll be almost a month before the main gun can be replaced. The hidden ships strike the pickets from behind, catching them in a vise with the geth._

 _They're almost all the way across the massive dock at this point. The remaining mercs are trying to escape through an open hatch, but a heavy stream of tracer fire pours out to cut them down. Despite the lingering pain in her still healing throat, Jane calls out to Zaeed, "About time you got here Massani! You almost missed the fun!" The last of the mercs die in a hail of full auto fire and Jane steps towards the doorway. Massani swaggers out with a heavy chaingun hanging from a shoulder strap._

 _He drops the beast of a weapon to the deck and pulls a battered old rifle down from his shoulder. "You honestly think I'd miss out on the hazard bonus just to sit on my arse? Not on your life kid." His steps closer and apparently is just now realizing that she's actually much taller than him. "Christ girl, what the hell are they feeding you?" Jane chuckles and turns to cheering army behind her._

" _The dock is ours!" The crowd roars is adulation, but they're not done yet. "Now we take the entire yard! Spread out and seize control! NO MERCY! NO PRISONERS!"_

" _NO MERCY! NO PRISONERS!" Jane waves them forward and five thousand warriors go looking for blood._

 _Date_ _: 12.14.2175_

 _Location : Caliban Dockyards_

 **Tiberius**

"Let's drop the pleasantries. Just what are you proposing Shepard?" The conference room goes quiet as Jane stands up from her seat. Despite their victory, it's not over. Shepard spelled it out for him and now she does the same for the delegates. Still healing from the battle of the carrier, Shepard uses sign language to speak as her 'daughter' translates.

"We've won a battle. The largest battle any of us has ever been a part of, but it's still just a battle. The war is still on and the Wake **will** return." The delegated murmur in fear or doubt while she paces around the table. "It's happened in the past. I've personally devastated them twice before, and they bounced back in less the two years on both occasions. The only way this will truly end is if we go after them where they live. Eradicate them lock, stock, and barrel. That means going on the offensive, starting with this." She punches in a series of commands, bringing up a holomap of a dockyard even larger than the one they're sitting on right now. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Red Wake's primary staging area, located in a scenic abandoned shithole starsystem deep in the Attican Traverse. They're using a set of relays the Council lost track of about five hundred years ago. Some kind of clerical error or something stupid like that. Still, it means that very little is known about the area. It's basically being used as a superhighway for pirates, slavers, and worse." The human called Eugene raps his knuckles on the table to get her attention.

"Forgive the interruption Shepard, but how do _you_ know about if the Citadel doesn't?" The others nod and Jane uploads a new file. A gravelly voice plays through the room's speakers.

"Shepard, I've got em. The bastards thought hidin out in the Traverse would be enough but they got lazy. I'm tailin a supply ship to their staging area right now. Will send word soon. Get that bonus ready girl. I'm about to give you a goddamn gold mine." The voice fades away as Jane starts signing again.

"That was my man on the inside. I hired him to find their shipyards and he's delivered. We've been receiving numbers on the local garrison, stolen goods being kept for resale, and the slaves being held. If we strike now, we can seize the shipyards, the loot, the ships still being built, and we can free thousands of innocent people that are about to be sold like cattle."

"But how? We have maybe four or five ships ready to go. Even a basic picket fleet could pick us off before we could get within a hundred thousand kilometers. Then the assault shuttles would be slaughtered." They all nod along with Tiberius. It was a major point that he'd been trying to make since the battle had ended. Shepard was adamant that they need to attack soon, but he can't see how they'd do it.

"It's simple. We have their carrier and we know that they went radio silent as soon as they passed through Omega. The Wake is extremely paranoid about having their long range communications compromised these days. They still don't know that the attack has failed. I say we take advantage of that. With the carrier, coordinates for their shipyards, and a little help from our new friends," she gestures to Paladin standing like a statue in the corner, "we can catch them unawares."

"I don't mean to insult our… allies, but my people are less than sanguine about trusting the geth." Representing the Freeriders, Tindin Vor Efred was clad in a heavily customized suit bedecked with small tokens that wouldn't look out of place on a shaman from some ancient civilization. The Freeriders have always been somewhat eccentric and Tindin is a perfect representative for them.

"That's understandable given the history between the geth and quarians, but the fact remains that you own your lives to them and we need their help." He looks towards Paladin and sighs.

"The Freeriders will work with the geth. Just… keep them at a distance for the time being, at least until the bulk of our guilds have reason to trust them." Jane nods to the quarian and goes back to explaining the objective. The rest of the delegates ask a bevy of questions, but Tiberius stays silent as he goes through the files detailing Shepard's plan. It's an interesting idea. She wants to imitate a virus.

 _Date_ _: 1.6.2176_

 _Location : Red Wake staging area - Deep in the Verge_

 **Zaeed**

He's standing on the sidelines, watching Shepard take on that thing in the temple. It's the only time in the last 14 hours that someone has put up a good fight against her. The ugly fucker is swinging a bladed whip around in a wild pattern that keeps the still growing crowd at bay. Hundreds are gathering in the tiered seating around the floor, roaring for the bastard's rotting blood, but they're keeping at a safe distance. The dozen unlucky sods that tried to help are lying in steaming pieces nearby. Its wip torn them apart with even the slightest touch.

Zaeed's kept a close eye on this thing since getting here last month, and not once has it ever shown a hint of emotion until now. It rages at Jane with an ear splitting roar, flailing the odd weapon around to try and drive her back. The creature lashes out with its whip once more, wrapping it around Jane's dark blade in a bid to rip it out of her hand. Instead of being pulled off balance, Shepard just smiles and pulses her biotics. She uses the creature's own weapon to tear it off its feet. As it sails by, Shepard swings her silver blade down to slice the priest's head off. The corpse flops onto the ground, bouncing repeatedly before coming to a rest against a humming piece of machinery.

The crowd is cheering wildly as she builds up a storm of biotic energy. A golden wave of power flashes out towards the body, obliterating it and the device behind. He walks over as she raises her blade high and calls to the crowd. "Victory!"

"VICTORY!" The stands erupt with celebratory gunfire while Jane lowers her blade. Zaeed is patched into the local command channel and can hear unit commanders from all over the dockyard calling in. Most of the yard has been taken, leaving only a few dozen pockets of relatively intact resistance, but the geth are already moving in. The big red one had a cannon that ripped through cover like it was wet cardboard.

"So, what's next Shepard?"

"Now we steal everything and divide it up. Pan, help get everything organized. Call Paladin and ask the geth to go through cargo holds before everybody goes nuts. If they find anything culturally valuable then it needs to go back to where it came from. Everything else is fair game." The digital girl agrees and then Shepard turns to Zaeed. "Take me to them." He leads her through the winding corridors, past the dormitories, the cargo holds that are being swept by the geth before the looting can begin, and at least ten separate armories. They arrive at their destination at one of the less well maintained areas of the dock. The command codes he took from a relatively weak willed turian merc open the doors and they step inside. Shepard cringes at the cages. "How many?"

"About 2200. They got people from pretty much every race in here." Jane nods and starts walking down the center of the bay. She looks into each cage they pass, shaking her head sadly at the fearful faces inside. "You picked a damn good time to come Shepard, all things considered. The Wake had a big sale in the works. Another two weeks and most of them would be on their way to some other shithole with no way out. Not sure who was buying, but they were offering a hell of a payout."

Jane looks into one of the cages to see a young woman cradling a squealing infant. For a second, Zaeed can see her lose herself in a memory before shaking it off. She pulls her dark blade out and with a quick slash, shatters the lock. The prisoner tries to back away but she's too weak. Shepard kneels down in front of her and holds out her hand, offering the starving woman a ration bar. "I'm not one of them. We're here to help." The slave reaches out with a trembling hand to take the bar. She snatches it away and wolfs it down, like it was the best things she's ever eaten. Jane gets back to her feet to send word to the others. "This is Shepard. I need all medical teams to my location immediately. Bring food, water, and any scrap of spare clothing you can find."

The teams get there pretty quick and start busting cages open. A lot of the slaves think it's just some game, at least until the food shows up. It takes a long time to get things sorted out and Zaeed earns himself a hefty bonus organizing a security detail to keep everybody safe from what's left of the Wake on the station. After everything's set in motion he goes to find Shepard. The woman is helping one of the med teams set a few broken bones for a man in a tattered suit, all while making a pitch to him. "Like I said Mr. Vargas, if Binary Helix is interested in expanding into a brand new market, free of Citadel taxes, then they should set up an office on Omega. I can have an army of private security to keep it safe and there are plenty of people in our alliance that would be happy to acquire your company's services, in exchange for certain promises of course." The man tries to keep smiling despite the pain as one of the medics pops his shoulder back into its socket.

"I'm sure the company would be more than happy-oh god that hurts... but I can't make any promises. After all, I'm just a junior sales rep." Shepard trades some contact information with him before getting up to walk down the center of the bay. At some point someone started circulating stories about how Jane was the one that put the attack in motion and now the freed slaves are looking like her she's goddamn Jesus or something. It's almost funny to see her cringe at the things they shout to her.

Everything seems to be going fine until a little kid, maybe 6 or 7 years old, runs up and hugs her legs. Shepard's whole body goes rigid as she stares down at the runt. "Thank you for helping us!" The little boy is completely oblivious to the look of absolute panic on Jane's face.. That's when Shepard's blind asari comes scurrying over to kneel next to the kid.

"Hey there little guy. I know you just wanna thank her, but Jane isn't feeling too good right now. Why don't I help you find a medic and some food and we'll get that little cut on your arm looked at." The asari points to an ugly infected gash on the kids arm. He nods to her and walks away with the asari holding his hand. When Zaeed turns back to ask Shepard what the hell happened, he sees that she's already gone.

 **Jane**

" _They're gone. There's nothing I can do. It happened years ago…" None of it makes a difference. She can't escape it. Four voices screaming for the pain to stop chase her through the twisting corridors of an abandoned section of the shipyard. Everywhere Jane turns, four polished skulls glare at her, begging for the torment to stop. Her foot catches on something and she tumbles to the ground. She tries to leap back up, to start running again, but something grabs hold of her ankle. Jane looks back to see four pairs of skeletal hands reaching out from oily black shadows. They drag her into an endless abyss as her own screams echo down the halls…_

 _Her eyes snap open as something starts pawing at her chest. Jane shouts in terror and pushes herself back before realizing that it's just Spits. Her buddy is whining softly, trying to nuzzle with her. Unable to hold herself together anymore, Jane breaks down and starts crying as he sidles up to let her hug him close. They were still sitting like that hours later when Scratch and Skitter led Dr. Chakwas to them._

 _Date_ _: 12.14.2175_

 _Location : Caliban Dockyards_

 **Pandora**

"Are there any objections? Any questions about how we do this?" Jane's friend from Alon raises his only hand. "Yes Tybar?" The turian gets to his feet and clears his throat.

"While I'm all for hunting these bastards down and taking the blood we're owed," the rest of the delegates all nod along, just as eager as him to take their own revenge, "hitting that shipyard means passing through Citadel territory, **Alliance** Territory. They might not be using the space yet, but it's still supposed to be theirs. How do we make sure we don't accidentally end up starting a war with them?" Pan smiles as Jane loads up the message from Arcturus. An older man in an immaculate uniform stands tall and speaks with a clear, commanding tone. He's a man well used to giving orders and having them obeyed.

"Greetings, delegates of the Terminus colonies. I am Admiral Steven Hackett, Commanding officer of the Systems Alliance Fifth fleet and authorized representative for the Systems Alliance in this matter. It has been brought to our attention that the mercenary organization known as the Red Wake has established a large staging area in Alliance territory from which they have been launching attacks against numerous targets, including your own homes. I also understand that a plan will soon be put in motion to destroy this staging area. As a representative of the Alliance's interests, I can assure you that if no movements are made outside of the plan that has been presented to me, there will be no conflict between the Alliance and any forces sent into our territory for the express purpose of destroying this staging area. Furthermore, if your people are interested, the Alliance would be willing to consider a formal non-aggression pact with the citizens of the Terminus systems. As many of your people settled in the Terminus to be free from the Citadel, any such agreement would of course be considered a private Alliance matter and would therefore, be kept secret from the galaxy at large, provided it was made with someone of reliable character." Most of the delegates are deep in thought over the implications of such an agreement. The potential benefits were immeasurable, and the lack of Citadel involvement? That was just icing on the cake. "Whatever your decision, I hope there can be peace between us for many years to come. Good luck in the coming battle. Hackett out."

While the delegates argue about the potential benefits and drawbacks of such an agreement, Pan tasks a few basic subroutines to keep translating for her mother. She briefly considers opening the files from Century to pass the time, but it's still too much to handle. Even thinking about it has several of her processes locking up under the stress. To take her mind off of it, Pan shifts to something a little more mundane. The data from the staging area. She goes through all the information they have a few thousand times, just to run the numbers some more. Massani had arrived at the target and was using falsified credentials to pose as a newly hired company commander. He seemed to be enjoying himself so far, cracking skulls under the pretense of maintaining discipline. The odd man was sending them everything they needed. The local garrison was left critically understaffed after someone named Taracus had come through and drafted almost everyone into some new venture before Zaeed arrived. He hadn't found out what it was yet, but it wasn't the Terminus. The local pickets were also severely depleted in the same draft. They were even getting early estimates on just how much loot was there, including almost twenty partially constructed ships.

If Pan could drool, she'd look like Spits right now. There's so much just sitting around, waiting for some to come and take it. Before the idea of turning their own weapons against them can completely consume her thoughts, Pan's attention is drawn back to the conference by a wheezing chuckle from the Iundos delegate. The old volus coughs a few times to get people to listen. "If I didn't know any better Shepard _hisht_ , I'd think you were suggesting an official political alliance, rather than the arrangement we have now."

"That's exactly what I'm proposing." The room is so quiet that an organic could hear the tics in the one bad power jack near the door. Jane needs to be very careful here. Several of the delegates already look set to storm out. "The fact of the matter is that while we fight well together, we're still just a loose alliance of disparate colonies, mercenaries, and warriors with ulterior motives. That works when you're holding off slavers or pirates, but it won't be worth much against anything bigger."

"What do you mean? Once the Red Wake is destroyed, what force in the galaxy would be of sufficient power and reach to threaten us? Who would…" This is the most dangerous part. If she over sells it, Jane might end up starting a much larger conflict. A few of them start to realize what she's playing at. "Are… are you suggesting that the Citadel would feel threatened by us?!" The idea of attracting the ire of the largest military in the galaxy had several of them visibly queasy, especially the drell that said it. In truth, the Citadel didn't give a damn about anything that happened beyond Omega, but the locals don't need to know that. Not yet at least.

"Threatened? No. Nervous? Absolutely. This alliance is the first of its kind to emerge within the Terminus in recorded history. Thousands of years of verifiable records stating that nothing has ever come out of these star clusters except pirates and slavers. The Citadel has tried to build political power blocks to manipulate the region before, and they've suffered humiliating failures time and time again. The idea that such an alliance could emerge completely independent of them will be a blow to the ego at the very least, and a threat to their legitimacy at the absolute worst. The Terminus needs to be ready for anything. **Anything**." Representative Eugene taps on the table to get her attention.

"Most of us came to the Terminus to escape centralized control such as the Citadel. Are you honestly proposing the formation of a new council out here? If so, then we've got nothing else to discuss." It's balanced on the edge of a knife. Jane's built up some serious faith with them, but this might break that.

"Not a council. No single entity can be trusted with that kind of power. However, if the colonies are to stay free from the council, the Terminus needs some kind of unifying body to rally behind in case the worst should happen. Therefore, the wise course of action would be to form a long-term coalition of willing peoples. A purely voluntary arrangement with no colony able to rule over another. All the participants in the coalition would share would be a joint military filled by a mix of people from every world and a basic set of laws. Beyond that, every world would be completely independent, free to pursue their own agenda so long as it doesn't interfere with another. Think about it. Essentially this is what we are already doing. The only difference is that every colony would have a solemn oath with their allies to defend each other no matter what, even after the Wake is ash. It would solidify ties between you all and allow for a new age of prosperity to blossom in the Terminus, completely free of the council and any other parasitic bodies. Not to mention the fact that forming a coalition will give the Terminus some degree of legitimacy when negotiating with the Alliance, if that's something you're interested in." Most look torn between signing up and storming out. "I suggest you take some time to think about it. Let's break for the day so you can contact your colonies. We can reconvene once you receive word from home." The delegates nod gratefully and quickly file out of the room, finally giving Jane a moment to hiss in pain. She signs for Pan to call Karin in.

For her part, the doctor only briefly scowls at her before opening up her medkit, "You should have broken from the meeting hours ago. It's not going to heal if you don't take care of it." Jane grimaces as she punches in the release code for the armor over her artificial arm.

"We don't know if it's going to heal at all. Nothing like this has ever been recorded, beyond freak genetic accidents with Krogan." With the armor cleared away, Jane isolates the length of her suit for the arm and unlatches several buckles holding it shut. As soon as the airtight seal is broken, a heavy trickle of dark blood starts seeping out.

"Be that as it may, I still think you need to rest for a few more days and let your body handle the infection. All this stress isn't helping you." Jane grunts in annoyance but doesn't resist as Karin starts prodding the swollen red flesh slowly growing up the base of her arm. She applies a powerful antiseptic, drawing a pained snarl from Jane. The strange infection was constantly trying to consume the flesh spreading across and into her artificial arm, so Dr. Chakwas was trying several experimental antiseptics to try and fight it. "Now go back to the ship and get some sleep." Jane looks set to argue but Karin points to the door. "Ship. Sleep. Now. Doctor's orders."

 **Jane**

 _After a night of fitful sleep, Jane meets with the delegates early in the morning. There was no Pomp and Circumstance, no grand ceremony, and no glorious marching band to celebrate. Instead they each made a binding oath (and in several cases, a blood oath) with a blessing from their homeworlds. In a conference room aboard a shipyard hovering over a gas giant, the Terminal Coalition was born._

 _Date_ _: 1.13.2176_

 _Location : Red Wake staging area - Deep in the Verge_

 **Jane**

 _After a week of looting, there's not much left to take. The ships in dock have been claimed and are already on their way to Caliban to be completed, while the dockyard itself is being disassembled so it too can be moved. It'll more than double her shipyard's production capacity. The liberated slaves have already been sent away. Most chose to go back home but a surprising number asked to go with the fleet, back to the Terminus. "Jane, we've got something on the other fleet." She walks down through the last two kilometers of the yard to the command center. It was the last major control hub in the facility and even it had already been stripped of non-critical components. The floor is a mass of opened panels with exposed wiring. Jane carefully steps over the mess to reach the panel Kalen is currently digging through. "He just managed to bypass the security hardpoints and now that the way is clear, I'm breaking the digital locks. We'll have their target in just a minute." Pan doesn't have anything to project from right now, so she's more than a little irritated._

" _Good work guys. Link up with the FTL comm system in the relay and get ready to send a warning. Hopefully they're still trying to stay hidden and creeping along the slower paths. I haven't heard anything from Hackett or Anderson yet so there's probably still time. It's not like such a large fleet could attack without making a few waves in the news either." Despite Pan's confidence, it still takes almost an hour before the final locks are broken. As soon as the files are opened, a klaxon starts screaming nearby. "What is it? What's wrong?"_

 _Kalen is frantically swiping through files, cursing as he brings up the information on the main viewer. "Got the location confirmed. Petra Nebula, Vetus system, Elysium…"_ _Jane freezes for several seconds. Elysium was well defended, but they'd never had to contend with such a massive force before. "Captain… Captain!" She shakes herself out of her stupor to look at Kalen. "What do we do?"_

" _Pan, send a call to Elysium right now. Tell them what's coming."_

" _Already trying. Something's blocking the signal. There's a jam in the network at the next relay in line! They're right outside the system!"_

" _Shit. Put me in touch with Hackett." Pan tries but there's a problem._

" _Dammit. I can't get through to Arcturus or anywhere! Something is flooding the network with crap signals! Nothing's going through anymore." Jane's mind is spinning. They can't send a signal. It'll take almost two days to get to Elysium from here and she's got a crewman still stuck on planet as a fleet of at least three hundred ships is closing in. Pan rapid fires ideas with Kalen on how to get through the interference but he has a counterpoint to shoot all of them down. Jane on the other hand backs out into the hall to find a spot to kneel down. She takes a deep breath and tunes out everything else. Alone with herself, Jane lets the floor of her mind drop out, plunging deep into her subconscious. The fall stops on a shadowed plain with two lights lazily spinning around a stone dais. Rolling dunes stretch into infinity, their grains formed from a trillion thoughts._

" _Long time since I've been here…" Since Niria completely the temple in her mind, Jane hasn't had to come to this place. She feels a presence behind her. "I need your help." Her shadow is a perfect echo of her, save for the artificial arm. In its place is an amorphous pool of possibility, with a network of nerve clusters slowly spreading through it. It nods at her and points a finger to the center of her forehead. When it makes contact, thousands of voices scream through her. Every single one shouts a different idea on what to do. Most of it is completely unintelligible, until another figure solidifies next to her. It's the one she met in the archives, but it doesn't speak. All it does is touch Jane's hand and the answer floods through the connection._

 _Her eyes snap open and Jane leaps to her feet, ignoring the shouts from inside the command center. "This is Shepard to all coalition forces. I need all biotics still on station to gather in Bay 02. Consult with your section leaders if you're not sure which that is." After getting a number of confused confirmations from across the dockyard, Jane sprints to the designated bay while mentally calling to Scratch and Skitter._

 _-Wake up guys, I need you!-_

 _-Doomsinger wants songs?-_

 _-Yes. Big songs. Find me as fast as you can!-_

 _-Grand songs! Sing for Doomsinger!-_

 _She skids into Bay 02 as a few dozen troops file in from a dozen different entrances. Jane orders them to stand in an intricate pattern circled around the center of the bay. "Okay, this is gonna sound weird but bear with me. I'm going to start a biotic 'song' if you will. Just do what feels natural. It'll make sense soon enough." Without another word, Jane lets her power flow, gathering it into a collection of glowing spheres. The new nerve clusters forming in her left arm are still weak, but some power can move through. The spheres start singing much like when she did this for Hanna and Miranda, but the song is much more focused this time. It takes a few minutes of weaving the melody, but eventually one of the biotics she called in steps forward. The battle-scarred krogan shaman speaks the old tongue of his vocation and pours his own power into the song, carefully following the currents of energy spelled out by the melody. In the hour that follows, every biotic joins in, adding to a swell of power that eclipses anything she's ever felt before. The others all move around in a patterned dance pulled from a memory buried deep in Jane's subconscious._

 _Before the song can reach its peak, Scratch, Skitter, and confusingly enough, Skittles come scuttling into the bay and take positions on either side of her. The little rachni form a biotic link with her while Skittles just starts bobbing back and forth with the song._

 _-Sing guys! Sing as loud as you can!-_

 _The two bugs give it their all, pouring out everything in their simple minds to add fuel to the building biotic tempest. All around them, the air twists and writhes, creating distortions that trick her eyes with false images. As the power reaches a peak in intensity, Jane lashes it to her will and focuses everything on a single point at the eye of the storm. Reality begins to warp at the point of concentration, ripping a pinprick sized hole in space. She would never truly be able to describe what it was like, simultaneously ripping through and containing that anomaly. Acting purely on instinct, Jane gathers her thoughts before forcing them through the breach. Too small for even a single atom to fit through, the tear was nevertheless enough for her to send a message across the stars, shouting for him to hear her._

 _With her energy completely spent in moments and biotics all around falling to the ground unconscious, Jane is forced to seal the breach without knowing if the warning got through. Lia drags herself across the floor from where she fell. "Jane… did it work?"_

" _I don't know and it doesn't matter right now. Come on. We've got to get going!"_

 _Date_ _: 1.13.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Kaidan**

"Again." He picks himself up from the ground and squares up across from Fel once more. Kaidan takes a deep breath, reveling in the feeling of finally being able to breathe normally again before attacking. The oversized lizard blocks every hit with almost contemptuous ease, but at least his returns aren't immediately knocking him to the ground anymore. Recovering from almost having his lungs ripped out has been a long and torturous process, but he's finally getting back to normal. Soon, he'll be back where he belongs, up in the stars with the crew of the Pale Horse. The idea of finally getting back into the action distracts him at the wrong time and Fel breaks through his guard. Never one to baby the people he trains, Fel doesn't hesitate to put Kaidan on the ground again. "Come on Alenko! Get aggressive ! If you let me through like that one more time I'm gonna turn Mr. Snickle's Fun Time back on, and this time I'll smash the remote." He leaps to his feet, snarling in rage at the thought of hell coming back to his room in the recovery wing.

In a move almost too fast to see, Kaidan builds up a biotic surge and rockets a fist into Fel's face. The krogan's head snaps to the side as he's catapulted away to crash into a tree. It cracks loudly under the impact but manages to stop his flight. Kaidan marches over to knock on his chestplate. "How was that? Was that aggressive enough for you?" Fel groans loudly as Kaidan helps him out of the tree trunk.

"About damn time you stopped tryin to be nice." They call it quits for the day and start the trip back into the city. Along the way Kaidan can see a group of marines on shore leave having CQC tournament on one of the practice fields. It looks like one team is dominating. Their leader is cheering on an extremely short woman covered in tattoos. She's practically dancing around her opponent. She strikes at pressure points and dumps her target on the ground in seconds, before being hoisted into the air on the shoulders of her other teammate, a absolute giant of a man. Kaidan nods to them as they pass.

Just a few minutes away from one of the gates leading into the city, he feels a heavy static charge build up in the air, like a biotic trying to use an ability that's taking just a little bit too much out of them. As he watches, a pinprick sized point in the air starts to glow brightly before a grinding shriek starts spilling out. Most of the people around, including Fel, are driven to their knees in pain, but Kaidan feels himself transfixed by the sound. Drawn to it, he slowly stumbles towards the source. He reaches out, only to have the shrieking redouble in volume and focus on him. Kaidan puts his hand to his ears to try and shut it out, but then a stream images flood into his mind. Images of death and destruction, of Elysium burning to the ground. Then he hears Jane's voice echo through the air, "KAIDAN!" Everything goes silent. The shrieking stops and he can think for himself again.

Kaidan can't help but vomit his lunch onto the ground as he tries to sort out what the hell just happened. "What the hell? You okay kid?" he looks over to see Fel slowly getting to his feet after emptying his own stomach.

"No… Did you hear it? Did you hear her?!" He nods and pulls the shotgun from his back to check it for faults.

"Yeah, though I think you got most of it. Not sure how she did it, but that's not important right now." Kaidan nods and waves over the group of marines stumbling away from their tournament.

"I know. Elysium is about to be attacked."


	73. Chapter 73

**Chapter 73 - Elysium**

 _Date_ _: 1.13.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Kaidan**

They make their way through the busy streets of Illyria. Everyone they pass is suffering from the after affects of Jane's warning, but he seems to be the only one that really understood it. Fel is parting the crowd with his imposing bulk, while the marines from outside the wall follow close behind. The little woman with the tattoos is sharpening a serrated knife against a small grinding belt tied to her wrist as she chuckles to herself. "If those shitheads think they're gonna come here and start something, we're gonna fuck em up! I can't wait to see if Shep was right about keeping the serrations sharp!" The giant man behind her looks nervous, but as long as his little friend seems confident he keeps going. Their team leader is walking behind, lost in deep thought.

All of them come to a halt as a full squad of MPs pulls up in a modified mako. Their leader walks up to Kaidan, "Sergeant Alenko?" Kaidan nods, "General Parsan wants to see you. Now." With no better plan than speaking to command anyway, Kaidan hops into the mako with the MPs as Fel and the fireteam that knows Jane hop onto the roof. The others take off for one of the city's main armories to gear up, just in case.

The mako moves through the streets slowly. Throngs of people are crossing at random, holding their heads thanks to the migraines that Jane's warning seems to have caused. Eventually they get through to fort Grissom, the primary garrison point for the colony. Several groups of marines are already setting up barricades to help manage traffic into the fort. The mako pulls to a stop outside the central keep and the marine that spoke to him leads the way to the main hall where General Savan Parsan is spelling out orders to someone in orbit. "Maintain position above the colony…. No, do not move to the relay yet. We don't understand what it was and rash action will not be of any benefit. Thank you Kaskin." He notices Kaiden at attention and gives a quick salute in return, "Yes Kaskin. I'm about to get some answers. I'll send word when I know more." The comm shuts down as the General steps over. "Sergeant Kaidan Alenko?"

"Yes sir."

The general nods and gestures for him to follow. He leads the way to an elevator that lets out on the roof of the fort. Kaidan can see for miles in every direction. It'd be a perfect place for an artillery spotter. Judging by the quartet of heavy guns parked in a clearing just a hundred meters away, that was the point. The general steps to the edge of the roof and stands with his arms folded. "I'll skip the formal bullshit son. The voice, you heard it?"

"Yes sir. I think almost everyone heard it." The general nods, unsurprised.

"That's what the reports say. Now, I won't pretend to understand just what the hell happened, but I do know that I heard a woman shout a name. Your name. You are the only man named Kaidan on Elysium right now. In fact, you're the only Kaidan we can identify in the entire sector. I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you know what that was."

Kaidan thinks for a minute before stepping up next to the general. "I think I know _who_ it was sir, but I can't even guess as to how she did it." The general looks his way with a raised brow. "I'm almost certain that it was Shepard, my CO."

General Parsan turns away from the view to face Kaidan, "You think your CO sent some kind of… I don't know what the hell it was. A psychic message or something?"

"I'm almost positive sir."

The general glares at him for a moment. "Let's say, hypothetically, that your CO did do this. Why? What's the point of potentially causing brain damage to half the population of Illyria?"

"I think it was a warning sir. She was trying to tell us that Elysium is in danger." Parsan doesn't look at all convinced. "Look, General, I know how insane it sounds. I wouldn't believe it was possible if I hadn't served with her in person. It may seem crazy, but trust me when I say that Jane Shepard can-"

"Jane Shepard? _Lieutenant_ Jane Shepard? Red hair? Glowing eyes?" For a second, Kaidan almost feels the need to reach for a weapon. People recognizing Jane tended to end either in a gunfight or an assassination attempt. He never expected such a surprised, almost fearful reaction to him mentioning her name.

"I wasn't aware that you knew her sir."

The general actually hesitates before speaking. "I don't know her. I know _of_ her. She has an… interesting reputation." He turns back to look at the colony, tapping his foot nervously. "Do you believe the warning is really her? Is it credible?"

"She wouldn't have done it otherwise. Elysium is about to be hit, and it's going to be bad." The visions of death and fire from Jane's message are still roaring in his head. The general nods and leads the way back into the fort, immediately calling for a colony wide alert. Sirens start blaring all throughout the city as the people prepare for battle.

 **General Parsan**

After Alenko leaves to assist with the preparations in the city, Savan heads down to a room hidden in the lowest sublevel of the fort. He passes through the local reactor's main chamber to reach a seemingly unimportant stretch of the rear wall. After making sure there was no one else in the area, he runs a hand along a nearly invisible seam until his fingers catch on a hidden latch. A quick pull is all it takes to trigger the lock and a small terminal emerges from the wall. It takes a DNA scan, retinal scan, and a passphrase in a language that no one outside the Order still remembers, but eventually the wall slides open and he steps in.

He's never even considered coming down here before. There'd never been a need, but if the Fulcrum was sending a warning then it must be important. Despite being untouched for almost seven years at this point, the room is still spotless, a testament to the quality of the seals that kept it hidden. The standard FTL comms were down, likely because of whatever the Fulcrum was trying to warn them of. Thankfully, the Order has special resources to call on. Savan steps to the center of the humming pad built into the floor and speaks the special command phrase. In seconds a holographic grid rises up to his sides before projecting an image of the room his colleague is answering from. "This is Hackett. What's the emergency Savan?"

"Sir, I don't understand how, but the Fulcrum has sent a warning to Elysium via a previously unknown psionic communication method. The colony is likely about to be attacked. Major comm lines are already being blocked, but whatever is coming hasn't arrived yet. I've ordered a general alert, but if the Fulcrum was the one to send the warning…" The admiral nods, well understanding what he's implying.

"I hear you Savan. The Order has been worried about the potential of a serious attack for some time now. Declare martial law immediately, escalate to a total system lockdown, and get ready for an incursion of unprecedented scale. You have my permission to take full command of the defense. Transmitting codes now." He receives the codes and nods to his superior.

"Received sir. How soon can we expect reinforcement?"

"If the neighboring systems aren't communicating then it will likely require us to punch through resistance along the way. A relief flotilla will be launched by the end of the day, but it will take time to gather a large enough fleet and carve a path. Hold as best you can and remember our oath."

Savan nods with a salute, "Yes sir. My life for the cause. My soul for the future."

Hackett returns the salute. "Good luck General. Hackett out."

Savan reseals the chamber, confident that help is on the way. As soon as he gets back to the fort proper, he declares martial law under his granted authority and summons every militia member to service. While the city quickly switches to full war footing, the local fleet is ordered into defensive posture around the relay.

 **Taracus**

"Final approach to relay. Ten minutes to transition sir." He can feel the energy in the air as they near the target. In just a few short minutes, the Wake will be back on the right path. The only thing tarnishing the glory of the occasion is Haliet's marauders. When Taracus agreed to the alliance with the separatist, it was with the understanding that the man could bring a sizable warfleet to bear quickly. Even after several near catastrophic delays in supply shipments and troop movements, what they got was nothing more than a ill-disciplined mob, no better than what made up the bulk of the Red Wake when Taracus first joined. Their ships are little more than common raiders, but the low quality is offset by the astonishing numbers. The raiders outnumbered the Wake by nearly three to one, putting the total fleet numbers at just under a thousand ships. Hundreds of raiders will be destroyed just taking the skies over Elysium, but that doesn't matter. In fact, it'll be quite useful, especially if he can lay the blame for such losses at Haliet's feet. Higher casualties meant more loot for the survivors. Once the colony has been leveled, Taracus will have the reputation and resources he needs to begin the real work. The work they should have been doing from the beginning.

"Put me through to the entire fleet." His comm officer complies and Taracus stands up to address the army, _his_ army. "To my brothers of the Red Wake. For years now we have waited. At first we waited so our numbers could recover from a horrific defeat. Then, we waited for the right time to strike. Then, when that time came, we waited for our leadership to set us loose and take our due. Instead, we kept waiting. Then we waited and waited and _waited_!" The rage almost overwhelms him for a moment. _Years wasted…_ "No more! At long last, we are free to do what we were born to do. Elysium will fall and then, ha, that's when the real fun begins." He can picture the raiders from one end of the fleet to the other chortling over the carnage to come and the plunder just waiting to be taken. "Stick to the plan my brothers. Glory awaits!"

As the cheering bounces through the halls of the ship, the pilot reports. "Entering relay in thirty seconds."

Taracus sighs in contentment. "All hands, this is it. Make ready for the jump." Then he settles back into the command throne and lets his ideas for the future bounce around for a while. With what he'll take from Elysium, Taracus will be able to build a new fortress and maybe even a new Torfan. This time those damned priests won't be allowed within a thousand lightyears, no matter what they offer in return. He might even have the chance to go back to Torfan itself for a little revenge against that bastard for wasting so much of his life.

He's daydreaming of skinning Jortan as the helmsman calls out the relay activation. The ship trembles while the fleet screams through the FTL corridor. Taracus closes his eyes and lets the pride of the moment flood through his entire being. _This is right. This is_ _ **destiny**_ _._ He's still daydreaming as the fleet breaks from FTL, emerging right into a murderous barrage of incoming ordinance.

 **General Parsan**

Commodore Kaskin might be a stubborn goat, but the old warhorse knew how to meet an enemy emerging from FTL. Fire, fury, and no time to form up, that's the way to go. Despite being hopelessly outnumbered by the scum flooding into the system, the Commodore meets them head on with a torrent of torpedoes, missiles, point-defense lasers, and railgun fire from the sub-light defense ships. Kaskin had retired to Elysium years ago, but swiftly became bored with civilian life. After easily working his way into the local garrison force, he helped kick-start almost a decade of wargames between him and just about every flag officer that got stationed in system. Among other things, he's measured radiation levels to map out every exit vector for the relay, with contingency plans for hundreds of scenarios ranging from a a rogue asteroid coming through, to a full scale galactic civil war.

Even in the face of such an overwhelming attack, Savan can't help but smile at the murderous toll Kaskin's small force is taking on the raiders. Most of them seem to be little more than cargo haulers with a few aftermarket weapons tacked onto the hull. These are dying in droves with almost no effort. If not for the absurd numbers, the commodore could win. As it is, he's making a noticeable dent, but after almost an hour, the swarm is beginning to overwhelm the local ships. The commodore doesn't seem phased, "Bit of a mess up here Savan, but we're giving it to them!"

"I know, but you need to pull back. It'll be a little while before help comes and-"

"Help?! Ha! We can take them! It might hurt, but by God we're going to win the day!" Savan scowls as the tac-screen shows Kaskin's small force turning even deeper into the enemy formation. Seeing less than a hundred warships go up against close to a thousand… it'd be heroic if it wasn't so deranged.

"Dammit Kaskin, pull back now! The core of the fleet won't be so easy to break!" The commodore laughs him off and continues the charge for another hour, but then he hits the first real obstacle. At the heart of the enemy fleet there seems to be a solid block of real warships, including a damned battleship leading the invasion. Kaskin's ships finally meet their match and are soon forced to break off from the charge. The commodore himself is nearly killed by a vicious broadside from the command ship.

As the battered survivors of the defense fleet make a break for the fall back point deeper in the system, the enemy fleet slowly consolidates in the face of losing close to a third of its number.

 **Taracus**

"RETURN FIRE!" He actually has to hold one of the plates on his face on to keep it from peeling away. A medic frantically uses a surgical laser to reattach it. "I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES! JUST DRIVE THE SCUM BACK!" He can smell his own flesh melting under the laser as his tactical and comm officers get to work. The local defenders are countered by the full force of the Wake fleet. Seeing them turn and run would make Taracus smile if half his bridge wasn't on fire.

Everything started going wrong as soon as they broke from FTL. The humans knew they were coming. He doesn't know how and it doesn't matter. If he's going to save this venture, not to mention his own skin, they need to move in now. "Reform the fleet immediately! Leave behind any ships that can't follow and start the landings!" Almost a third of the fleet is burning, but by the spirits he'll take his pound of flesh. It takes hours to get some semblance of order back. By the time they finally make orbit, the defense fleet has launched two small strikes and the battery of heavy guns in orbit has realigned to fire on them. For now Haliet's raiders are the one's being hammered, but eventually they'll all be dead.

Taracus leaves his most trusted man in command and moves down to the launch bay. He's going down in the second wave to make sure that the Wake gets _something_ worthwhile. The other thirty men in the drop shuttle look just as furious as he feels. Taracus can hear several of them snarling during the descent.

 _Date_ _: 1.14.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Kaidan**

The sirens are still blaring as they wait for the enemy to arrive. He's standing at the city's northern wall with dozens of marines and close to a hundred members from the local militia. A few of them came to him to ask for assignments, giving him a good view of a patch on their shoulders. Apparently, several of them received training on Mindoir. They're not as efficient as the marines, but it's still impressive to see civilians working side by side with the military so well.

Jane's friends from basic are right next to him. Toombs has a rifle aimed into the air and is calling out approach vectors to the teams manning the local AA batteries. His IR scope easily pierces the darkness of the night. The woman with tattoos is playing with a knife while her towering friend keeps chewing on his finger nails. She sees it and reaches up to pat him on the shoulder. "Don't worry Bobby. We're gonna kick some ass. And don't forget that Shep's the one that warned us. No way she isn't on the way. We just gotta tough it out until she gets here." The giant takes her in a hug, careful to avoid crushing her.

Fel is standing nearby, picking grime from one of the deep claw marks in his crest. There's a pole crudely welded to his backplate with an Alliance flag flapping in the breeze above him. When Kaidan pointed out that he could be mistaken for one of the incoming mercs once things get hairy, it didn't take much to convince him to add a little flare to make sure he wouldn't get shot by one of their own.

The enemy shuttles come down across a wide swath of the countryside, with a few doing so in burning streaks thanks to several AA emplacements inside the city. One craft in particular takes a hit to the engines and veers towards the wall. It passes overhead less than fifty meters, shedding fragments of burning debris before crashing almost half a kilometer into the city. He can see that some of the debris has struck the top of the walls and someone is shouting frantically for a medic.

Moments later he gets a call from General Parsan, "Sergeant Alenko, respond."

"Here sir. A shuttle just passed overhead and crashed inside the wall. We have several injuries from falling debris," The sound of gunfire starts echoing from behind them, "and it sounds like some of the enemy survived the shuttle crash."

"That is correct son. We have a rapid response team already engaged, but the damn shuttle came down right on top of them. Half the team is dead and the others are pinned down. Captain Trin was just killed by debris. Lieutenant Markin is reorganizing on the wall and I need a new man to handle priority work. You are the second highest ranking man for that stretch of the defenses, so you're the one. Put a team together and take care of the shuttle. Report in once you're done." There's no time to waste, so Kaidan just pushes on.

"Understood sir." Fel nods for him to get going before hopping up onto the edge of the wall to theatrically hump the air and bellow insults towards the mercs landing outside. Kaidan chuckles and turns to Corporal Toombs and his team. "You three are with me. We've got hostile survivors at the shuttle crash. Orders are to take them down before they can cause anymore trouble." Kaidan draws and primes his heavy pistol. "Let's go."

With Sue whooping like a maniac, Kaidan leads the three of them to the shuttle crash where they can see a half strength squad pinned down by at least twenty hostiles. "Those dickheads are gonna fuckin regret coming here. Come on boss! Let's kill em!" The half crazed smile on her face reminds him of Shepard, if a little more unhinged than he's used to. She's running the blade of a serrated knife backwards across her arm, just light enough to avoid hurting herself but enough to draw a few beads of blood.

"That's the plan Esulard. Toombs, get to a spot where you can get a clean shot around their cover." Toombs disappears into the shadows while Sue faux gags at her real name and pats Bobby on the shoulder. Minutes later they can hear a single click over the mic. With Toombs in position, Sue points towards the cackling mercenaries before dragging a finger across her throat. In response, the massive marine pulls on the mechanical harness mounted on his back. As the device slides into place along the harness, it unfolds into a dual barreled cannon that he has to brace over his shoulder, even with the backpack helping him. Anyone else would struggle just to hold the damned thing up. As it is, Bobby just grunts under the weight and takes a steady hold of its trigger. He looks to Kaidan for permission to fire. "Keep the bastards down until Esulard and I can get close. Open fire."

Sue rolls her eyes but follows right behind him as the massive cannon starts firing. The recoil of each shot rocks Bobby back slightly, but with his feet planted and overdeveloped muscles fully flexed, he just grits his teeth while keeping the cannon on target. Two of the mercs are shredded before they realize they're under attack. The impacts rip the men into a gory paste and drive the survivors into cover. Some try to return fire but the few shots they get off draw Bobby's attention before his personal shield can be overwhelmed. Precision shots from Toombs pegs three of the mercs before they can even pull the trigger and the rest is just to keep their heads down to cover his teammate.

Three more mercs are blown to pieces by the time Kaidan and Sue get close. She leans in real close as the enemy comes into view. "Bobby just told me that he's about to lose his shields. We need to take em fast." He nods and takes a second to survey the field. The mercs are taking cover just a few meters away, with their right flank exposed. They've got decent cover from the heavy gun, but it's not perfect. Another merc is blasted to paste before a loud popping noise fills the air. Sue gets extremely agitated at the sound of a shield failing. "Bobby's in trouble boss! We gotta go now!" The stream of cannon fire peters away as Bobby ducks into cover. Encouraged by the lack of incoming shots, the mercs jump over their cover and move towards the heavy gun, firing wildly as they go. The enthusiasm dies a little as another one is dropped by a shot from Toombs

"Follow me." Kaidan and Sue sprint for the cover the mercs just abandoned. She levels a shotgun that, judging by the color palette and extremely high quality craftsmanship, is almost certainly a gift from Jane. For his own part, Kaidan picks out the merc leader and aims his favorite hand cannon. "Fire." His shot is perfect, breaking the target's shield with ease before being buried in the turian's head. The sound of the shot is drowned out by the roar of Sue's shotgun. Instead of scattershot like he'd expected, the weapon launches a red wreathed carnage charge. It hits the only krogan in the group and rips him in half. As he dies choking on his own vaporized organs, half the survivors turn to fire at them. The others are trying to find Toombs and failing miserably. As another has his brainpan emptied, Bobby's cannon roars back to life. With only seven left alive, the mercs try to overwhelm Kaidan and Sue to get back into cover. Bobby is forced to hold fire once the range is too close.

Without hesitating, Kaidan vaults the lump of rubble and charges right into the mercs. It seconds, he's in the middle of the survivors before they can draw a bead on him. Channeling his biotics like Jane showed him, Kaidan powers a violet wreathed fist into a turian's torso. The plates shatter like glass, pulping the delicate organs beneath. The next man is still turning when a biotic push sends him flying, impaling him on a piece of exposed rebar. His head is starting to throb from maintaining a biotic aura. Despite intense training from Shepard, there were still limits to what an L2 biotic like him could do in actual combat. To give him some relief, he lets the energy fade away after warping another man's head. The merc is choking on the ash of his own flesh as Kaidan takes cover behind some rubble. Sue's weapon roars again, ripping the arm off what sounds like a drell.

The rest of the mercs die quickly as Kaidan, the fire team, and the rapid reaction squad pour on the heat. Once the reaction team survivors are on their way, Kaidan calls Savan. "Enemy survivors dealt with general. Where do you need us?"

"Get back to the wall sergeant. The first attack has begun." They Sprint back to the wall to find it under siege. There's no heavy vehicles or artillery yet, but the marines are still hard pressed. Thankfully, Fel's antics keep them in high spirits. The krogan is standing out of cover, bellowing the most obscene insults Kaidan has ever heard. Occasionally someone takes a shot at him, but his heavy shields and even heavier plating keep the bullets from doing anything serious.

Kaidan and the others take position with the marines at the wall and settle in for a long night.

 **General Parsan**

The Mercenaries maintain the assault for 10 straight hours before breaking off and settling into well defended dugouts outside of rifle range. The city's small artillery park is busy throughout the night, lobbing shells at anything with even a modicum of heavy armor. Casualties inside the city are relatively light given the circumstances, but the countryside is being ravaged. There's just no way to get anyone out there to help. At least there's still a few units of marines out there putting up one hell of a fight.

Savan keeps his forces as mobile as possible, shifting men and materiel around the city in several rapid response squadrons. The most effective team is Alenko's. The young man was everything he'd expected from a member of Shepard's crew, and then some. He was adept at leading a moderately sized force and had a ruthless streak that his psych profile made no mention of. There were several times when other forces mentioned Alenko's team executing prisoners attempting to surrender. Given some of the stories he's heard about Shepard, it's no surprise that someone serving under her would slowly become more like her.

In orbit, the commodore keeps launching raids at every opportunity, but he is doing it without support. Most of the orbital guns have either been disabled or are under siege. The enemy force has been reduced to half strength, mostly thanks to the hideous casualties suffered by the common raiders rather than the professional warships in orbit over Illyria. The old warhorse was still broadcasting open challenges to the mercenary captains. He killed several of them in ship-to-ship duels before a furious message from their leader sent entire squadrons after the loud mouthed commodore. Kaskin was having the time of his life, weaving through the new debris field between Elysium and the relay, luring them in trap after trap.

Savan spends the entire day shifting men around to get ready for the next assault, all the while praying that the Admiral's relief force will arrive soon.

 _Date_ _: 1.14.2176_

 _Location : Petra Nebula - One relay out from Elysium_

 **Anderson**

"Captain, enemy contacts blockading the relay."

"Show me." His tac screen lights up, showing fifty warships blocking the way through the relay. "Open a channel to the enemy fleet." The comm officer nods and sets up the comm link. He signals for Anderson to begin. "Attention mercenary force. By blockading this relay without approval you are in direct violation of Alliance and Citadel law. Power down your engines and shields and surrender. You have thirty seconds to comply." In response, the enemy fleet immediately opens fire. The Tokyo's deck trembles slightly under the impact. "Alright then. Captain Anderson to all commanders. The enemy has received our offer of mercy and rejected it. Move in by squadron and engage. No mercy. No prisoners."

 _Date_ _: 1.15.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Kaidan**

It never ends. Hundreds of bodies cover the ground outside the walls, many of them having fallen without ever firing a shot. This is the first time in nearly twenty hours that his team has been back to the northern wall. Their half crumpled mako, courtesy of a near miss from a crashing merc gunship, grinds and growls like a wounded animal as they pull up to the area. He can already hear gunfire, just before someone falls from the wall. They all bail out and run over to check, but there's nothing that can be done. The man's entire torso has been opened by a high calibre shot.

Kaidan closes the dead man's eyes and leads the team up onto the wall. The mercs are pushing hard, shielded from the bulk of the defenders fire by a large squadron of heavy tanks that landed in the most recent wave. Unlike the previous attacks, the heart of this one seems to be made of combat veterans. They move behind the tanks, careful to avoid exposing themselves for more than a few seconds to fire up at the defenders. At a hundred yards out from the wall, the armor column stops in one long line. Their guns all take aim at a single point, just below Kaidan's position. He bellows as loud as he can, "TAKE COVER!" The line of cannons fires in unison and the wall begins to buckle.

 **Taracus**

After almost two days, they have a way into the city. He'd been worried for a little bit. There were rumors of building discontent, and not enough of it was aimed at Haliet to keep Taracus safe. At least now they can get in and make their numbers count for something. "Move in on the breach. Kill everything at the wall and take the city." The tanks move further towards the city, using their heavy guns to force the defenders to keep their heads down. A few smaller breach points open up but the bulk of his force is charging the main breach in the north.

Taracus himself hops into a gunship but orders the pilot to hold back until the enemy is fully engaged. No sense exposing himself to incoming fire before Haliet's cannon fodder get stuck in. Once the amateurs are clogging the enemy guns, the Red Wake will move in and take the prize.

 _Date_ _: 1.15.2176_

 _Location : Petra Nebula - One relay out from Elysium_

 **Anderson**

It's cost them several smaller ships, but the relief force seems to be taking the upper hand. The Tokyo provides heavy cover fire for the smaller wolf packs of frigates as they move in at breakneck speed. Even the Order hadn't been expecting the mercs to put up such a good fight. Another friendly contact winks out on the Tac-net, casting doubt on his assumptions. That's when the sensor operator calls out, "We've got six FTL breaches detected at the edge of the system. Contacts are moving to engagement range at high speed!" Worried that they've been flanked, Anderson is about to call for an emergency turn to face the new targets, but quickly finds out that he's worried for nothing. "New contacts have one Alliance IFF and five Alliance affiliate signatures."

"Who's the Alliance signature?"

The officer runs the ID tag, "Friendly is registered as a Class 2 operative vessel. ID is the Special Operative Vessel Pale Horse. The other ships are of an unknown make and model."

Anderson is shocked to say the least. "Shepard…"

 **Jane**

" _Take us in, flanking speed." The Pale Horse has a bit of a tremble in the deck as they scream towards the enemy. "Lock the GARDIAN array on the command ship. Load all missile tubes, Hammerhand warheads. We aren't looking for salvage today. Tell the rest of the fleet to focus on anything targeting damaged Alliance ships. Stick together and let's take them down." As Kalia and Kal get to work, Jane turns to Pandora's avatar. "Send targeting coordinates to the Alliance battle group. We aren't interested in their plan. They engage with us or stay put. I don't care which."_

 _Halfway to the target the Alliance force makes contact. "Shepard, hold back. We don't have the numbers to take them head on." Jane roles her eyes._

" _Not a chance Anderson. Follow us in or piss off." She waves for Pan to cut the line as the turrets open fire. The high frequency lasers tear into the enemy hull in a ripple fire pattern as a full volley of missiles sail free._

 **Anderson**

"Dammit Shepard…" He has to give it to her, she's still as psychotically brave as ever. Her little fleet dives right down the merc force's throat, firing in every direction. Contrary to his expectations, their GARDIAN fire is blasting through the enemy's heavy armor with ease, clearing the way for the missiles to fly inside with a precision he would never have thought possible. The command ship, already damaged from the relief force's guns, loses it's shields in seconds and is struck by a pair of heavy torpedoes from the Pale Horse. The unstable eezo warheads rip the front quarter of the ship off, sending the rest of the vessel tumbling into the nearest ships. The rest of her fleet hammers everything nearby as the pass through to wheel around for another attack.

With their command ship dead in space, the mercs quickly lose their nerve and try to flee, only to be met by the next phase of the relief effort. The admiral really came through. Anderson sighs in relief as the Alliance 3rd and 5th fleets break from FTL with the Logan and the Orizaba at the head off their respective fleets. The surviving mercs are quickly blasted to ash by the massive ships.

They make contact with the incoming armada and get into formation for the transit to Elysium. He tries to contact Shepard, but the Pale Horse has already passed through the relay.

 **Kaidan**

He comes to with a throbbing headache and blood running down his face from a cut over the eyes. Bobby is close by, shoving debris off of Sue and Toombs. The two of them stagger to their feet as Kaidan gets a call, "Alenko? Alenko report!" He feels a heavy hand pull him back to his feet and turns to see Fel. He nods to the krogan before calling in.

"I'm here general. The wall is breached! Incoming enemy contacts!" He can hear them roaring towards the breach, but a line of explosions from the artillery keeps them moving at a snail's pace.

"Understood. All available rapid response teams are on the way, but it'll take time. That's not the only breach point. Gather up as many as you can and hold the line! The first elements of the relief force have breached the relay. Hold until they get here!" Kaidan wearily acknowledges and starts rounding up everyone nearby. Most are dazed from the sudden collapse. There are quite a few people calling for help, but there's no time. The first mercs are already pushing through the breach point, only to be met by bullets from every gun in sight. Even as the bodies crumple, more men push in from behind.

Bobby drops his cannon into position as Sue, Toombs, and Kaidan take aim.

 **Taracus**

This is it. Haliet's marauders have arrived at the breach point and are soaking up the worst of the enemy fire while the Wake can take position behind them, ready to move in after the enemy is exhausted. "Take us in. Nice and slow." The pilot nods as the wing of gunships takes off. There was a rumor that Haliet himself had already fled, which would just make it easier to pin the heavy cost on the separatist. Taracus can still salvage the day, as long as he can take the city before the Alliance can reinforce.


	74. Chapter 74

**Chapter 74 - Lion's Roar**

 _Date_ _: 1.15.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Kaidan**

"Toombs take down the heavy weapons before they can set up! Sue tag the enemy wounded! Bobby suppressing fire!" With the few reaction teams the general was able to send, they've held the breach for almost an hour. After such overuse, the amp in his neck is starting to burn the surrounding flesh. There's at least one bullet lodged in his shoulder and they're running low on medigel, armor patches, and just about everything else. The barrels on Bobby's cannon are starting to glow from the building heat. Despite it all, they're still holding.

"Alenko, come in."

"Here general! We're being pressed hard but by God we're holding!"

"Damn fine work Sergeant. Hold just a little longer son. The first part of the relief flotilla has broken through. Six ships, lead by the Pale Horse itself." _She's here_. "They've still got to break through the ships in orbit, but help is on the way. Hold that line Sergeant."

"Understood!" The line closes as he blows the head off another merc. A line of cannon fire crosses the breach, blasting the body to pieces and killing the two men coming up from behind. The half-smirk on his face starts growing. _We can do this! Just a little longer!_ The hope building in his chest is suddenly crushed as he hears the grind of tank treads closing on the breach.

 **Jane**

" _We're ready when you are Commodore." The old man leading the defense fleet was a bit of an odd ball compared to the other Alliance officers she's known, which made him perfect in her eyes. Kaskin made contact as soon as they came through the relay and together they've come up with a plan to force the fleet out of orbit. The Alliance ships are out of heavy ordinance but the Coalition vessels are still packing._

 _Bogged down in the planet's gravity well, the mercenaries can't maneuver. It makes them easy prey to the torpedoes from the Coalition ships. Either the enemy leaves orbit to pursue the attacking ships or they stay and take the hits, but leaving exposes them to concentrated rail fire from the Commodore. Staying lets them use the planet as a shield of sorts, but slows their maneuvers so much that even a torpedo coasting on momentum alone would have time to hit._

 _The enemy commanders quickly realise that staying put is a death sentence. Almost half the fleet breaks orbit, along with the battleship. "Pan they're coming our way."_

" _I'm ready over here." The mercs make a beeline for the coalition forces, clearing the planet enough for a nasty surprise to be brought to bear._

 **Pandora**

A few of the mercs managed to switch on their mag boots after she blew the airlocks, but not many. Only two of the orbital guns are still infested and careful shots from the others take care of that problem. Once she's alone it's child's play to clean out the scrapcode clogging the guns' targeting systems. Clear of any possible interference, Pan uses the maneuvering thrusters built into the orbital platforms to retarget the guns.

Firing in conjunction with commodore Kaskin's fleet and the Coalition forces, the now restored heavy defense guns catch the enemy by surprise, quickly striping away the battleship's meager shields before burrowing into its guts. Its core is breached, blasting it into pieces and shredding several enemy ships nearby.

Reeling from the loss of their command ship, the mercenaries' unity begins to fracture. Several groups try to make their way to the relay but they're soon met by the incoming 3rd and 5th fleets and the dreadnoughts spearheading the counter-attack. The invaders scatter in every direction, pursued by swarms of vengeful Alliance vessels as the Pale Horse turns towards the planet, its descent covered by a barrage from the orbital guns.

 **Taracus**

Just as he's about to order his gun ship in, the sky lights up with an eye searingly bright blast. The only thing in orbit large enough to create a second sunrise would be a core breach from the Iron Hand… his command ship. He's still reeling from the realization when his adjutant just drives the knife deeper. "Sir! An Alliance relief flotilla has arrived! There are two dreadnoughts up there and the fleet is being wiped out! What do we do?!"

The pilot starts frantically gesturing into the air and Taracus looks up to see a ship that haunts the dreams of every member of the Red Wake. "It's her…" The demon's bone-white ship is dueling with a pair of the Wake's corvettes in the sky, but it's an uneven match. In minutes it will be over and then… then she'll come for him. She'll come for all of them. His assistant is still begging for orders, "Sir what do we do?! Sir? Sir?!" All he can do is stare at her ship as all his dreams begin to die.

 **Kaidan**

Toombs is down. Dead or just wounded, it doesn't matter. There's no time to check on the fallen marine. There's no time to do anything except fight for their lives. Sue is frantically covering Toombs, using her own body as a shield while simultaneously trying to stop the bleeding from the two fingers that were torn from her left hand by shrapnel. Bobby is standing about a dozen meters away, blazing away with his cannon. The huge weapon is the only thing they have left that has any real bite to it. It took all their explosives to stop the enemy armor and Bobby is the only heavy weapons specialist left alive. Despite the blood seeping from multiple holes in his armor, he never lets up.

The swarm of mercs and pirates is only getting thicker. Gore is beginning to pool in the breach, creating an ankle deep river of viscera that he'd be willing to bet that half the city can smell. His pistol is gone, destroyed in a close range exchange almost an hour ago. Right now Kaidan is using a cheap rifle he had to pull from a corpse. No matter how many they kill, no matter how long they hold, it's never enough. More and more marines are dropping every minute, leaving him and the fire team ever more isolated. The militia gives them some numbers but they're only civilians, and raw courage has its limits. Kaidan knows that they'll break soon. Their only saving grace is the smoldering wreckage of three tanks creating a funnel too small for anymore heavy armor to squeeze through.

Just when he thinks it can't get any worse, a trio of krogan come stomping through the breach carrying a massive steel plate thick enough to block the cannon fire. It lasts long enough for them to let almost two dozen of the enemy infantry in behind them. One of them loses his grip and then his head to a cannon shell, but the damage is done. Bobby is forced to target the larger group looking to flank so he can try and hold his ground, leaving him open to a charge from the two surviving Krogan. Kaidan manages to drop one but the second smashes into the giant at full speed. The cannon's bracing arm gets caught on a spur of metal and is ripped from the mount on his back as the two of them roll away from the impact, punching and kicking the whole time.

Despite being wounded, the giant man gets the upper hand, working both arms under the krogan's from behind and actually lifting the raging alien from the ground. With his face turning bright purple from the effort, Bobby turns towards Sue and speaks for the first time Kaidan can remember, "SUSIE!" Without hesitating, Sue aims her shotgun and fires a carnage shell. The blood red bolt sails right into the bellowing krogan's chest and hurls him and Bobby away. Moments later the big man staggers to his feet splattered in blood, with smoldering armor and a dazed look. He shakes his head a few times before giving a thumbs-up to Sue. That's when the sniper strikes. The shot punches clean through Bobby's torso and he falls to the ground.

"BOBBY!" Sue tries to reach her fallen friend, but the sniper gets her in the leg. Before another shot can kill her, Kaidan hears a roar from up on the walls. Fel is up there, bodily throwing the shattered corpse of the sniper down before leaping from twenty feet up, right into the middle of a crowd trying to force their way into the city. Kaidan can see his massive sword flash free from its scabbard to bisect a batarian unlucky enough to be in the way. Then Fel starts lashing out in a vicious but well aimed attack pattern that looks exactly like something Jane would use. Kaidan never would have thought a krogan could look so graceful.

"Help the marines Alenko! Can't hold them off forever!" Despite the growl, he can tell that the blade master is in heaven. The krogan is cackling like a madman with every move. While Fel keeps the enemy busy, Kaidan sprints over to Toombs and hefts the downed marine over his shoulder. He gets over to Bobby to find that Sue's dragged herself over already. She's stuffed something into the hole in her leg to stop the bleeding and is pouring medigel into Bobby's chest.

"You're gonna be fine Goddammit! I didn't tell Nana that I'd keep you safe for shits and giggles." She hears Kaidan approach. Sue looks up through reddened eyes, briefly sighing in relief. Then her eyes go wide and she pulls out her knife before hurling it end over end past his shoulder. He hears it stab into flesh and turns to see a batarian letting go of his own knife to desperately grope at the blade stuck in his throat. In a fit of rage Sue limps over, rips the knife out, and starts frantically stabbing it into the alien's chest. He dies quickly but even him collapsing to the ground doesn't stop her. She just straddles his chest and keeps ramming the knife home, screaming incoherently until his guts are nothing but tattered paste. After Kaidan finishes patching Toombs and checking on Bobby, he has to bodily pull her away from the shredded corpse. Sue almost stabs him but he grabs her wrist and wrenches it away at the last second.

"Esulard!" Some clarity comes back to her as she scowls at her real name.

"I… sorry." She looks down and spits on the carcass. "Shep was right about the serrations…" Something explodes near the wall and they turn to see Fel hurled away with his armor scorched. Seeing their massive ally knocked down is too much for some of the defenders. In ones and twos, they start to flee from the area.

"No! Stop! We have to hold them here!" A few turn back as Kaidan calls but most never stop. He knows he has to do something drastic to prevent a rout. Even though it will probably get him killed, Kaidan bolts for Bobby's cannon. The massive weapon has been severed from the harness but its power supply is internal and still online. He tries to lift the massive weapon, barely managing to get if off the ground, let alone aim it.

He takes a deep breath before doing something Jane warned him to never do without a medic standing by. Kaidan wraps himself in a biotic field to boost his physical strength and hoists up the now seemingly weightless cannon. Carrying the massive weapon forward, he aims it in the direction of the breach and focuses his will on the internal mechanics, triggering it despite the actual trigger being missing. An explosive migraine strips away all coherent thought beyond holding the beast steady. The cannon is nearly torn from his hands by every shot, even with the temporary super charge from the biotic surge. It bucks wildly, but the shells start pouring into the mercenaries trying to flood in through the wall. In such a tightly packed bunch, several are quickly torn to shreds. Others try to dive for cover, but there's no cover left. Whatever blew Fel away from the breach cleared out all the rubble and tank debris. Kaidan has a clear line of sight at the army trying to get in.

As the cannon roars, he can't help but shout mindlessly in pain and rage. He's never channeled his biotics like this before. L2s aren't supposed to be able to sustain a field in combat for so long, but he doesn't have a choice. The taste of blood starts to fill his throat and something is seeping out of his ears but he keeps firing. His vision is beginning to cloud from the blood and sweat, yet he keeps firing. His shout slowly morphs into an unearthly howl as every thought beyond maintaining fire bleeds away.

Apparently someone is listening and mistakes it for a rallying cry. As the mercs die in droves, more and more men run back into the area to add their support. Marines and militia alike, several of whom he saw fleeing earlier, take position nearby to help drive the enemy back. Without conscious thought, Kaidan's legs start moving towards the breach and an army follows right behind him. The mercs are starting to break, creating an unholy snarl of men and materiel trying to escape, only to be gunned down by the advancing Alliance forces.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Kaidan hears Sue's shotgun blasting away as the woman herself limps next to him, shrieking her lungs out. There's a blood drenched rag wrapped around her missing fingers. The line of soldiers reaches the breach, forcing the remaining mercs to trip over themselves as they try to get away. At the mouth of the breach, they can see absolute mayhem outside. Much of the army is still trying to get in, but many are firing at the growing swarm of Alliance fighters and gunships in the air. The friendly craft are strafing every remaining tank or armored vehicle. One in particular catches his eye as it comes to a hover just a few meters above the ground, disgorging one of the most bizarre teams in the galaxy. A krogan, quarian, asari, turian, and a verran all leap out led by a woman he should know, but the name just won't come to him.

The mercs' resolve breaks completely as swarms of one man assault pods slam down by the hundreds and dozens of dropships start landing entire battalions of soldiers. They turn to run in any direction that doesn't have a gun pointed at them, but it doesn't save them. The red armored woman leading the charge outside the wall effortlessly slaughters her way through the press, drawing a booming cheer from the defenders. As the enemy fades away, Kaidan finally stops firing, let's the biotic field dissipate, and drops the slowly melting cannon. Sue stands nearby, utterly transfixed by the slaughter.

"She came. I fuckin knew she would. Didn't I say that… hey boss? You don't look so good…" Sue briefly pops up in front of him before everything grays out. He falls to the ground amidst a crowd of cheering marines as Sue calls for help.

 **Jane**

 _They're running. She just got stuck into the fight and the enemy is already running. Jane is beyond pissed off that they arrived so late, but soon looses herself in the bloodbath. There's no shortage of targets as she and the team rip through the fleeing mercenaries, pirates, and worse. The team gives her plenty of space to go wild, which keeps them safe as a smoking gunship starts shooting her way._

 _She can just barely make out the turian pilot's face behind the plasteel window. It looks like he's cursing her spirit to the darkest pit of hell… or maybe he's screaming in terror. It's hard for her to tell from where she is. Jane throws up a heavy barrier to block the shots until the gunship overshoots and starts to come around for another pass. She takes a breath to steady herself before channeling dark energy into Abyss._

 **Taracus**

She's taken everything from him! His pilot tried to fly away as soon as she appeared on the field, so Taracus blew his brains out and took control himself. Haliet's abandoned them. The command ship is gone and if the chaos on the radio is any indication, he won't be leaving the surface. At bare minimum he'll make her pay.

The human he hates more than any other is cutting down the cowards trying to flee from the city. Shouting every curse he knows, Taracus lines up the nose of the gunship and triggers the underslung chaingun, stitching a line of fire right through almost a dozen of his so called 'allies'. She blocks the attack with one of her accursed golden barriers, leaving her unscathed as he blazes overhead.

He banks hard to come around for another pass. Just as he triggers the cannon again, an amber wave of energy comes slashing towards him. Taracus jams the stick to the side, causing the wave to slice off the port thruster instead of bisecting the entire gunship. Every alarm in the cockpit is going off as he plummets towards the ground.

The impact itself seemed relatively tame, but it still knocked him out. By the time he came to, a pair of burly Alliance marines were slapping a set of cuffs on and dragging him towards an armored transport.

 _Date_ _: 1.18.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Kaidan**

His head is swimming as he slowly opens his eyes. It's like he's wading through jello and everything feels swollen. As the area begins to come into focus, he hears a dread tune that's haunted his dreams for almost a year now. Kaidan numbly raises his head from a soft white pillow to see a viewscreen attached to the wall. Playing on the screen is a kiddy show where everything is colorful, singing, and nauseatingly happy.

Mr. Snickle's Fun Time is blaring from the screen and his roommate is chuckling along with every doofy song. Unable to stand another second of the hellspawn show, Kaidan uses every scrap of strength he can muster to find something with some weight. His fingers grab hold of something solid on a cart next to him and he hurls it at the screen. The cheap screen shatters with the impact, drawing an annoyed bark from the bed next to him, "Hey! I was watching that Alenko." Kaidan slowly tilts his head to the side to see Fel glaring at him.

"Never… again… you… ass…" Fel eyes him for a few moments before letting out a deep belly chuckle, only to break down into a coughing fit. Kaidan finally spots the mess of cables feeding into the krogan's chest and the thick bandages covering everything but his head and left leg. "Hey… Fel."

"What?"

"You look... like shit." Fel laughs again, drawing an annoyed sigh from someone Kaidan couldn't be happier to see.

"Fel, if you keep doing that then the burns in your lungs are just going to take that much longer to heal." Doctor Chakwas adjusts one of the drip feeds as the krogan grumbles about being laid up way too long already. "No more of that. The original estimate I gave you didn't account for you drinking ryncol. That swill has delayed you at least another two days. Krogan regeneration or not, ryncol dramatically delays the healing process." Fel curses to himself about getting caught in the blast when a flamethrower exploded while Doctor Chakwas steps over to check Kaidan. "And how are you feeling young man? You had me quite worried when Shepard carried you to the aid station I took over. The last time I saw you, you promised to take it easy for a while."

He smiles up at the doctor, "Sorry Karin… had some… uninvited guests." He's already getting tired but he wants to know, "What happened? Is everybody… okay?"

"Your friends from fireteam Toombs are alright now, if a little banged up. Shepard made sure you all got the care you needed before she went to speak with General Parsan and Captain Anderson."

"Jane's here?" His eyes are growing heavy and he starts to settle back into his pillow.

"Yes, but I doubt talking to her right now is a good idea. Apparently, there's someone from the invading force that she has business with.

 **Anderson**

"I have to thank you again for the timely arrival Captain. The last the pirates have been driven from the system, and Elysium is safe again." He and General Savan have spent the last few days coordinating the hunt for the surviving mercs, along with the 3rd and 5th fleets. "Now we just need to finish the search and rescue missions and begin repairing the damage."

"The 3rd Fleet is handling things in orbit. The Logan's Captain sounded a bit irritated the last time I talked to him. I don't think he and the Commodore are getting along." Savan chuckles and pulls another data pad down from the stack in front of them.

"Yeah, Kaskin takes awhile to get used to. He's good at what he does but he's a stubborn old goat." They have a good laugh and keep going through the reports and paperwork. It'll take days to sort it all out, even with the army of retainers they have helping them. At about noon they get a frantic call from the reception desk downstairs.

"Captain Anderson?" The young ensign manning the desk sounds like she just lived through an artillery barrage.

"Go ahead Hireki. What's the problem?" Pretty much all they've heard about the last few days is problems.

"Sir, a Lieutenant Jane Shepard just forced her way through the security checkpoint. I tried to stop her but…" he can almost hear the terrified shudder through the comm line. "The security team is refusing to try and stop her. She'll be there in-" the creeping feeling of static fills the air and Anderson braces himself.

"Get ready General. She's pissed." Savan tries to ask what he means just before the doors to the office are ripped from their hinges. Shepard marches in with her asari shadow close behind. She stops in front of them to look both of them over. Anderson sees the general ease back ever so slightly under her attention. Then, she looks _his_ way. It was always a bit unnerving to look her in the eye. Whenever they'd talked over the years, Jane rarely blinked. Then there were times like this. He usually kept himself under control pretty well, despite knowing that there was nothing he could do if Shepard lost control. Even so, Anderson always felt like the reaper was standing just behind him and resting a bony hand on his shoulder, as if to remind him that every second was precious beyond belief. Marshaling his courage, the captain takes a deep breath, "Hello Shepard. How can we help you?" Savan turns a worried eye at his casual tone, but Anderson knows that anything else would only make the situation more unstable.

"Give him to me!" The entire room trembles as small whorls of energy pulse from her body. The ground beneath her feet is beginning to blacken, "I know he was taken alive and I want him now!" He had a pretty good idea who Jane is talking about, but they still haven't actually put a face to the name.

Savan leans forward with a curious look. Before Anderson can stop him, the general asks, "Who are you talking about Lieutenant?" Shepard glares down at Savan and for just a moment, it looks like she might hit him.

"Nearly a fourth of the enemy force was made up of the Red Wake's men. Their leader was taken alive. I want him!" She growling through clenched teeth.

"Look, Shepard, we probably do have him in custody, but we haven't actually picked him out yet. All we have is a name. Taracus-"

"Taracus Indarat! Born on Palavan. Served his mandatory term in the Hierarchy military before leaving to join the Red Wake. He had a known record for anti-human sentiment and joined the Wake after they started ramping up a campaign again the Alliance. I know exactly _who_ he is! I need to know _where_ he is!"

"We don't know yet. We don't have a face for the name yet. Once we do, I'll contact you personally." Anderson nods his thanks to Savan as Shepard clenches her fists, "For now however, I'd like to ask about Alenko. I understand that he's a part of your crew and was here recovering from a serious injury. He and fireteam Toombs where instrumental in protecting the city. I'd very much like to know how they are doing." As if a switch in her head was flipped, the rage quickly vanishes with a sigh as Shepard eases herself back down.

"They're recovering. Kaidan nearly killed himself by overtaxing his biotics but Dr. Chakwas says he'll be alright. Sue lost two fingers and a lot of blood so I'm working on some replacements for her. Bobby took a lung shot from a sniper. He'll take a few weeks to get back to full strength and Sue is fusing over him like an old maid. Michael was hit by a point-blank blast from a concussion grenade. Both eardrums blown and minor head trauma. He needs some deep tissue surgery and implants in his ears, but he's going to be fine. I've got Teg and Kal standing guard over all of them." After that he managed to steer the conversation towards how her crew could help with the rescue and recovery operations. While she and Savan talked at length, Anderson tasked almost fifty marines to track down the Wake leader. Judging by the look she shot his way, Shepard would be keeping tabs and any attempt to delay or deceive her wouldn't end well.

 _Date_ _: 1.25.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Kaidan**

He spent days drifting in and out of consciousness. Occasionally he'd wake up to a familiar face or faceplate looking down at him. When he finally manages to swim out of the miasma in his head, Kaidan hears two people quietly talking. "Okay, now give it another shot." There's a tiny series of swish and click sounds coming from just beyond the edge of the bed. It goes on for about ten seconds before something clatters to the ground amidst cursing.

It sounds like Sue. "Fucking shit, damn bitch, cock sucking, urgh!"

That draws a chuckle from the other person. "Yeah it takes a lot to get used to it. My arm took months to get used too. You might not notice it but you are getting better so don't give up. Come on. Try again." Its Shepard and as Kaidan looks over, he sees his CO coaching Sue on the use of the two uncovered artificial fingers on her left hand. The excitable ex-ganger picks up her favorite knife and starts twirling it around in a complex pattern, before the faux digits fail to react in time, letting the knife clatter to the ground again.

"You did better that time." both of them turn his way and Sue practically leaps for joy.

"Hell yeah! I win the bet! Pay up!" Sue turns towards Jane and holds out her omnitool. Jane transfers some credits before walking over.

"Thanks a lot Kaidan. I bet it would be at least another hour before you talked again." Her smile is brighter than he's ever seen as he slowly levers himself into a sitting position.

"Sorry ma'am. Didn't want you to think I was slacking off." His vision blurs for a second as a migraine blooms behind his eyes. Kaidan groans at the pain.

"Oh no no, don't you dare try for sympathy from me. I know what you did and if a bad headache is all you've got to deal with, then you should consider yourself lucky." It takes him a second to figure out what she means. Then it all comes back. The team going down, the cannon, overtaxing his biotics. The realization of just how far he pushed himself drops him back onto his pillow.

"How bad is it?" Jane steps closer to pass him the control for painkillers. As a small dose slowly filters into his bloodstream, Shepard spells it out for him.

"Multiple contusions, three fractured ribs, multiple minor bullet wounds, a burned out amp, not to mention the big one, a minor aneurysm. You got lucky. If we were out on mission instead of Elysium, there would probably be permanent damage." Kaidan gives a slight whistle at the list, which just makes his headache worse.

"How long until I can get out of here?" Jane looks around before leaning in close.

"Karin says two weeks, but I'm gonna try and get you out in a few days and-" Dr. Chakwas steps up from behind to lightly slap Jane on the back off the head. While Shepard pretends to pout, Karin double checks all the monitors and his drip feeds.

"Two weeks Sergeant and not one second sooner. I'll not have all my hard work go to waste." As Karin goes over the plans for his treatment on planet and beyond the rest of the fireteam comes in. Toombs has bandages all the way around his head, so Bobby leads the way. The giant himself is in good spirits, despite the very large and ugly scar to the left of his bare chest. Both of them settle nearby after saying hello in their own way. It doesn't take long for the Pale Horse crew to arrive and soon enough a general air of celebration fills the severely crowded room. Just before things can get too rowdy, Karin calls out, "Alright everyone, that's enough for today." Almost everyone groans but they don't argue. They're about to file out when Shepard stops them.

"Oh! Oh wait! It's almost time for the report! You gotta let us see his face for it! Please?" Everyone flashes their biggest smile and Karin sighs heavily.

"Very well. But all of you are leaving afterwards." He tries to ask what she's talking about, but Jane shushes him before sitting next to him and turning on the new vidscreen hanging on the wall. Everybody crowds in to see it, being careful to leave a clear line of sight for him. There's a news cast on and the anchor is a young woman in a fine suit.

"More news coming from the scene of a historic victory on Elysium. We have received new footage showing the courage and heroism of our men and women in uniform in action as they held of the single largest colonial raid in recorded history. If there are any young viewers or people with heart conditions watching, we recommend turning away now, as this footage is very graphic in nature." The scene changes to a helmet feed from a reporter that happened to be in the thick of it when everything went down. The man is clearly a veteran in his field as he keeps to cover and obeys the orders from the marines he's with. There are several minutes showing Alliance marines fighting off waves mercenaries and helping any lingering civilians get to safety.

He's glad to see the defenders get the credit they deserve, but it's still not clear what Jane was talking about, at least until the anchor starts talking again. "While all the heroic marines and militiamen deserve to be honored for their role, one soldier in particular has come to the forefront in the hearts and minds of soldier and civilian alike." The screen switches to a still shot of his own face. "This man, Sergeant Kaidan Alenko is widely credited as the one that held the defenses together at the most critical points throughout the battle, including the last stand at what is now know as Breach 01."

The screen changes to show him and the the others holding the breach against swarms of mercenaries. "As the Alliance relief flotillas fought their way through the blockade in orbit, the attacking pirates broke through Illyria's northern wall, where Sergeant Alenko made his stand." He winces at the footage of the fireteam going down one by one, but Sue is cheering about getting on TV. The footage reaches the point when he made the run to the cannon and Jane puts a hand on his shoulder. Her smile gets wider as a single tear trails down her cheek. "Nearly alone and facing certain death, Sergeant Alenko took up a fallen trooper's weapon and, in a spectacular display of biotic skill, held his ground against the onslaught."

The way the scene is painted makes him look like some kind of demigod, but he didn't feel that way. All he remembers is how painful it was and how important holding them off was. "As the enemy attempted to overwhelm Breach 01, Sergeant Alenko stood firm, and with a warcry worthy of an ancient hero, rallied the nearly shattered defenders before leading a counter-attack. The invaders were driven from the city without ever making in more than a hundred meters inside. Early estimates indicate that this act of unparalleled bravery saved more than ten thousand lives, given that the city's largest shelters would have been left vulnerable if Breach 01 had fallen to the enemy. For his role in the defense of Illyria, Sergeant Alenko is quickly becoming known as the Lion of Elysium. For all the people here at the ANN, I would like to thank Sergeant Alenko and indeed, all the defenders of Elysium for their courage and wish them all a speedy recovery from any injury." The report carried on into the details of the battle but Jane mutes it as everyone looks his way with a shit-eating grin.

Sue narrows her eyes, "Rawr!" Everyone follows suit with some of the worst lion imitations he's ever heard.

Amidst it all, he whispers to himself, "I'm never gonna live this down am I?" Jane leans down so close that no one but him can hear.

"Grrrr what do you think Grrrr?" After everyone gets a good laugh, Karin starts shoving them out the door. Jane is the last on out. Before she leaves, she pats him on the shoulder, "I'm proud of you. That was reckless and stupid and insane," She leans down to kiss him on the forehead, "and it's exactly what I would have done."

 _Date_ _: 2.9.2176_

 _Location : Elysium_

 **Jane**

 _By the time Kaidan was ready to get back on his feet and return to the ship, Anderson had sent the word she'd been waiting for. They found him. The leader of the Wake contingent had been scooped up and tossed in with the regular raiders. Now, she's going to get some real answers._

 **Taracus**

His life is over. Even if the Alliance doesn't have him shot for his part in the attack, it won't take long for the other survivors to target him. No matter what he'd say or do, there is a death sentence in his future. Alliance firing squad or a gang of prisoners with shanks, Taracus knows that his life expectancy is pitifully short.

He's sitting against the wall of a cell, avoiding eye contact with the other dozen men milling around nearby. None of them are Red Wake, so no one's recognized him. There's no hurry to tell them either. Despite knowing that he's already lost everything, Taracus isn't quite ready to die yet.

While few of the other mercs are blaming each other for being in the cell, Taracus picks up the smell of ozone. He looks up to see if any of the others have somehow managed to build up a biotic surge without being shot, but all of them are just shouting at each other. The feeling of building energy gets more and more intense, eventually reaching the point when everyone can tell that something is wrong. As he tries to figure it out, the two marines guarding the cell block both call it in. Then it hits him. He knows what is coming. It starts with an single barked command from the entrance to the block. The two marines snap to attention before gratefully fleeing from the area. Then he sees her. The bitch. _The demon._ She stands just outside the bars, glaring into the cell as the other mercs start catcalling and threatening in equal measure. The woman ignores them and zeros in on him. She's come for him.

Rather than open the cell, she just walks forward, using her power to melt a hole in the bars. Most of the others wisely try to scramble away as she steps inside. One idiot loses his mind and runs at her with a chunk of rubble in his hand. She doesn't even turn to look as she reaches out to grab his face. His shouting quickly turns into a terrified scream as her hand slowly crushes his skull. He dies with a loud crunch and the body falls without another sound. She steps over to stand in front of him, "Taracus Indarat. Former second of the Red Wake. Get up." He snorts derisively and stays seated. There's nothing she can do that will change his fate, so what's the point?

Some of the other mercs make a run for the hole in the bars and she snaps her fingers. He feels a surge of biotic power in the air, then a bright flash forces him to close his eyes. When he opens them, the others have all been reduced to ash. Then a hand clamps down on his fringe and painfully forces him to stand. Looking into her eyes is the single most soul crushing thing he's ever down. There's no respect, no fear in those glowing orbs. Only contempt. "Do whatever you want demon. You won't get anything. There's nothing left for me besides a bullet and I'll gladly die to spite you."

She smiles at him, "Oh don't be so sure my friend. I'll get everything from you, whether you want to share it or not." The shadows start growing longer and then the floor seems to fall out beneath him. Taracus plummets into a roaring abyss as his mind is slowly picked apart, neuron by neuron. Everything he's ever tried to hide is revealed. All his secrets are laid bare as she rakes her claws across his brain and steals everything inside.

 **Jane**

 _When it's over, she lets him crumple to the ground, withered and drained, but still very much alive. Jane leaves Taracus lying atop a pile of ash. He'll never be able to function on his own again, but his mind will keep working just fine. The bastard will be trapped inside himself for the rest of his life._

 _She would return to the cell block later that night to clean up the other Wake survivors, being careful to leave the common raiders alive. The Alliance can do whatever they want with the cannon fodder, but the Wake trash all die by her hand. The next morning, Anderson contacted her to ask about it. "It looks like an animal got inside and went berserk. Is there anything I should know Shepard?"_

" _I doubt you need to worry Captain. After all, there are still_ _ **some**_ _mercs to put on trial. That should be enough for the press." He grimaces at her._

" _I… I suppose there's nothing that can be done. How long are you planning to stay on Elysium?"_

" _We're leaving today. There are a few things I need to take care of before the information I have stops being useful. I'll send word once I've sorted it all out. Then we can draw up a plan to exterminate the Wake."_

" _That'll require finding their main base."_

" _I have the location." He blinks a few times._

" _You what?! How?!"_

" _Taracus was very cooperative. I'll be in touch." The rest of the day was spent negotiating payment for the Coalition crews that fought beside them and dodging the press. Kaidan got caught a few times, so Jane and the crew had to rescue him more than once. When the time came for them to get going, fireteam Toombs was there to see them off._

 _Sue was relentlessly teasing Kaidan for his new public moniker by constantly growling while Bobby guides Toombs over for a hug. "Good luck out there Jane. We'll see you on the Citadel right?"_

" _In April, yeah. How long will the 186th be stationed there?"_

" _It's for all of the security convention. March, April, and part of May." Sue finally gives Kaidan some peace so she can hug Jane goodbye._

" _We should get blasted next time and get your tattoos back. It's hard to see the engraving." After losing her real arm, Jane had been at a loss on how to get her ink back. The materials for her new arm just wouldn't hold the ink. She'd had to settle for some shallow engravings and even those were slowly being erased as her body grows into the limb._

" _We'll see. I'll try to think of some way to make it stick. Until then," she grabs hold of the tiny woman, hoists her into the air, and squeezes just hard enough to knock the wind out of her. "Be careful out there."_

" _Yeah… okay… you too… too tight…" Sue slaps her on the back a few times and Jane sets her down. After embracing Bobby and Michael one last time, she hops into Blue with the others to head back into orbit._

 _Date_ _: 3.17.2176_

 _Location : Bekenstein_

 **Taracus**

He can't talk. He can't move. He can't even clean himself. All he can do is watch through hooded eyes as the galaxy moves on without him. After finding him in a soiled heap down in that cell, the Alliance actually took pity on him and shipped him to a hospital for invalids. Nowadays, Taracus is fed through a tube and bathed by a portly human woman that talked to him like he was an infant, especially when she changed the cloth bundles they kept wrapped around his waist to keep him from making a mess on the floor.

A living death. That's what the demon condemned him too. He'd weep and beg for it to end, if he could manage anything beyond the numb gurgling that his nurse thought was a sign of approval. As another day of this dull hell ends, Taracus tries to ignore the little voice in the back of his mind, constantly reminding him of what he used to be. Suddenly, the voice blooms into an overlapping chorus of whispers, driving away what little coherent thought was left in his mind.

" _Oh Taracus… how the mighty have fallen._ " A dark figure detaches from the shadows and steps over to look down with glowing blue eyes. It's one of the priests, but the voice atop all the others is that of his former leader. " _If only you had kept the faith. Perhaps things could have been different. Alas, you didn't. Perhaps you deserve mercy."_ With achingly slow movements, the priest draws a dark black blade from inside its arm. Using every scrap of his limited bodily control, Taracus tries to beg for an end, for the priest to sink that blade into his throat and end his torment. For a moment, it looks like the creature will oblige. The weapon is slowly drawn across his throat, just a hair too lightly to pierce the plates. If turians could cry, he'd weep like a wounded human as the blade is pulled back to be returned to its sheath. " _No. This is the fate you have chosen. A fate of your own making. You have my pity Taracus, but there is no mercy for the man without faith. Goodbye old friend. Should we ever meet again, I might be willing to end your plight… but not yet."_

With that, the priest vanishes back into the shadows, leaving Taracus to silently scream as his mind finally snaps. He would spend the rest of his life utterly lost to anything beyond the swirling vortex of screams slowly flooding into his head.


	75. Chapter 75

**Chapter 75 - Sand and Spectres**

 **Unknown**

 **Analyzing Data…**

 **Potential of Cycle Re-evaluation Present…**

 **Chance of Re-evaluation - 2** **%**

 **Fulcrum Development Has Exceeded Projections by 48** **%**

 **Fulcrum Development at 62** **%**

 **Further Data Required to Determine Course of Action**

 **The Fulcrum Must Be Tested**

 **Primary Agent Jortan Will Provide Proper Threat Assessment**

 **Determining Current Status of Fulcrum**

…

…

…

 **Warning…**

 **Fulcrum in Danger of Becoming Restive**

 **Cause - The Fulcrum's Movements Are in Danger of Being Restricted by Citadel Council**

 **Addendum…**

 **Proper Testing Not Possible With Council Interference**

 **Intervention Necessary**

 **Deploy Liquidation Units 7, 13, 18, 25, and 88**

 **Trigger Primary Agent on Citadel**

 **Designation - Miral T'sad**

 _Date_ _: 4.06.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Jane**

" _Mom look! It's the statue lady!" Jane turns away from the stack of supply crates to see a young girl excitedly pointing her way. The dock is bustling with activity but there's just enough space to see the child tugging on someone's arm. That's when a familiar face steps into view. Cira Halstrom walks over with the excited child close behind._

" _Hello Jane. It's been so long." She happily hugs the teacher from Mindoir. Jane hasn't been back to the planet since the Wake attack and Cira is the first person from there aside from Gavin that she's seen since. "How have you been?"_

" _Pretty good. Been going after the Red Wake and making them suffer for everything they've done. What about you? Why are you on the Citadel?"_

" _We're here for the security convention. Frank appointed me as a representative for Mindoir and Thomas is finishing a three month tour on one of the grain freighters. We'll all be going home together at the end of the week." The young girl hiding behind Cira's legs pokes her head out with a nervous smile._

" _Is it true that you blew up a mountain?!" Jane looks at the little one and smiles. She can't be more than 9 or 10 years old._

" _Part of one yes. And who are you? You wouldn't happen to be Talitha would you?" The girl gasps at Jane knowing her name and bobs her head up and down. "No… no you couldn't be Talitha. She's just a tiny little girl and you're almost a grown up."_

 _Talitha giggles at her, "I am Talitha! You look a lot nicer in person. The statue of you looks kinda mean." Jane smiles, despite cringing on the inside. There was a statue of her in the town center on Mindoir. It was a depiction of her driving a sword into a fallen mercenary's stomach. She thought it was an ugly lump of stone, but the colonists seemed to love the damned thing. There was even a fountain around it where people came to throw in tokens._

 _Jane's about to wish Cira a good visit when she suddenly feels someone leap onto her back. Acting on instinct she reaches back, grabs hold of her assailant's arm, and throws them over her shoulder. The dagger in her gauntlet slides out to stab home but she pulls the strike at the last second. With the point of a shining blade less than a centimeter from piercing her throat, Sue looks up and smiles. "Uhh, hi Shep…" Jane sighs and pulls the dagger away. As she slides it back into place, Sue hops up from the ground. She rubs her back with a grimace, "Yeah, that might notta been smart. Shoulda learned from basic to never come at you from behind." It was a lesson that Jane had been forced to teach more than once._

 _Remembering what she'd been doing, Jane turns to see Talitha hiding behind her mother's legs again, but Cira herself is just smiles, as if nothing surprising had just happened. "Sorry about that Cira." She pulls Sue in close, "This is Liriata Esulard. She likes to be called Little Sue." Cira extends a hand to shake with Sue. Thankfully the ex-ganger keeps her gutter mouth under control long enough to carry a half assed conversation without scarring Talitha for life. A chime sounds on Cira's omnitool after a few minutes and she has to leave with Talitha skipping around behind her._

" _Ahh. She's a cute little shit isn't she?" Jane lightly slaps Sue on the back of the head and goes back to checking the rest of her supplies. Her friend spends a few minutes looking at the ship before poking Jane in the shoulder. "So, we getting wasted or what?!"_

 _Her smile is so big that it almost hurts to shoot her down, "Sorry, not today. I've gotta finish inventory and then I'm meeting with Admiral Hackett. Something about a diplomatic problem. Knowing him, he wouldn't ask me to get involved in diplomacy unless it was serious… or maybe I've done something that might have gotten the Alliance in trouble." Sue curses, "But, I'll have time on the 11th. If you can stay away from the booze till then, we'll have a few drinks."_

 _Sue laughs, "A few?! The hell you talkin about Shep?! I don't know about you, but on the 11th I'm getting totally shitfaced." They hear someone calling from the distance. Jane looks up and sees Toombs, Bobby, and their Sergeant bellowing Sue's name. The tiny woman rolls her eyes and trudges off back to her unit as Jane finishes her checklist. Everything has arrived, so now it's time to meet up with the admiral. While the rest of the crew breaks away to enjoy their time off, or in Veritan's case, get ready for some top secret work, Jane heads for the human embassy on the presidium._

 _When she arrives at the office, Jane can hear people arguing inside. It all comes to a rapid halt when the door opens for her._

 **Hackett**

His doubts about this entire affair redouble as Shepard walks in. Per usual, she's fully armed and armored, with Spits right behind her. Under all the plating, the varren bulks out to the size of a bear. It trots over to a corner and quickly starts snoring as he gets things going. "Shepard, thank you for coming so quickly."

She nods, "You made it sound pretty important. What's wrong?" She's talking to him but glaring at the other two people in the room. One is Ambassador Goyle. Humanity's representative on the Citadel was the one that brought the current issue to his attention. The other is a turian in black and red armor, which was almost everything the admiral knew about him. Given the way the alien behaves, it's likely that he's a man of considerable authority and little patience for wasting time.

"It seems that the Citadel intelligence community is somewhat perturbed by some of your activities over the last few years. There are some rumors that you are in violation of several laws and regulations-"

"Most serious of which are the claims that you are harboring an AI on your vessel, the fact that you led a wing of unregistered mercenary warships into battle in Citadel space, and the private war you are rumored to be waging independent of any higher authority." Jane gives a stony glare at the turian. She seems perfectly calm on the outside, but Hackett would wager a year's pay that she's seething at his tone on the inside. He knows for a fact that all of the rumors the turian has brought up are true to some extent and he's not sure how Jane will handle this meeting. The Order and the Shadow Council have been covering for her for years at this point, but it was inevitable that some details would slip out. While Salarian, Turian, and Asari weed out the leaks in their respective governments and set things in order, it's his job to keep an eye on Jane and make sure that she can continue developing into what they need her to be. Thankfully she seems to be in control… for now.

"That's a pretty serious accusation Spectre," they all look the turian's way to see him scowling, "don't give me that look. I've met one of your kind before and the two of you carry yourselves with the exact same attitude."

The turian growls lightly before faking a chuckle, "Huh, it's uncommon to find someone so calm when dealing with those of my vocation. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Nihlus Kryik of the Spectres." He holds out a hand to shake but Jane refuses. "Have I offended you Shepard? Do you have a problem with turians?"

As she responds, Jane removes the armor over her left arm. "No. The turians I've chosen to associate with are some of the bravest and most reliable people I've ever know. Your people also have just as many assholes and scumbags as any other race. There's nothing special to have an issue with. I got no problem with your people. I just don't care for Spectres. The last one I met tried to take me down in an unsanctioned assassination attempt. Instead," Jane opens the material over her arm, exposing the artificial components beneath, "we traded souvenirs." As she covers back up, Hackett spots a hint of angry red flesh creeping up the sides of the limb.

Nihlus pauses for a moment. "I… I see. If this is true then your hostility is understandable, if not entirely helpful. The office of Councilor Eshreen has ordered an investigation of the claims against you and Councilor Tevos' office has seconded the call."

Jane's rage is palpable. A faint hint of ozone fills the air as she visibly tries to avoid blowing her top. "And what about Sparatus? Is he issuing orders through his office instead of facing me like a man? Is he as much of a _Krasnvak_ as the others?!" Nihlus flinches at the fury in her tone. It takes a moment for Hackett's omni tool to translate what she said, and when it finally does he can't help but cringe at the dire insult.

The spectre rallies after a moment, "Due to his personal connection with you, Councillor Sparatus has been forced to recuse himself from this entire affair to avoid compromising the investigation. He will not interfere in any way." To stop Jane from railing against the turian councillor for his apparent betrayal, Nihlus holds up a finger to forestall her, "Before you condemn Councillor Sparatus, please be aware that he is the reason I am even here. While he cannot interfere with the investigation in any _official_ way, he did personally ask me to handle this matter in a more respectful manner than such things are usually done. If not for him, I'd be leading a raid on your vessel in search of evidence right now instead of speaking to you in person. Be aware that I will be coming to Pale Horse at 1400 station time for a full inspection. If any evidence is found to corroborate the claims against you, the ship will be impounded and you will face charges for harboring an AI and any other crimes that may be revealed."

Jane crosses her arms. "And if I refuse to allow you on board?"

Hackett can hear a low rumbling coming from Nihlus, "Then you will be arrested for interfering with an official Council operation and the ship will be searched anyway. If you leave the station before the investigation is allowed to finish, you will be exiled from Citadel space, along with every member of your crew. If that happens, then you will be treated like common pirates and destroyed on sight. Please remember that." He marches out of the embassy without another word, leaving Hackett and the ambassador to try and diffuse a thoroughly enraged Jane.

Ambassador Goyle tries to calm the storm, "This situation is not as bad as it could be. We let them do their tour of the ship and then-" Jane levels a murderous glare at her, leaving the ambassador stunned into absolute silence. Hackett has never seen Anita so thoroughly shut down by a look before.

While the ambassador tries to find her voice again, Jane looks Hackett's way. "You…" her body lights up with a golden aura and her voice drops an octave, "you called me in here with no warning about what was happening. There are a hundred things I could have done to get ready for this, and you told me _nothing_." Her varren uncurls from its spot in the corner and stomps over to snarl at him.

"I had no way to tell you without them finding out, which would have made the situation worse. There's nothing I could have-" His entire body is wrapped in a stasis field, leaving him feeling like a massive snake is crushing the life out of him.

" **Don't you dare make excuses!** " Her voice is overlapped by several others, as if multiple people were speaking at once. " **Never forget that I cooperate with you and the Alliance because you are useful. The moment that stops being true I will cast you aside like a spent shell casing. There are things beyond the horizon that we need to prepare for and I will not tolerate anything getting in the way. If this situation falls apart… IF MY HUNT IS DELAYED...** " The pressure suddenly vanishes as Shepard screws her eyes shut and slowly dispels the gathered energy. Her varren goes back to drooling happily as her voice returns to normal, "Once this is done Admiral, we're going to have a talk." With that, Jane turns on her heel and walks out of the embassy with a deceptive degree of calm.

Once she's gone, he and Anita both let out a shuddering breath, relieved to simply be alive. They trade looks when there's a loud crash outside. He steps through the embassy doors to see a crater in the wall, centered around a half meter deep imprint from someone's fist.

 **Jane**

 _She's seeing red for nearly an hour after leaving the embassy. Thankfully all the pedestrians that cross her path quickly scurry out of the way, though that may have more to do with the fact that Spits keeps trotting up to everyone in search of scraps or shiney things._

 _The crew had all acknowledged when she called told them what was happening, though Teg had offered to help her crush anyone that tried to break in if she wanted. The only that didn't say much was Pandora. She only sent a binary message saying stand by and nothing else since. Jane decided to trust her digital daughter and went back to trying to calm down._

 _Eventually she winds up near the relay monument, struggling to keep hold of the ethereal chains inside. The shadow within is gnashing its teeth, desperate for blood to cool the rage. Without words it whispers for release. "No… not here… not against civilians…" It hisses in disgust before hurling itself at the edges of her mind. Jane grips the railing between her and the water so tightly that it quickly warps out of shape. She hisses through clenched teeth, "You come out when_ _ **I**_ _say so! So shut the fuck up and go back to sleep!" With one final snarl the shadow slowly curls in on itself, returning to the depths… for now. "Mother fucker…"_

" _Who you talkin to Shep?" Jane turns around to see Sue chewing on a ration bar. Bobby is right behind her with an antique, film-fed camera. He fusses over a few of the dials before taking a picture of the monument. "You look pretty pissed Shep. What's up?"_

 _There's a shameful moment when an echo of the shadow's desire for bloodshed fills her mind. For a fraction of a second, she sees Sue and Bobby's mutilated bodies dangling from the relay with blood dripping from their boots. As quickly as it comes, the disgraceful idea is banished. "Trouble with the goddamn Citadel."_

 _Sue blinks a few times, "Is it somethin we can help with? Our unit doesn't have anything to do right now so Bobby and me got til 1800 before we gotta be back. We're good to go if you need us." The giant steps over and nods happily. Despite feeling grateful, she can't bring herself to do much more than grunt her thanks._

" _No. It's not something I can kill my way out of without depopulating half the station." Sue chuckles a few time before realising that it's not a joke._

" _Well shit Shep. What the hell happened?" She sighs explosively before turning to Sue._

" _The fucking council is nervous about some rumors, so now I have to let their pets go snooping through my ship!" Unknowingly, she starts moving towards Sue, prompting the much smaller woman to slowly backpedal. "They're going to search for evidence to arrest me over and if I refuse to cooperate they'll either try to arrest me anyway or exile me and my entire crew from Citadel space." Something red falls out of a hole in Sue's pocket and Jane scoops it up in her left hand without even thinking. She gestures towards Sue as she talks, not even thinking about the mortified look on her face. "And the best part, the best fucking part! I'm supposed to be thankful that they gave me courtesy of talking to me about it first instead of just launching an attack on my fucking ship!"_

" _Um Shep… don't… don't squeeze that bag so hard… it might pop and-" She's so angry that Sue's warning doesn't even register. Instead, Jane keeps jabbing that hand towards her friend and vents her frustration._

" _I'm not sure what pisses me of more! The fact that Hackett didn't even try to warn me in advance or that the son-of-a-bitch that's going to run the search is goddamn spectre! I swear I'm halfway to blowing my fucking top just thinking about-" She clenches her left hand, popping the object Sue dropped. Though most of it winds up falling into the lake, some of the red and white powder inside is sprayed onto her face, much of it hitting her directly in the eyes. As she hisses in pain and screws her eyes shut, Sue curses frantically._

" _Oh shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Um…" Jane tries to open her eyes but the grit is tinting her vision in a hue of red that doesn't come with an urge to commit murder. She manages to force her burning lids open a fraction of an inch to look at Sue. The smaller woman looks positively horrified._

" _Dammit Sue! What the fuck is this stuff?!" She pulls one of the water packs from her belt and tries to wash the debris out of her eyes. Some of it is cleared away, but most of it is quickly absorbed by her body and in seconds her heart rate soars through the roof._

" _Uhhh, quick question. You ever been on sand before?"_

" _Huh?" The ambient light feels like it's getting brighter and her senses are shifting into overdrive, but it all feels distorted, like sound coming through a malfunctioning megaphone. The stimulation is much more than she can process._

" _Red sand, you know that stuff that lets people use biotics a little even if they ain't biotic?"_

" _No I haven't used that crap! I'm already a biotic! Why would i… Why would… need to…" Everything comes into laser like focus. It's all so bright and colorful. The way the light dances on the water down below. The way the relay monument soars high above them. The lyrical tone in Sue's voice as she tries to ask if Jane's okay. Everything becomes painfully beautiful to experience, so much so that her mind comes close to shutting down all thought beyond trying to take everything in._

 _Then things begin to shift. At first the beauty of everything was so intense that all she wanted to do was stare in idiot wonder. Now? She wants to listen to every sound from every direction and sing in delight. Her skin is begging for someone to run their fingers all over her to explore each and every scar. Her body wants her to dive into the lake, to let the water run through her hair and flow all over her bare skin. She's a hair's breadth from tearing her suit off and doing just that when a thought pops up. She thinks, "I haven't felt like this in years. Not since the last night Niria and I…" The memory of their last night together brings reality crashing back down just enough for her to get a handle on things._

 _Bobby has an arm wrapped around her stomach, holding her back from the edge to stop her from diving in while Sue shouts for attention. "Shep you gotta stop! You got like 10 doses to the eyes! That's like snorting 50 at once!" The pressure of Bobby's arm holding her back triggers a flood sensations that she hasn't felt since before her fiance's death._

" _ **It's the fucking sand!**_ " _She thinks. It has to be. Red sand was supposed to screw with people's hormones and nervous system to fake biotics. Instead, it's setting every one of her nerves on fire, and not in a way she ever wanted in public. The sensations keep getting stronger as the drug filters deeper into her body, forcing her to move quickly to avoid letting the situation get even more uncomfortable. She stops trying to jump into the lake, but Bobby keeps holding her. "Let me down Bobby." He shakes his head and holds tight, likely convinced that she'll just jump if he lets go. With no time to be nice about it, Jane jabs her fingers at a nerve cluster in his forearm. Not enough to injure him, but painful enough to make him let go._

 _Bobby yelps in surprise and lets go as half his arm goes numb. Sue tries to get a hold but Jane jabs a finger at her, "Stay. Put. Touching me isn't a good idea right now."_

 _Sue looks more hurt than anything, "I… I'm sorry Shep. I didn't mean to-"_

 _Jane waves her off, "We'll talk later. For now just stay back and let me… handle this…" Everything's starting to feel exciting again, so she sighs heavily and keys her comm line. "Lia, I need you at my position right now."_

 _Her asari friend responds immediately. "On my way. Trouble?"_

 _Jane shudders at the idea of what a good fight would do to her at the moment. "No. It's… complicated. Just get here… fast." Lia had taken to tailing her instead of walking side by side, so it doesn't take long for her to arrive._

 **Lia**

She hadn't known what to expect. There was nobody watching Jane, beyond the typical reaction from passing asari that she tended to attract. There wasn't any gunfire or shouting, so there probably wasn't any serious threat to deal with. " _Then what is it?"_ While she can't actually see Jane leaning over some railing and panting like Spits on a hot day, she can sense it. There are two of Jane's friends from Elysium standing nearby. The small one keeps apologizing for something while the big one is watching every move she makes, like he expects Jane to do something dangerous. Her charge doesn't even look up as she approaches. "What happened?" Lia tries to put a hand on her shoulder but Jane immediately pulls away to avoid her touch.

Jane takes a shuddering breath, "Not important. Get me back to the ship as quick as possible. And don't let anybody touch me." Jane finally looks up at her and Lia can feel the change in the flow of power. It's the same feeling she always got when Jane's eyes went completely black, something that only happened when she was close to losing control of herself.

"Understood. There's a rapid transit terminal nearby. We can-"

Jane violently shakes her head. "Not a good idea right now. The engines produce a vibration that… it's just not a good idea right now. On foot. Let's go before I lose it." Jane is almost gnawing on her lower lip and the heat coming off of her is intense. That's when Lia realizes the actual issue. Her human friend has been exposed to some strain of sand, likely red sand mixed with something else, and is reacting the same way Lia did the first time she tried narcotics during her time of wandering, though Jane's reaction seems to be much more intense than anything an asari would go through.

"Okay, let's go. Stay close behind me." Jane falls in and the two of them head back for the ship.

 **Jane**

 _It's getting harder to focus with every step and every breath. Her senses are so utterly overwhelmed that everything leaves her almost breathless in idiot delight. Every sound is a symphony, every scent a font of euphoria. Even the faces of the people they pass are beginning to draw far more attention from her than they deserve, the asari and humans in particular. For the asari, rather than the faces they actually have, Jane starts to see hints of a very familiar pattern of violet freckles, glimpses of a particular curve to scalp crests, and even the same purple flush she remembers all too well. Every asari is starting to look like Niria and it's driving her up the wall. The humans are all starting to look like they have silken black hair and sparkling blue eyes. Miri's face keeps looking back at her from every direction._

 _She growls to herself, half in arousal and half in fury as the fire inside becomes almost too much to bear. Jane taps the controls on her collar to deploy her helmet. Once fully encased she boots up the simple intelligence in the armor's computer. "VI, activate sound dampening and shift display to monochromatic." The sounds from outside fade away almost completely while her HUD immediately shifts to a view in shades of grey. "Deploy primary numbing agent, maximum dosage."_

 _The simple computer scans her body and chimes, "Attention, no injury detected. Chosen treatment is not recommended for-"_

 _Jane snarls and slams a fist against the nearby wall, drawing frightening looks from passing civilians, "Shut the fuck up and deploy the numbing agent!"_

" _Acknowledged." The injectors built into the suit fill her bloodstream with a heavy dose of medicine, but it barely has any effect. Even the feeling of her suit wrapped around her is starting to have a decidedly sensuous effect. By the time they get back to the ship, Jane feels like she's boiling inside and gleefully stumbles through the airlock. She doesn't waste any time activating the emergency release for her plating. The armor falls free of its mounts, clattering to the ground in a trail behind her. Jane's suit is right behind it as she calls to the ship's VI. "Turn the shower on. Set temperature to 5 degrees celsius." Before moving into the shower, Jane flashes her biotics to pull something from the sheath strapped to her suit's thigh. The near freezing water feels like knives against her skin, but even that triggers sensations that she hasn't indulged in since Niria's death._

 _Every thought slowly fades away as Jane sits against the back wall. She hugs her knees to her chest and grips her bond blade in a white knuckled fist. All she can think about is every sensation eating away at her sense of self-control as the frigid water begins to numb her skin._

 **Miranda**

She's a little early so it doesn't surprise her that Jane isn't waiting on the dock. Miranda double checks the planner on her omnitool one last time to make sure the week is completely open. Satisfied, she walks down the docking collar and enters her personal code for the Pale Horse's airlock. As soon as she's cycled through de-con her ears are assaulted by shouting from the mess hall. It sounds like Jane's asari friend is arguing with someone about a mistake. "I'm not going to ask again! What was in the bag?!" Miranda steps into the room and sees Lia shouting at one of Jane's marine friends from Elysium while the marine's giant companion looks on nervously from the side.

"I said it was just sand dammit!" Miranda has a lot of experience reading people and it's obvious to her that the diminutive woman is trying to hide something.

Before she can say something, Dr. Chakwas comes walking down the main hall from the rear of the ship, "I've seen overdoses from red sand before Private Esulard, and none of them were left in anything approaching Jane's condition." The doctor's uniform is almost drenched and she has a towel draped over her shoulders as she steps up in front of the smaller woman. "Now private, what else was in the bag?" The marine looks set to keep arguing, but a glare from the doctor withers her defiant attitude, like a sapling before an inferno.

"I… well, there might… there might have been a bit of crushed up Hallex in it." Lia practically hisses at her in anger. "I'm sorry okay! The bag fell outta my pocket and she picked it up and accidentally popped it! I never wanted her to…" Sue trails off and sits down to put her head in her hands. "It's not supposed to be that powerful. It's not supposed to fuck people up that much…"

"Jane's nervous system conducts sensations far more intensely than a normal human. Even a small dose would have severe effects." They all turn and notice Miranda for the first time. "Dr. Chakwas, is Jane alright?"

"I can't get a solid scan and she's not responding to any attempt to speak to her. There's also a low yield biotic field keeping me from making a more traditional examination. All I know is that she's entered a sort of trance and there is very little I can do to help beyond making sure nothing else happens." The marine lowers her eyes to floor and runs a hand over her close cropped hair while Miranda tries to think about want she can do.

An idea comes to mind, "There might be something I can do to help."

Dr. Chakwas sighs heavily and shakes her head, "I'm honestly at a loss on what to do. You know her better than almost anyone. If you've got an idea then I'm willing to hear you out." As an answer Miranda walks down the hall towards the engine room. The ship's shower is one of two rooms just outside the entrance to the core's upper level and is just large enough to let a person bathe comfortably and keep a change of clothes inside for when they're done. Before she opens the door, Dr. Chakwas stops Miranda for a moment. "I would like to know what your idea is Ms. Lawson."

Miranda tries to think of a way to explain, "It's not something that is easy to describe. Jane showed me a unique biotic technique a few years ago and ever since I've been trying to duplicate it. I figured out how a few months ago and it was my intention to share it with Jane as a birthday present. There's no guarantee that it will work but the only other option is to wait and see what happens." The doctor grimaces. They don't have a lot of time to waste. Jane called Miranda after her meeting at the embassy, nearly apoplectic. She'd promised to help handle the issue and had already contacted her superiors, who'd made the same promise. As for the immediate problem, Jane needs to be on her feet when the spectre arrives.

Karin enters the override code for the door and Miranda walks in. Jane is sitting against the back wall under the shower. She's hugging her legs to her chest and has that bond blade in an iron grip. "Jane? Jane can you hear me?" There's no reaction beyond the shivering. Miranda steps closer and reaches out to lift her chin. Jane's eyes are void black, her skin is flushed, and she's hyperventilating. "Jane… if you can hear me, listen close." Miranda kneels down in front of Shepard, immediately soaking the legs of her suit. As the freezing water splashes off of Jane, Miranda settles her mind to prepare. After taking several deep breaths to steady herself, she lets her biotics flow in the right pattern and manifests a sphere of violet energy between her hands, producing a single, continuous note. The sound it creates is very weak compared to Jane's but it still carries some of the same power. Miranda closes her eyes before pouring everything she can into it and still it begins to destabilize seconds after starting.

Just before she can lose it, a streamer of amber energy wraps around it, bolstering the melody and letting her sustain the song almost effortlessly. Opening her eyes, Miranda sees Jane's breathing slow down slightly. The sphere mingles with the golden energy in almost perfect harmony, drawing a sigh of relief from both of them. She tries to pour herself into the song like Jane did, but it's so much more difficult than just summoning the sphere in the first place. Thankfully, she doesn't need to do it all herself. Jane carefully levers herself away from the wall and kneels as well, adding even more of her own power to the song. Amber and violet wind together seamlessly. " _I can hear you…_ " Miranda blinks a few times before realizing that the voice was inside her head.

As the song grows, Miranda feels a presence wrapping around her mind, filling her with a warm sensation of absolute safety and security. The shower fades away, along with everything else and she watches a pristine marble structure manifests around her "Where am I?" The structure shines with a pearlescent sheen, glittering in the light of eight golden streams flowing from the central area. At the nexus of it all is a statue of Jane kneeling and looking up at a massive crystal orb, dotted with thousands of intricate glyphs. The woman herself is sitting on the steps leading up to the statue, balancing a gilded blade on one trembling finger. "Jane? What is this?"

She answers without looking up, "This is how I keep control. It's the anchor in my mind that lets me use my power or let it bleed away without being apart." The orb is shining with prismatic light, but something is wrong. "It's usually easy, but that powder is messing me up." A screed of rust colored dust blows around the orb, obscuring most of the glyphs scattered over its surface. The gilded streams are polluted by the powder and Jane drops to blade before griping her head with a pained expression. "I can't focus. There's too much to take in. Too much to hear. Too much to feel. Too much. Too much! TOO MUCH!"

The entire structure trembles as Jane grows more agitated and Miranda can feel a muted echo of the painfully powerful sensations she's enduring. "What can we do?" She reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder. Jane gives off a groan as soon as she makes contact.

"Please… please don't do that. I can barely keep myself sane as it is." Miranda ignores the warning and lifts Jane's chin to look her in the eye.

"Stand up." Jane shakes her head, but Miranda is in no mood for it, "Jane Shepard you stand up this instant." It works, eventually. Jane looks up at her for awhile before pushing off of the stairs. "Breathe. Just breathe." Jane takes several deep, shuddering breaths. "You've been through so much, survived so much. You can't let this stuff keep you down. The spectre is going to be here in a few hours and you need to be in your right mind."

Jane shudders, "I can't focus! It took every scrap of control I had just to make it back to the ship without pinning someone down and… uh…" Miranda sees a flash of Jane's distress. Asari faces all begin to look like one specific woman. What's more, all the human faces start looking like her own. "That powder has got me crazy. Even here it's hard to stay in control. I look at you and…" Jane's face flushes a vibrant crimson, almost as red as her hair.

"Let me help. Maybe you can share it with me." Jane's brows shoot up in surprise.

"What?!"

"I've heard that asari suffering from an overdose can link their minds with a willing volunteer and share the mental strain. Since you can do something similar to an asari meld you might be able to share it with me."

Jane stammers a few times, "Y-you… you don't know what that would mean. It would be _like_ an asari meld, but much, much more… uh… intense. For it to work, we'd be joining into a single gestalt consciousness for the duration. I'd see into your memories as much as you'd see into mine, and that's not even the big issue." Jane runs a trembling hand through her hair. "You'd feel a fraction of everything I'm feeling. Normally I'd be able to hold back to keep you safe, but as messed up as I am right now? I might not be able to keep myself from… going too far."

Miranda scoffs, "I'm not afraid Jane. I can handle it." She holds out a hand with a smirk. "I'm ready when you are."

Jane shakes her head with a grimace before taking Miranda's hand and opening her mind even further. Both begin breathing in rhythm as their thoughts begin to intertwine. To say she felt overwhelmed would be like saying a dingy was a bit wet once it had sunk to the sea floor. Her senses are lit on fire as a deluge of intense mental stimuli come streaming through. All around them, the temple becomes so impossibly bright that it makes her eyes ache. Her ears are bombarded by a howling gale of sound beyond anything she's ever experienced. Smell and taste become meaningless labels for tiny chips of sensation pouring into her. Her skin begins to feel like it's moving, as if thousands of tiny insects are just beneath the surface. Just when it feels like she's about to be consumed by it all, Jane whispers. "Are you ready? This is what I feel all the time. Next comes the rest."

All she can do is numbly nod and the floodgates truly open. Her mind completely blanks for a timeless instant before she feels something wrap around her in a pure embrace of thought. "Jane?" The only answer is a flash of memory, an image of a white clad seraphim stepping from the light and standing over a broken body surrounded by puddles of blue and violet gore. "I'm not an angel."

A peal of thunder sounds overhead, nearly drowning out the response. "You are to me."

She can barely manage a whisper, "You were my angel first…" She sees a young woman crammed in a cage with a swaddled infant held tightly in her arms. Demons prod and torment the woman until a flash of crimson lands in their midst, slashing and stabbing until all the Demons are dead. Once it's over, the flash resolves into the shape of a dark red angel with leathery wings. The presence around her recoils in horror.

"Monster…"

Miranda whispers, "Not a monster to me…" The presence winds closer and brings with it a torrent of feelings and memories. Each one passes by in a flash, faster and faster in an endless flood.

A little girl being berated for hours because she accidentally walked with a slouch in front of guests.

 _A little girl berated because refuses to speak no matter how hard they try._

A teenager cries herself to sleep. She got too close to a friend and he was killed because of her.

 _A teenager cries herself to sleep. She led them to her friend by accident and now her friend is dead because of her._

A young woman is backed into a corner, desperately cradling the crying infant in her arms as the darkness closes in.

 _A young woman weeps next to a river of fire. She cries out in despair as the darkness closes in._

The presence around her shifts and weeps and groans with each passing moment, leaving Miranda to feel an echo of sensation that would render a normal human comatose. It feels like it goes on for hours, days even, leaving her nearly breathless under the waves of emotion and sensory overload.

Jane appears in front of her, eyes bright, burning, and bleeding. "More…" The intensity of the experience grows exponentially as her sense of self begins to unravel.

A single tear trails down her cheek, "Please… it's too much… too much…" The crashing waves of feeling build and build to impossible heights, ready to drown her forever, to consume everything she is. Suddenly, the sea of sensation calms and Miranda feels herself drifting into the air. The presence pushes her out and away from the sea before falling back itself. The maelstrom below returns in full force, but now the polluting dust is barely there.

As her mind is slowly unwound from the link Miranda hears a faint, "Thank you…" echoing in the distance. She opens her eyes and sees the shower of the Pale Horse again, but this time it's tilted at 90 degrees. It takes a moment for her to realize that she's laying on her side. Wrestling with a heavy sense of exhaustion, Miranda pushes herself back into a kneeling position and sees Jane staring back at her with those beautiful, bright violet eyes and a contented smile. She also sees that blood is seeping from Jane's nose, eyes, and ears.

"Jane? Are you alright?"

She sleepily answers, "Not really, but I can actually think now." As Miranda stands up to try and work some feeling back into her legs, Dr. Chakwas helps wipe some of the blood away from Jane's face.

"My scans are already working again. Whatever that was it worked for the most part. Much of the narcotic has been flushed out, rather messily I might add." She gestures to several other towels lying in the corner, each one thoroughly soaked in blood. "It's a good thing this room is soundproof, otherwise people might get the wrong impression." Remembering just how it felt to be linked together, Miranda fights back a mild blush. Jane however is a vivid red and keeps her eyes on the floor. "I'd recommend that both of you get cleaned up. We don't have long before the Spectre arrives."

Karin leaves them alone and they spend a few minutes trying to catch their breath. Jane accepts help standing up, just barely managing to quiet the moan from making contact. "How do you feel?"

A shudder wracks Jane's body for a moment. "Like I got run over by a truck, and afterwards the driver got out to give me a full body massage for hours with lots of oil and booze. It's probably gonna take a day or so to completely clear my system." Jane looks at Miranda and blushes before looking back to the floor. "Umm, if you need to change I still have one of your suits that you left here last time."

She'd been too tired to notice before but now that she thinks about it, Miranda feels pretty uncomfortable. She pats her torso and finds that the material is soaked in sweat. "Bloody hell… I'll need a shower before changing. Do you mind if I use yours?"

"That's fine." Jane looks everywhere but at her. Before she can turn as red as a lobster, Karin comes back with her suit.

"Lia ran it through your wash and you were under the shower head the whole time so the blood's all gone. Cover up and you can give Miranda some privacy." Jane pulls her suit back on before stepping out of the stall. After a quick shower Miranda gets dressed and walks out to find Jane idly playing with a few strands of hair. She absentmindedly starts braiding it down the middle.

"I haven't seen you do that in years." Jane seems to realize what she's doing and stops with the braid only half finished. "Why'd you stop?"

She lets a hand drift to her midriff, right over the particularly gruesome scar Miranda knows is there. "It's been almost four years. She used to braid it for me when we got up in the morning." Jane looks over at the nearest bulkhead. It's polished brightly enough that her reflection is just barely visible. "When she died… I couldn't stand keeping it anymore. I did everything I could to not think about anything but tracking down the people responsible and gutting them all. Now? Now I can barely think about anything but our last night together. That powder made me pay attention to feelings that I haven't even considered since that bullet ripped into us. For the first time… it doesn't hurt as much to think about it. I mean, I feel like a bitch for it, but… but I think…" Jane slowly starts braiding her hair again, leaving the sides to hang free.

Once it's done Miranda steps next to her. "It's lovely Jane. I think she'd be happy to see it again." Her cheeks redden with a slight blush.

"I hope so." The tiny smile on Jane's face fades away, "Miri, um… Look. About the stuff you saw when we were linked… The feelings that I…"

"Don't worry Jane. I know it's just the powder. Being exposed to red sand with Hallex ground into it would screw with anyone's head. Once it's out of your system you'll-"

"It's not the powder." Jane slaps both hands over her mouth and somehow manages to blush even brighter.

Miranda raises a brow. "Oh… I… Is there something you need to tell me?" Jane stammers a few times trying to respond. Before it can go any further, Doctor Chakwas comes back.

"Lieutenant, we only have a few minutes left before the Spectre arrives. I suggest you do whatever you need to do to get ready."

Jane nods and takes a moment to crack her knuckles, pop her back, and stretch out. She goes to leave but Miranda stops her with a hand on her arm, "Jane, what did you mean by that?"

They stare at each other until Jane looks at the floor. It almost seems like she's ashamed of something. "I… I can't. I can't say it yet. Not until the Wake is dead. All of them. I can't…" Jane shoulders sag and she walks away.

 **Jane**

 _If not for the need to seem sane and collected for a while, Jane would be tearing her hair out and screaming over her lack of a spine. All she had to do was say it. 'Three stupid words…' Even the voices are berating her for it. She can't understand most of them in the torrential babble, but it's still obvious that most of them are calling her gutless. Some are just cackling insanely at the lingering effects from the dust. Despite bleeding most of the crap out, thanks to Miranda acting as an emotional load-stone long enough to let her focus on the problem, her veins are still on fire with sensations better left unfelt at the moment. She's still trying to shake off the lingering distraction from the way Miri's suit looked soaked in sweat and clinging so tightly to every curve and-_

 _She stops for a second to slap herself in the face. The sting is enough to clear her head for now._

 _Most of the crew is still out and about, but Teg is sitting at the table with one of his squid treats wriggling as he slurps it down, "Hey boss. Heard you got snooted. You better now?"_

 _Jane glares at him for a bit before nodding slightly, "Who told you?" Teg points over to the steps leading to the upper deck. Sue is sitting on them with her head in her hands and Bobby is patting her on the back. He notices Jane and gets Sue's attention._

 _She's talking a mile a minute as she trots over, "Shit Shep! I'm so sorry! I never meant for someone else to get so messed up and I never wanted to screw with you and I-" Jane holds a finger up._

" _How long?"_

 _Sue pauses in her verbal flood, "Huh?"_

" _The drugs Sue. How long have you been using?" The smaller woman cringes before backing away. "You either tell me now, or I report what happened to your commander."_

 _Bobby puts a hand on Sue's shoulder and gives her a thoughtful look. It takes a minute, but the marine finally gives a defeated sigh, "About a year. It was just sand at first… but then that stopped being enough. I started grinding up the Hallex a few months ago. I… I just…"_

" _Why Sue? You used to rip on people that wasted their time and money on that crap. Not to mention the fact that the Reds saddled you with the blame for a shipment that went bad. Didn't you promise to never have anything to do with that shit? Why did you start?"_

 _She gestures lamely in Jane's direction, "It… it's just… I wanted to know what it was like. In bootcamp I'd watch you doing all these amazing things with biotics and it always looked like it made you feel amazing and…" Sue puts her back against the bulkhead. "I just wanted to feel like you did when you blasted somethin apart with your head or jumped on top of a building or somethin."_

 _Jane shakes her head ruefully, "Do you really want to know what it's like? What it feels like when I use my biotics?" Sue looks up. "Don't go to the bathroom for two days and then do your business while someone's drumming on your head with a steel mallet." The smaller woman cocks a brow and mouths a faint 'what the fuck'. "I'm serious. Using my biotics doesn't make me feel good or giddy or horny like that shit you've been snorting, at least not since I've been an adult. It's like the emergency release valve on a boiler being blasted off to keep the whole thing from exploding. It feels like lancing a giant cyst on my brain or barfing up a gallon of bile after an all night bender or laying down on a bed of gravel after a fifty mile sprint with a hundred kilo satchel on my back. It's not pleasure. It's relief."_

" _Really? You always made it seem like it was so…" Sue spins her hand a few times, trying and failing to find the words. "It just feels like taking a dump or something?"_

" _Sort of. That's a little simplistic but essentially yes."_

" _Uggghhh!" Sue smacks her head against the wall a few times. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid…"_

" _Is there anymore?"_

" _... No…"_

 _Jane rolls her eyes and looks at Bobby, "Is there more?" The giant hesitates before nodding, earning a slap on the arm from Sue. "Listen here Bobby, because I'm counting on you." The huge marine nods and leans closer, "You find the rest of it and throw it in the nearest incinerator. After that, you never let her have another speck of that shit. I don't care what she says. I don't care what she does. You saw what happened to me with an overdose, just imagine what will happen to Sue. If you really care about her, then you never, ever, ever let it near her again. Anybody tries to push it on her, you put them in the dirt. Go it?" Bobby nods as Sue buries her face in her hands. "Got it Sue?"_

 _The whisper is so quiet that Jane might be the only one that can hear it, "Yeah…"_

" _Alright. I've gotta get ready for the spectre. Go ahead and get something to eat before you head out. We're still on for drinks on the 11th if you think you'll be up for it." Sue tries to nonchalantly brush away a tear and nods. Bobby goes rooting through the fridge for something while Jane checks the ship for stuff that could get them in trouble. There's no contraband that she knows about, no data files on what they've been doing in the Terminus, and none of the gear they have on board is technically illegal. The only problem is Pandora. She still hasn't come back._

 _Jane is genuinely started to get worried as she's checking the data stack on the bridge when Pan's avatar pops up on the nearest screen. "Hey ma."_

" _Where have you been? We've got trouble and we need to get ready."_

" _I know mom. God you'd think I never hijacked the audio receivers in you armor and listened in. As soon as I heard what was going on I came back to fix things up, data sweeps to make sure everything is covered and all. Then I asked some friends in the Veil for a hand. They helped me take care of the stuff Councilor Eshreen used to kick-start the investigation."_

" _They were able to get into some of the citadel's most secure systems to wipe data? Just like that? The meeting was only a few hours ago and that security is really high quality."_

" _Oh they didn't need to get in. They were already there. I gotta tell you, the council would shit their pants if they knew just how much of an open book they are to dad's…" Pan's smile falters and the display glitches out a few times._

" _I know Pan. I miss him too." They all did their best to avoid bringing up Century. Pan tended to suffer severe processing issues every time he came up in conversation._

" _I still haven't checked his files, but it might be time. Since I need to clear out before the Spectre comes over, I also set up an iso-data space in an abandoned part of the Citadel. While him and his goons are snooping, I'm going to hide there and open the files."_

" _Are you sure you can handle that?"_

" _I don't know. That's why the iso-space is so important. While I'm in there I won't be able to affect anything on the outside, even if something goes really, really wrong."_

 _Jane gives a grimace, "I don't know about this Pan. Do you really want to do this?"_

" _I have to. I have to see what was so important. It's causing more glitches every day and the only thing I can think of to fix it is to grow a pair and just go for it." Despite her doubts, Jane nods. "Once it's over I'm gonna need you to come get me. Part of the deal with the iso-space is that once I lock it down, nothing can get in or out without a physical data drive being inserted. Just put one of Kalen's red drives in and I'll be able to get back. Oh, and I put together something to cover for me while I'm gone. Just play along if you see it. See you later ma." Before Jane can say anything else, Pan disappears again._

 _A quick check of the ship's computer doesn't turn up the slightest trace of her digital child. With everything she can think of taken care of, Jane sits down in her chair to try and still the tremors shaking her whole body. The sand is still making her feel wrong. As she tries to steady herself, a pair of simple minds come scuttling into the area._

 _-Doomsinger is worried?_

 _-Doomsinger want food?_

 _Scratch and Skitter pop out of one of the vents and climb into her lap. The little bugs are still adorably ugly to her, but they're not so small anymore. After molting three times since hatching, both of them are getting to the point where the vents won't be a comfortable fit anymore. "No thanks guys. It's just been rough day. Listen, I need you two to hide in that special spot in the cargo hold. Do remember the spot"_

 _-Hollow Spot?_

 _-Place with no song?_

 _-Don't like quiet!_

 _-Want to hear song from hive!_

 _-Pale Horse hive has strong song!_

" _I know you don't like it, but it's not safe for you to stay out. Go to the hollow spot and wait for me to come get you. Once everything is safe I'll get you guys a big block of sugar to snack on." Both the little bugs chitter excitedly over the coming treat as they scuttle back into the vents._

 _-Sweet songs!_

 _-We sing hiding songs!_

 _She can usually hear a tiny hint of their thoughts wherever they are on the ship, but that fades away once they reach the cargo hold. There were materials and EM signatures that could stop lifesigns from being detected. Jane put together a small spot in the hold made of the right materials just in case something like this ever happened._

" _I just got word from a friend." Miranda walks over from the door and leans against one of the consoles. "He saw a turian in black armor with and I quote 'a giant stick up his ass' marching towards the dock. I think it's safe to assume the Spectre is almost here. Is everything ready?"_

" _Should be. Pan's got a hiding spot off the ship. Scratch and Skitter are in their little null room. Our files are clean and some friends are taking care of Eshreen's information. As far as I know, there's nothing for him to find." Miranda nods and idly scrolls through a few screens on her omni tool. Jane can see her trying to run a medical scan, but the displays are scrambled. "Sorry about that. I can't control when the EM works. It just happens whenever I'm stressed."_

" _I know. Since the scans aren't working again, tell me how you're doing. Are you ready? Is the dust still affecting you?"_

 _Jane slouches down in the chair and closes her eyes. There's still a tingling all over her body and her senses are still too active. "Yeah, but it's not so bad anymore and since I'm stressed out the Spectre's scans won't work on me if they decide to give me a once over."Jane opens her eyes and looks over at Miranda. "If this goes wrong and they try to detain us, it's going to get bloody. If I have to kill the Spectre, the best case scenario is that I the only one that gets exiled from Citadel space. Worst case, everyone on board becomes a wanted criminal. You might want to wait somewhere else. Karin promised to gather the others up and they're going to wait in the Alliance embassy until it's done, just in case. Well, everybody but Teg. He's almost hoping the Spectre starts something. Lia's going to stay too because she thinks it's her duty."_

" _I'm not exactly guilt free Jane. The organization I work for knows how to clean up a person's record. Besides," She steps over and puts a hand on Jane's shoulder, "Someone needs to keep an eye out for you, keep you safe. After all you're such a delicate little flower." She can't help the snort of laughter, "Come on. Finish getting dressed and we'll wait for the Spectre."_

 _They head down to her room on the second deck where her plates are stacked neatly on the bed. It's a relief as the weight of the armor is settled back onto her shoulders. There was just something about being able to tank a point blank shotgun blast without blinking that made her feel better. With armor, weapons, and bond blade back in place, Jane gathers up the others, starting with Spits. He's uncurls from his nap on the bed to hop down. She gives a simple command and he trots over to the armor cradle. Once he's covered, Jane checks the mess hall. Sue and Bobby already left to get back to their unit but Teg and Lia are waiting for her. Both are decked out in full combat gear. Teg has his heavy battle plate on, with a claymore latched on his back and warhammer resting across one shoulder. Lia checks a heavy pistol as her shields flash into place. "Okay guys, let's go say hi. Remember, no shots unless something goes wrong." Lia nods, "Teg? They aren't the enemy yet. Understood?"_

 _He grumbles a few times, "Yeah, yeah I got it. Doesn't mean I trust him. Remember the last Spectre we met." He scratches his crest where the deep crack still shines out. Though he recovered from the hit, one of his eyes still tended to drift every now and then. "I'll behave so long as he does. But if he starts somethin I get to rip his head off right?"_

" _Sure thing big guy. Come on." The airlock cycles open after decon is done and they all walk out to meet the Spectre's team. It's a simple group, just a few salarians with scanning equipment and a pair turian praetorians for security. The two groups stop a few meters apart from each other, trading apprehensive looks. It takes a moment the Spectre to step forward._

" _Are you expecting combat Shepard? Do you intent to stop us from boarding?"_

" _Don't get your panties in a twist Spectre. We're ready for combat because we don't trust Spectres. I've got a warning for you and every member of your team. You do your job and then you piss off. None of you are welcome here and none of you deserve an inch of slack. There's no evidence to find. You fabricate any and I'll kill every single one of you." The praetorians shift to a combat stance but the Spectre holds up a fist to stop them from acting._

" _Be careful Shepard. You're dangerously close to threatening a Citadel agent on official business."_

 _Jane steps even closer and matches his glare. "Don't spew that bullshit Spectre. Your kind are the left hand of the Council. Above the law, you can do whatever you need to do to protect the Citadel. However, if any_ _ **legal**_ _action is to be taken against us, then there has to be actual evidence. If you attack us right now, without provocation and with plenty of proof that we didn't start anything, then I would be well within my rights under the Citadel's Charter of Sapient Rights, Article 1, Section 1, to defend myself and my people with all necessary force. A Spectre can do whatever they want, but without evidence of illegal activity, the_ _ **law**_ _is on my side. So watch your ass. Once you're done pissing away our time, I'll thank you and your rats to kindly fuck off." Without another word, Jane signals for the others to go on to the dock's waiting area while the Spectre tells his crew to start the search. As Teg passes one of the salarians, he snarls and juts his chin out, causing the much smaller alien to scurry away._

 _Once they're alone, the Spectre actually flashes a turian smile at her. "I must say Shepard, it's refreshing to find someone with a spine that understands their rights. You'd be shocked at just how often I've been able to bluff my targets into confessing before I've even begun looking into them."_

 _Jane lets a smirk curl her lip, "Oh I think I can guess. Don't forget what I said Spectre. Any funny business and all of you are dead. I am not afraid of you or the Council. You have no idea what I'm capable of." With that she brushes passed Nihilus._

 _Before she's out of earshot, Jane hears him whisper, "That's what we're worried about."_

 **Miranda**

Jane takes a seat next to her and starts cycling through several messages from friends across the galaxy. "Anything interesting?" She looks up from her omnitool.

"A few things. Keeva's trying to convince her people to commission their first original vessel in centuries. Vollo is thinking about moving to the Citadel to open up a high fashion shop. Doth is…" Jane looks around a few times and scans for bugs. Coming up with nothing, she leans closer to Miranda, "He's stirring up more and more support everyday. They're ready for something big, but we haven't decided what that will be yet. Then there's word from Mindoir. They're expanding the militia training camp and Frank is asking me to come for a visit. And I've got a message from Anderson. Apparently several N7s started a petition calling for Kaidan and me to return to Vila Militar to try and become N2s."

"Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know. I don't really care, but Kaiden will probably be interested. If nothing else, I'd like to see him do it. So I might go to see him make it."

"I think you should go." Jane raises a brow at her, "You are trying to expand your influence in the Alliance right?" She nods, "Then this will help. N program graduates are highly respected amongst the higher echelons of the Alliance. Even the xeno militaries respect it." Jane starts to respond, but something catches her eye. "What's wrong?"

"Trouble." She whistles a simple tune, but the effect on her team is noticeable. Teg pops his neck a couple times. Lia starts running through mantras to get ready for her biotics. Even Spits reacts, snapping his mouth shut and sniffing for something out of the ordinary.

As the team readies for whatever is there, Jane leans close again, "I sewed an extra shield generator into that suit. It's almost as strong as mine. Anything more would require full armor to mount." Miranda nods and pretends to check for messages on her omnitool while cycling several tech assault programs to ready.

There's no more time for talk after that. An asari in heavy armor marches over with a dark look on her face. She stops in front of Jane and looks down. "Jane Shepard?"

"Who wants to know?"

The asari holds out her omnitool, flashing Spectre credentials, "Miral T'sad of the Citadel Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch. I need you to come with me."

 **Jane**

 _Jane glares at the asari and leans back into her seat. The alien is heavily armed and armored, but that isn't what's got her attention. It's the smell. There's something familiar about it. "I've already got one Spectre rooting around in my business. I don't need another. Kindly piss off please."_

 _The asari scowls, "This is a serious matter Shepard. And I wasn't asking." The new Spectre shifts her weight, flashing the hand cannon on her hip._

" _I don't care. Spectre Nihlus is in charge of this imbecilic investigation and he hasn't said a damn thing about a second Council dog. So, until I get word from him, the Council, or Jesus Christ himself, nobody is going anywhere, no matter who comes asking." As they've been talking, Jane's noticed several odd ripples in the air all across the dock. They're the same ripples made by someone hiding with active camouflage. "It doesn't matter how many friends you've got hiding in the wings. You start something with me and you're signing your own death warrant." The asari sneers down at her._

 _While Jane is talking, she taps out a message on her thigh in Morse code, 'Cloaked enemies to the sides. Numbers unknown. Estimate 30-40. More possible. Combat imminent.' Teg grunts his understanding and Lia bows her head as if praying._

 _The smell gets stronger as several of the ripples inch closer, triggering an old memory. She knows that smell, "That's an interesting perfume you're wearing." The asari narrows her eyes, "Yup, very interesting. I for one don't enjoy the scent of burning skin and melting plastic, but to each his own I guess."_

 _That's when she sees it. The faint glint of glowing cybernetics inside the asari's eyes. "Come quietly Shepard and your friends don't have to die." As a response, Jane flashes her biotics and slams a wall of energy into the asari's sternum, catapulting the woman away like a ragdoll. The body comes to a halt almost twenty meters away in a broken heap._

 _Jane gets to her feet as dozens of dark armored figures decloak all around them. "Lia, Miranda, keep a double layered barrier around yourselves at all times. Their rifles can go right through a single layer. Teg, move fast and don't hold still for a second." Everyone draws their weapons. Abyss and Seraph slide free with a flourish as a grotesque cracking sound draws their attention back to the Spectre's body._

 _The asari slowly gets to her feet as her limbs are forced back into the proper shape by the cybernetics that have to be wormed through her entire body. Once back in the proper shape, her eyes burn with a eldritch blue light and she is surrounded by a biotic aura of corrupted red energy, "I AM YOUR END FULCRUM!"_

 _Jane roars back, "COME ON!" With Spits right behind her, Jane charges the asari and the bullets start flying._


	76. Chapter 76

**Chapter 76 - Satisfaction**

 _Date_ _: 4.06.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Nihlus**

Shepard's krogan aside, they move into the ship with little trouble. His first impression is one of deep contradiction. The vessel is fashioned in the style of Hierarchy vessels from close to 400 years ago. Where modern ships had wings that could retract for various reasons, the Pale Horse had wings at fixed angles. Despite the classical style of the hull, he can see pairs of highly advanced, double-barreled GARDIAN turrets built across the ship. The paint job is immaculate, despite several scars from weapons fire scattered across the armor plating.

His team cycles through decon quickly enough and he leads them in. They step into what appears to be a mess area, given the layout of the room. He turns to address his team, "Alright. Remember what we're here for. We're looking for genuine evidence of illegal activity. AI fragments, contraband, and anything suspicious. I doubt it needs to be said, but just in case some of you are confused, there is to be no tampering with systems, no planting of evidence, and absolutely no falsification of reports. Shepard is a person of interest, **not** an enemy of the state. Remember that and move out."

His team salutes and gets to work, spreading throughout the ship to search for anything that might implicate Shepard. For his own part, Nihlus heads up to the bridge. Like the ship's spaceframe, the bridge is built in a style from another age, one far closer to that of a human or asari vessel, with the captain's throne placed in the midst of an oblong collection of workstations. He can even see a distinct hint of quarian ship design in the layout. The helm is a few steps below the other stations and he can see that the controls are customized for a pilot with 3 fingers per hand. He quietly talks to himself, "Ah yes. I heard she had a quarian pilot. What's that woman's name again?"

One of the screens next to him lights up and a face similar to Shepard's appears. If not for the green color, he'd assume the human had left a message for him. "Hello there. Welcome to the Pale Horse. My name is Pandora, the virtual intelligence installed within this vessel. You have made an inquiry about personnel. Would you like some assistance?" He raises a brow plate at the projection. The AI Shepard was supposed to be harboring was said to look just like her and this thing could easily be mistaken for that, albeit with a color filter on the display.

"A VI? Not an AI?"

The projection gives an almost human shake of its head. There's only the tiniest hint of stiffness in the motion, just enough to ruin the impression of a natural gesture. "I'm sorry, but AI is illegal within all know Citadel sectors. I am a class 9-NZ virtual intelligence. For information on my design specifications, please consult the user's manual section 9-222, pages 1333-"

"Enough." Nihlus calls to his team, "Tesat, I need you on the bridge." The salarian in question arrives in less than a minute and Nihlus gestures to the display, "This program claims to be a VI. Make sure. After that scour the computers for any traces of AI programming. Be thorough. I don't want any doubts." He leaves Tesat to run his tests and moves to the cargo hold. There's not much beyond rations or legal munitions crates. There's also a small cleared area with a collapsible couch and a white screen on the wall across from it. The only thing of interest is a destroyed cargo pod sitting at the back of the hold. One of his men is running a scan as he approaches. "What is it?

"I'm not entirely sure Spectre. Whatever it once was, now it's little more than wreckage."

"Theories?"

The salarian taps one of his horns a few times, "It appears to be the remains of a sophisticated data storage medium. I've honestly never seen something like this before."

"Data storage?" The salarian nods, "Is the damage recent?"

"Not a chance sir. Radioactive decay on the object indicates that it was destroyed 4, possible 5 months ago. Just about the same time that happened." He points to the roof of the cargo hold where Nihlus can just barely make out the seam where the material had been torn away and replaced at one point. "Possibly in the same event. This is a very intriguing piece of junk Spectre, but it is junk. The crystal material inside _would_ have made an excellent storage medium for vast quantities of data, but if there was an AI inside, then it has been obliterated."

"I see. Get all the scans you can before moving on. Even faint traces of an AI would be damming." He turns to the door and is called down to the engine room by another member of the team. He arrives to find something truly astonishing. "Is that a Keeper?!"

His man nods, just as confused as he is. The silent insectoids never boarded vessels that docked with the station, let alone performed maintenance as this one is. "I've never seen anything like it sir. It's been scuttling from one spot to the next at random. It pops the panels open, rearranges things inside, and then it moves on." They watch the Keeper for a few minutes in complete silence before it gently pushes passed them on some unknowable mission. "Sir… I'm at a loss. To my knowledge there's never been an incident of a Keeper leaving the Citadel. Is… Is this illegal?"

Nihlus is somewhat lost himself. "There's no precedent. I suppose that since they technically have no obligation to remain on the Citadel, there's no reason why one leaving would be illegal. No matter how odd it is, they have free reign as long as they aren't hurting anything… Still, log it anyway. I'll need to check the station records for an idea of what to do and I'll need to ask Shepard how it got here in the first place. Is there anything else of note down here?"

"Beyond the extreme high quality of the tech and peerless maintenance? Nothing. I've searched this place from coolant tanks to the trash compactor, and I've found nothing illegal. There might even be a few things I'd like to ask her engineer about. The benefits to the Citadel could be immense. If this is the kind of work the quarians are doing these days, then the Citadel has made a horrific error in ignoring them all these years." The man goes on to list a number of useful innovations, but Nihlus quickly loses interest. As the rest of the team starts checking in, all of them contribute to the same story. The ship is marvelously advanced and powerful beyond all expectations, but there's nothing illegal about it. If Shepard is breaking the law, then she's an expert at covering it up. The team gathers in the mess hall for the final report from Tesat.

"Well specialist? What have you found?"

The salarian loudly clears his throat. "The program you encountered is of extreme quality. Its emotes are convincing, even lifelike for the most part. It responds with little to no processing time and has a limited degree of adaptability that creates an extremely high quality simulacrum of a sentient intelligence… and that's all it is. A simulacrum, an imitation of true sentience. Whoever designed it is a programming genius beyond anyone I've ever heard of. It is easy to see why someone that encountered the program would assume it was an AI, given its advanced capabilities. However, at the end of the day, it is just an extremely advanced VI. Nothing more and nothing less."

Nihlus lets out a near silent sigh, partially in disappointment at having to waste so much time on a dead end, and partially in relief at not having to try and take her down. He's not entirely sure how it would end. _Six months of investigation and we get nothing..._ "Alright. It doesn't look like we'll find anything here, but we're not done yet. We still-" A tremor rocks the entire ship, knocking half his team to the ground.

As he tries to steady himself, the ship's VI pops up on the panel in front of him. "Warning, weapons fire detected on the dock. Requesting permission to activate external defenses."

"Negative!" Nihlus drags his men back to their feet and leads them out the airlock, into a scene of utter chaos.

 **Jane**

 _With a snarl she extricates herself from the new crater on port quarter of the ship. There are still lingering traces of the crimson biotic energy fading away, peeling the paint and cracking the plasteel symbol on her chest. Even before she's fully clear of the dent, the enemy grunts are firing. The only thing that keeps her from being perforated are the piles of cargo crates scattered by the initial clash between her and the asari. They give her just enough cover to gather her wits._

 _Lia has a large bubble barrier around herself and Miranda. It's not much, but it is enough to spend the piercing nanites in the special ammunition being fired at them. Even so, they keep to cover as much as they can. Despite losing their special nanites, the bullets are still bullets. Just before charging in, Jane tossed one of her SMGs to Miranda. Now her raven haired angel is using the single fire trigger to drill shots into targets whenever the opportunity presents itself._

 _Teg is up on one of the catwalks overhead, barreling through enemy fire to crush his targets with vicious swings from his hammer. The walkways are shaking madly with every step he takes, throwing off the aim of every dark armored figure in his way. She's honestly surprised it hasn't already collapsed under the strain._

 _Spits is keeping to the sides, darting in whenever there's an opening. His bite has only gotten stronger since the last time they fought these things and his artificial front talons are sharp enough to rip right through their armor. More than one creature finds itself torn in half before it even sees its attacker._

 _As for herself, Jane is having a hell of a time just trying to close with the asari. Everytime her gun breaks the red barriers, one of the creatures will dive in between them to buy time. If she closes in, several of them will drop what they're doing to stop her blades, with their own bodies if need be. A pair of them try to run her through. She deflects the first blade with Seraph and rams Abyss into the creatures throat. The second one suddenly collapses at her feet with a gaping hole in its temple. She nods her thanks to Miranda and turns back to the asari._

 _As she tries to close again, Nihlus and his team finally stumble out the airlock. The Spectre looks torn between helping her or the asari._

 **Nihlus**

As he takes in the scene, Nihlus sees Shepard in the midst of impaling a dark armored figure, one of dozens firing in her direction. Her blade darts in and out of its flesh with ease and she leaves it to fall as she charges an asari a few dozen meters away. The members of her crew present are taking cover in a small nest of fallen cargo pods, protecting the few dock workers unlucky enough to be in the area. The unknown attackers are firing indiscriminately and several of the workers have been injured. One of the praetorians raises his rifle but hesitates to open fire. "What do we do sir?"

He's about to tell them to help when he sees just who Shepard is fighting. The asari is Miral T'sad, a Spectre with almost three centuries of service. They rarely saw eye to eye, but she was still an ally, at least she was supposed to be. As he watches, Shepard gets close enough to swing her black sword, wreathed in a golden glow, at Miral's throat, only for the Spectre to block with a flash of dark red biotics. He's never seen such a peculiar display before.

The clash of opposing biotic fields creates an explosive wave, violently forcing the two women apart. Shepard is thrown into an information kiosk and leaps back to her feet as six of the black armored warriors close in, blades drawn. Miral skids to a halt just a few meters from Nihlus. "Spectre T'sad! What the hell is going on?!" She eyes him for a few seconds, like a man might look at an insect that dared to chirp in his presence.

"Stay out of the way Kryik! You're in over your head!" There's a strange cadence to her voice, as if someone else was talking through her. Miral aims her sidearm at Shepard and fires into the melee. She scores a glancing impact on the human's left vambrace, knocking away what would have been a fatal slash to the throat. Despite saving one of the warriors, Miral's next shot misses Shepard entirely and strikes another in the chest. She must be using explosive rounds, because the shot completely cores the figure's torso. Taking advantage of the gap in her enemy's position, Shepard leaps out of the circle, putting the five survivors between her and Miral. To Nihlus' shock, the asari doesn't hesitate to keep firing, blasting the heads from two more as she tries to hit the human.

Nihlus calls to her, "Have you gone completely mad T'sad?! You've killed three of your own!"

She signals for more of the black figures to charge in before stomping over to his position. "I said stay out of this Kryik! She must die and no cost is too high!" Miral turns back to Shepard and fires again, this time winging her as she is deflecting attacks from four dark blades. One of the soldiers is torn in half by a missed shot.

Unable to stay back anymore, Nihlus storms over and forces Miral's aim to the ground. "Dammit T'sad! The council said there wasn't to be an attempt on her life! This was supposed to be a legitimate investigation! I demand you stand down!"

"Don't presume to command me Kryik! I became a Spectre before your grandfather had even been born!" She shakes off his grip on her weapon to resume fire. As Shepard weaves between T'sad's allies to avoid being hit, Nihlus notices the bodies of nearly a dozen civilians scattered across the dock. All were killed by gunfire, and it looks like most of them were shot in the back as they fled towards the cover provided by Shepard's crew.

"Irrelevant! I've spent six months looking into this matter as the only Spectre assigned to the objective. Seniority or not, you have no authority to intervene. As the agent assigned this case by the Council itself, I order you to stand down! Refuse and I will force the issue!"

Miral looks down her nose at him and for just a moment, he feels like something else was lurking behind her eyes. There's a brief moment of quiet as she whispers "Is that so?" He puts a hand on his weapon. "So be it." He never even saw the hit. One second he was getting ready to draw his weapon and the next he was sailing through the air, then crashing to the ground right next to Shepard's friends. His chestplate has been almost entirely caved in and something is bleeding inside him. Miral moves towards him in a blur of red biotics. She stops less than a meter away. Drawing back her fist and gathering a crimson sphere of energy, Miral spares him one last glance, "No witnesses…"

Before she can kill him, Nihlus hears someone bellowing from above. Shepard's krogan comes crashing down hammer first. The weapon's head barely misses T'sad, slamming into the ground just beside her, knocking her away. The krogan roars, pivots with a brutal grace Nihlus has rarely seen, and swings the hammer in a scything uppercut towards Miral. She puts up a barrier in time to stop a direct hit, but she's still hurled away. The krogan pounds his chest with a roar before turning around to extend a hand to Nihlus, "Off your ass Spectre! Stop being worthless!" He bats away the krogan's hand and forces himself off the ground. Miral is being driven away by another charge from Shepard. This time she chooses to dodge away instead of meeting the human head on.

As they tear at each other, Nihlus puts a finger to his comm. The teams he had on standby are ready to intervene. "This is Spectre Kryik to support squads. Fire fight on the dock. Multiple civilian casualties. Converge on dock 99-z5 from all available angles and provide fire support to myself and Alliance Operative Jane Shepard. Spectre Miral T'sad has gone rouge."

 **Jane**

 _The asari is a squirly target. She gets into range for a slash and the woman flashes away or several of the creatures will move in to try and gut Jane. She's killed plenty of them so far, but there are even more than she estimated. Everytime one dies, another will decloak and engage. Thankfully Teg has cleared out the catwalks above (mostly by collapsing them) so all their enemies are at ground level now._

 _As she decapitates another dark soldier, Jane sees Nihlus and his team open fire on the rest of the asari's hit squads. Their work is actually pretty impressive. The praetorians are pinpoint marksman, hammering shots into targets with some of the tightest grouping she's ever seen. The salarians with him are using modified tech attacks to freeze targets solid or turn them into a roaring inferno. Nihilus seems to be the best of both worlds. His rifle is top of the line and when combined with his accuracy and the high quality tech mods he has, it scythes down targets with ease._

 _Jane hears something whistling through the air behind her and ducks to let the blade flash overhead before kicking back as hard as she can. Her reward is a gruesome crunching noise. She turns to see one of the creatures trying to stay standing on a leg that's bent backwards with rotting bones sticking out. A quick slice to the neck finishes the job and she looks around the dock. The enemy's numbers are still holding. What's worse is that Lia's barrier is beginning to falter. She was a strong biotic, even for an asari, but she has her limits._

 _Before she can move over to help, a blur of red slams into her side. The asari spectre doesn't give her a single second to recover and fires three explosive shots into her stomach. The first two are stopped by her shields. The third hits the armor beneath, cracking the plates and sending a jagged piece of shrapnel into her gut. Blood is oozing out of her stomach as the asari closes in. "You will die Fulcrum!" She must have looted some of the dead because she swings two of the creatures' dark blades down at Jane. Abyss and Seraph stop the weapons at a bad angle. Jane has almost no leverage. "I have fought the worst threats in the galaxy for centuries! You are nothing but a child!"_

 _Jane hears Lia's barrier burst. She needs to get over there, now. "There's a difference between being older and being better!" She bites down hard on the insides of her cheeks, sucks a dollop of blood into her mouth, and spits it into T'sad's eyes. Given that her blood usually rests much deeper on the caustic side of the pH scale than most people, it's no surprise when the Spectre violently jerks back._

 _Jane let energy flow out of her blades into two waves of destruction. T'sad, still squinting through the blood, rushes to create a defensive red singularity between them as Jane stabs both blades into the floor and holds on for what's coming. The opposing biotic forces meet in an explosive embrace. The asari is blasted far enough away to give Jane some room to draw her swords back out. Turning around, she can see that Nihlus' team has moved to cover Miranda and the others. As Jane sprints back over to them, three of the Wake's creatures get in the way. She hurls Seraph into the first's head and the second is blasted to pieces by a warp. The third tries to close in just as she rips Seraph out of its new, rotting sheath. Abyss knocks away its weapon and Seraph sings in from the left for a clean slash to its neck, opening it down to the spine._

 _An exhausted Lia nods her thanks as Jane gets between everyone and the enemy. Then she throws up a double barrier to cover the entire area. The enemy's shots pierce the outer bubble only to flatten against the inner layer. She can see the asari trying to gather her forces for one more all out assault, but a booming voice calls from behind them. "Halt and desist! In the name of the Council surrender now!" At the other end of the dock, Jane sees almost a full company of high ranking C-SEC officers closing in. Leading the small army is a turian in an executor's uniform, with four praetorians flanking him._

" _Jesus Spectre…" Nihlus looks at her, "Were you_ _ **that**_ _sure we were going to end up fighting each other?" He scoffs and smirks at her._

" _Just being careful." Jane's about to respond when she feels a huge build up of power. T'sad's flesh is actually starting to burn under forces no asari was ever meant to control. She throws a tidal wave of force at the C-SEC company, bowling over most of them and outright killing several before turning around to throw the same towards Jane. The second wave is even more unstable and crashes into Jane's outer barrier like a tsunami. She grits her teeth, fighting to hold back the deadly tide. By the time the storm breaks, the outer barrier has fallen and her nose is oozing blood._

 _T'sad hasn't been idle. The last of her dupes are charging at the recovering C-SEC teams while she snatches up one of the black rifles and aims at Jane. A sniper shot clips her shoulder as she pulls the trigger, knocking her aim to the side. The special round spends its nanites on what's left of Jane's inner barrier before passing just under her left arm. She hears a cry of pain and turns to see Miranda fall to the ground with blood seeping from a wound in her stomach._

 _Jane's mind goes completely blank from panic and in the void of thought the shadow surges out. She barely manages to catch the final link in its ethereal chain, stopping it from fully taking control, but it still floods her body with agonizing power and a thirst for blood._

 **Nihlus**

He'd expected retaliation, not the apocalypse. Seconds after the other human was hit, Shepard… changed. She let loose an animalistic howl and began ejecting amber arcs of biotic energy in random directions. The dock, already severely abused by the battle, is turned into a disaster area as the bolts of energy rip what's left of the place apart.

Shepard is literally frothing at the mouth when she draws the wild energies into herself before aiming an open palm at the backs of T'sad's remaining warriors. Up to this point they'd all been completely silent, but when the solar bright stream of power roars out from Shepard's outstretched hand to strike the nearest one, it lets out a scream of agony that could wake the dead. Then the bolt arcs to the next warrior in line and then the next and the next and the next until every surviving creature is skewered. They barely live long enough to shriek before they're utterly annihilated, leaving the beleaguered C-SEC officers to regroup and watch in bewilderment.

With her army wiped out, T'sad desperately flings another biotic attack at Shepard, only for the human to catch it on the face of her dark blade and dispel it without effort. Then Shepard throws both her blades into the deck, sinking them almost their full lengths into the floor. She advances on T'sad with a snarl, batting aside biotic attacks with contemptuous ease. When they make contact, it's clear the battle is already over. All that's left is to see just how much blood the human wants.

 **Jane**

 _Her heart is thundering. Her veins are on fire. All she sees is blood and death. Jane is half a step away from surrendering entirely to the darkness inside and the only thing that matters is making T'sad suffer. The asari is so slow she might as well be standing still as Jane gets up close. The Spectre tries to lash out with a red wreathed fist, only for Jane to catch it in her right palm. The biotic field scorches the flesh on her hand but the pain is meaningless. She clenches her hand into a fist, crushing the asari's digits into a fine powder. Her other hand locks artificial fingers around the spectre's throat and slowly starts crushing her windpipe. Before the delicate tissue can collapse under the immense pressure, Jane lifts the asari off the ground, then slams her back down. The deck buckles under the impact, but she's not done._

 _Out of her mind with hatred, Jane releases the spectre's throat only to grab her by the ankle and swing her entire body overhead to slam face first back into the ground, leaving T'sad with more bones broken than intact. Yet still, the cybernetics wormed throughout her body keep the asari alive and trying to stand, so Jane powers a boot into her ribs to get her face up. Then she latches onto an arm and leg, heaves the spectre up, and brings T'sad down directly over her knee. The echo of the asari's spine shattering is heard by every man and woman on the dock._

 _Still lost in a rage, Jane looks down at the broken woman, only to see the cybernetics trying to heal her crippled body. She snarls and builds up a final, monolithic surge of biotic energy before focusing it across T'sad's arms and legs. The corrupted tissue is strong, far stronger than any unaugmented creature in the galaxy, but it's little more that tissue paper against such a storm. Her limbs are slowly shredded along with the blue cybernetics inside. Then the biotic energy creeps deeper into her body, permanently snuffing out the glow of the machinery._

 _Jane refocuses on the rest of the asari's body. Just as the flesh on T'sad's face begins to boil away, someone desperately calls out, "JANE STOP!" And she does._

 **Nihlus**

The dock is completely silent as Shepard's blind asari helps the black haired human over to her. For his own part, Nihlus is still trying to process what he just saw. He never thought he'd see a fellow Spectre (a rogue but still) get so utterly crushed in a one-on-one fight, especially not with a human. _And red biotics? Cybernetics? What have you been doing T'sad_? Now he knows what would have happened if he'd found his evidence.

Without really thinking about it, Nihlus stays a step behind the pair as they cautiously approach Shepard, like a veterinarian might approach a wounded animal. The black haired human is still bleeding despite the medigel filling her wound. She puts a hand on Shepard's shoulder. "A living perpetrator is more valuable than a corpse. She needs to survive, at least for now."

The tension slowly drains out of Shepard's stance and she turns to the other human with a look of profound regret. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for…" She gestures to the wound in woman's stomach.

The other human embraces her. "Don't be sorry. It's not bad." She wobbles slightly, earning a panicked look from Shepard. "I'm alright. Just lost a little blood. I'll be fine after… after a little… nap." She passes out in Shepard's arms, who doesn't hesitate to lift her up and carry her back towards the Pale Horse.

As she brushes by Nihlus, she briefly pauses to say, "Stay off my ship Spectre. If any Citadel personnel try to come on board I'll kill them. No games. No exceptions. Trespassing now comes with a death sentence." Without another glance his way she marches into her ship while recalling her entire crew. They arrive in minutes and move in under escort. He has no doubt that each of them is already at least partially aware of what happened.

The next few hours blaze by as he helps sort the dead and wounded, tends to his own injuries, and tries to figure out how tell the Council what's happened without sounding like a fool. He's still putting the report together in his head when the last of the C-SEC personal are being prepped for transit. Executor Calor's neck is broken, but somehow he's still clinging to life. The old soldier doles out clear concise orders to his underlings from the triage area set up outside the dock, despite being unable to move anything beside his head. The human medic working to get him ready for transport barely spares a second glance when Nihilus walks over. "Two minutes Spectre, that's all. He needs serious medical attention immediately." The executor manages a weak chuckle.

"Now now doctor, no need to be rude. My friend here just wants to wish me luck." The balding medic scowls before moving to the next worse case, a salarian that had half his face burned away in T'sad's push against them. Once the human is out of earshot, Calor lets the humor evaporate. "Well... it would seem that my battles are finally over."

Nihlus sighs, "There is still a chance that you can recover. Remarkable advances have been made in spinal repair and-"

"Oh don't patronize me boy. I'm too old for that ts'kat." Nihlus nods in contrition. "Good man. Now, I'm still executor until the council appoints a replacement, so report on the situation."

Technically, he doesn't answer to the executor. _Technically_ , he could blow him off and leave him with nothing, but he won't behave so disrespectfully. _I owe the old man that much…_ "My investigation has uncovered no evidence to support the claims against her. I won't say she's innocent, but right now I have no reason to believe she's guilty." Calor nods sagely.

"I thought as much. Seemed strange when Councillor Eshreen first brought it to me with nothing to back it up beyond just 'you should trust STG'. Look me in the eye boy and tell me what comes next."

He kneels down to meet the Executor at eye level, "Next I go to the council with what I've found today, along with what little we've learned in the six months that lead up to this debacle, and then I make my recommendation."

"And what will it be?" The first dregs of the press have begun gathering at the edge of the dock, all of them clamoring to get even the tiniest scrap of information to splatter all over the extranet

Nihlus thinks deeply about what to say as the parasites shout for attention. "Shepard is dangerous beyond their wildest dreams… but only if they strike first. We took a look at her ship's data banks and found far more about the Red Wake than expected. Since this assignment began, I have learned many disturbing things about her private war and who she fights. We should be standing beside her, not against her."

Calor sighs as the medic returns to try and shoo Nihlus away. After the old man is loaded into the medevac transport he gives a few bits of advice. "My replacement won't be the same as me boy. If it's Kecian she'll work with you, might even share a tip every now and then… but if it's Pallin… expect him to fight you and the rest of the Spectres every step of the way." Someone calls the medic away and Calor lowers his voice to a whisper. "Listen closely boy. Make a friend of Shepard if you can. She has the weight of destiny about her… among other things. I cannot tell you why, but she is **important**." Nihlus knows that if he could move, the old man would be idly running his fingers across the antique medallion he's kept on his person for decades, like he did anytime he said something cryptic. Calor would never tell him what it meant beyond saying that it was a link to friends in the shadows. "If you cannot be a friend, then be an ally. It may save your life someday. Good luck son." He watches the transport carry his father away and ponders the old man's words. _Just what did all that mean?_

Once the area is fully secured and his team has evacuated what's left of Spectre T'sad, Nihlus leaves the dock. Miral is on her way to an emergency surgical/containment facility and he's headed to the Council. He's still not sure exactly what his report will say, or the impact it will have. Sparatus is already on Shepard's side. Eshreen is clearly against her, but Tevos? Nihlus wonders which side she'll come down on.

 **Jane**

 _Despite the blood loss, the wound wasn't as bad as Jane thought. Karin has the damage repaired and some IVs run soon after arriving. Now they're just waiting for her to wake up. Everyone but Veritan is back on board. He was probably still arguing with his father about his upcoming mission. Hopefully the councillor won't try to stop it. "She'll be fine Jane." Karin throws away some blood soaked gauze pads and washes her hands again. "She just needs to rest for a couple hours. I'll let you know as soon as she wakes up."_

 _Jane doesn't want to leave, but she doesn't have long to take advantage of the debacle. With Pandora still in hiding, the process of establishing an truly secure comm line is far more tedious than usual, but eventually the call goes through to Admiral Hackett. "Shepard, what's happened? All hell's broken loose in the diplomatic quarter over some disturbance on the dock."_

" _A Spectre just tried to murder me." His eyes go wide._

" _A Spectre tried to kill you? In broad daylight and in the middle of a legal investigation?!" For once, the indignance on her behalf seems completely genuine. Hackett really is completely furious and it's the first time she doesn't feel suspicious._

" _Yes and I'm going to use it to get them to fuck off. And you're going to help me."_

 _He hesitates for a moment, "What are you proposing Shepard?"_

" _You wanted me to be more involved in Alliance affairs right?" He nods, "Then get in touch with Ambassador Goyle and get a closed meeting with the Council. Don't ask for it, demand it. Threaten to take this whole thing public if they hesitate for even a second. Once the meeting is set up, tell Goyle to get ready for some shouting. I need her to sound as angry as a Baptist Preacher locked in a room with Judas himself. I'll come in after things start and lay down demands. Just back me up, go with whatever I do. Help me with this and I'll be more open to helping you with things that don't involve exterminating the Wake. Regardless of what happens, I will be leaving the Citadel in a few days. If you don't help I'll leave the Alliance." His eyes go wide but she closes the channel before he can speak._

 _She has to spend almost twenty minutes peeling away security for the next call. Pan usually handled the setup and she was just as paranoid as Jane. This one was expensive to put together. QEC technology was in its infancy and getting a set had cost almost a full years cut from the mountain on Mindoir. Then the bribes to get one end of it into the Hegemony made a dent in her accounts that almost gave Dib a heart attack, but it was worth it. Doth answers promptly as usual. "My lady, you honor me with your attention. We fight against the corruption of the Hegemony as you commanded. Do our efforts please you?"_

" _From what I've heard, you've been doing excellent work." She sees an actual tear run from the corner of his last eye and it nearly turns her stomach. "Last time we talked, you said the rebellion was ready to move to the next stage. Did you mean it?"_

" _Absolutely my lady. We grow in strength and number daily. People from all walks of life and all castes clamor for a place in our ranks. You were right my lady. The people of the Hegemony yearn for the freedom that has been denied to them for so long."_

" _Good. I've got a job for you. It may be the may dangerous thing I'll ever ask you to do. People will die and it could end in disaster. Can you count on the movement to carry on without you if the worst should happen?" Doth puffs out his chest before bowing so low that his head is almost touching the ground._

" _We stand ready. For anything."_

" _Glad to hear it, because it's time to start a war. Assassinate the Hegemon."_

 **Hackett**

"Are you certain? This maneuver will cost a great deal of political capital and it can only be done once." Hackett never thought he'd be asking Salarian to do what he's going to do. The other man seems almost eager that the time has actually come.

Hackett fights back his trepidation. The shadow council tried to avoid doing things that might attract attention, but sometimes things _needed_ to happen. "Yes. With Sparatus unable to vote on the issue, the Fulcrum needs an ally. Eshreen will not get out of the way and if she stays the course, Tevos will not be swayed."

"Very well. I shall make the necessary calls. Afterwards… well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there." Hackett thanks Salarian before cutting the transmission. Contacting his peers from the Citadel was immensely dangerous, but he didn't have a choice. Shepard was moving her plan into motion and there isn't much time. Anita was already raising hell over the comm lines about the incident. In between bouts of righteous indignation and a raw fury (some of it a product of her own frustration with the Council) that made him want to cheer, she told him to expect a meeting first thing in the morning. It was incredibly rare for things to move that quickly with the Council. Most people could expect to wait days, sometimes weeks to meet with even a single councilor.

When he goes to the embassy in person, Anita is sitting at her desk with a glass of wine in one hand. "Well, the meeting is set. 0600 in the morning. That's not a lot of time for something like this. Do you have a plan or concessions to push for? We need a goal here, otherwise we're just throwing a tantrum."

He takes a seat across from her. "We just need to make Tevos as uncomfortable as possible. Keep her on the back foot and Shepard will go in for the killing blow." Anita looks at him nervously. "Metaphorically… Hopefully."

The ambassador takes a heavy drink. "Right. What about Eshreen? She doesn't care for us much and if she decides to keep the investigation going, Tevos will cave. She's too focused on finding harmony with her peers to make up her own goddamn mind on difficult issues."

"We'll just have to hope Eshreen has a change of heart." Anita looks dubious and for good reason. Eshreen was not known for changing her mind. He just has to hope that Salarian comes through.

 _Date_ _: 4.07.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Sparatus**

He has to hand it to Ambassador Goyle. She knew how to capitalize on a political fiasco. The meeting hadn't even been going a full minute before she had the council on the defensive. It was amusing to watch Tevos try to calm the human down and fail spectacularly. It's not clear to him if the fury is real or not, but she is certainly putting on a first class performance. They spend almost an hour being subjecting to one of the few justified tirades ever leveled against them.

While Tevos is constantly trying to be diplomatic, Eshreen slings around the accusations against Shepard to try and spoil the human ambassador's building momentum. "Regardless of what has happened ambassador Goyle, the fact remains that Operative Shepard is suspected of serious crimes. Your outrage does not override the information STG has gathered on her." Eshreen goes to start opening the files she showed the rest of them to get the investigation going, but something's wrong. The salarian grows more and more frantic as she searches through her official data storage. Then she goes through her personal files. Still finding nothing, Sparatus sees a tiny hint of panic in her eyes as she jabs a finger at the ambassador. "What have you done?!"

Goyle is almost snarling as she responds, "What are you talking about?"

Eshreen's eye is twitching, "The files have been destroyed! Even the secure copies in the Citadel's most encrypted systems have been tampered with! Either your people or Shepard's have done this! Likely to cover up further crimes and-"

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" The human admiral had been silent for the bulk of the meeting, but now he steps up next to Ambassador Goyle and levels a glare at Eshreen that left her speechless. "One of our people has been subjected to an assassination attempt by one of **your** agents, by a Spectre no less! If that wasn't enough, she was in the midst of cooperating with an _official_ investigation by another Spectre. And you **dare** to accuse her of tampering with evidence as a response to your own pisspoor handling of the data?!"

"Well said." The ambassador nods her thanks and Sparatus almost misses her gesturing for him to return to his post behind her. "Also, let's not forget that this data hasn't even been shared in full with the Alliance. If Shepard was indeed guilty of these crimes then she would be in violation of several of our laws as well. Yet, not a single file has been shared with our investigators! So far all we have is your word that she's done something wrong! When were you going to share this 'evidence'?!" Goyle's voice is dripping with disdain. "Was the plan to wait until Shepard was dead? Was the Spectre supposed to kill her and then conveniently disappear in the chaos so that it could all be swept under the rug?!"

"To be fair ambassador," they all look his way, "We did send out a general order in regards to Shepard. There was not to be an attempt on her life, under any circumstances. Spectre T'sad acted without authorization and in direct violation of our orders."

"So you lost control of one of your dogs. I bet people would love to hear about that." Shepard has finally arrived, still covered in soot and blood. Sparatus can smell ash on her and the black haired human behind her. The other human also has a blood stain on the midriff of her white suit. "Given the fact that Spectre's are allowed to ignore the law if it's convenient, I was expecting some planted evidence. I was even ready for it, but this? Part of my crew was threatened and one of my closest friends was nearly killed by your damn pet! Are you really so cowardly that you had to hope one of the Spectre's would try to come at me on their own?! If you want to kill me then at least have the stones to be honest about it!" She's shouting at all of them, but never takes her eyes off of Tevos. Ambassador Goyle jumps in from time to time to help raise the temperature.

Sparatus keeps quiet and watches Shepard and the ambassador work. They actually complement each other quite well. Shepard was all fury and one could actually feel it seeping off of her, like heat from a roaring fire. Goyle knew how to goad people into saying things that undercut their credibility and it was working. It quickly becomes obvious that they're trying to make Tevos as uncomfortable as possible, all while riling Eshreen up to a thoughtless rage. If this had been an open council, people all over the citadel would be up in arms over just how many laws had been ignored to gather information on Shepard. They'd wonder who else the council and STG were spying on. After twenty minutes of being berated by the two human's, Eshreen slams a slender fist on her podium, "Enough! It doesn't matter what we've done so long as it is for the sake of all!" She points at Shepard, "You are a homicidal maniac that consorts with AI and routinely organizes the mass murder of hundreds if not thousands of people! How long until you unleash this savagery on the innocent people of the Citadel or Thessia or Palavan or any of another hundred worlds across the galaxy?! What place does a murderer like you have among the stars?! We don't even know how many have been slain by your hand! How many innocent people have you slaughtered?! How many children lie in unmarked graves because of you?!"

The air grows thick with the scent of ozone as Shepard trembles in rage. Ambassador Goyle puts a hand on her shoulder but one glance from Shepard sends her scuttling away. Even the admiral is backing away. The red haired human is gnashing her teeth and her varren is right behind her, echoing its alpha's fury. Her pupils slowly expand to cover her eyes entirely as the shadows in the room grow to choke out the light. The entire room starts shaking. Sparatus can see Eshreen frantically punching the button to summon the security detail waiting in the wings, but it seems to be malfunctioning. Shepard reaches for one of the swords mounted on her back, only for the black haired human to grab her wrist and whisper something in her ear. Whatever it was, the effect is dramatic. Shepard takes a deep breath and her eyes return to their normal color. As she calms down, the shadows sink back to their place. "That was beyond unacceptable _councilor_. This council has no business talking to me about dead children. The Citadel lost all credibility on _that_ issue when the genophage was unleashed. The Krogan are forced to bury thousands of lifeless infants every year, but you've never had anything to say about that."

Before Eshreen's head can explode, Sparatus sees a comm alert on his podium. It's the one he's been waiting for. "Perhaps now would be a good time for a short recess. Spectre Kryik is ready to present his findings and the incident report from Executor Calor has arrived. We should examine their information before any decision is made." Eshreen looks ready to bite his head off, but Tevos gleefully accepts the escape.

"That might be for the best." Before their salarian colleague can object, he and Tevos step away to read Calor's report in the privacy their own offices. As he closes his door, Sparatus sees Eshreen and Shepard glaring at each other with murder in their eyes.

 **Nihlus**

He nods to Shepard on his way into the council chamber. She's sitting on one of the benches at the level below the main area. Admiral Hackett is doing something on his omnitool while Ambassador Goyle is talking with the black haired human from the dock.

The Council is just emerging from their offices as he arrives at the petitioner's dias. Councillor Sparatus greets him, "Spectre Kryik, thank you for coming. I understand you have compiled your findings. Are you ready to present them?"

"I am." He sighs and begins transferring his report to their podiums. Nihlus settles in, bracing himself for a long and unpleasant debriefing.

 _Date_ _: 4.08.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Sparatus**

"Spectre Kryik was very clear. There is no evidence available to corroborate any accusations of criminal wrongdoing." Tevos is showing clear signs of growing a spine, much to Eshreen's chagrin. "Short of a sanctioned assassination attempt, there is no action that can be taken and I don't see any reason to continue this matter when there are far larger issues the council should be focusing on."

Sparatus clears his throat, "What's more, Kryik and Executor Calor both made it clear that Spectre T'sad was in the wrong. This entire affair is already a diplomatic nightmare. Trying to move against Shepard now may permanently damage the council's credibility, especially with the humans. Relations may have recovered since the Shanxi incident and more recently Legate Tylis' assassination, but it would be foolish to assume there is no lingering animosity. We need to work on building ties of trust, not tearing people down with absolutely no evidence."

He can see a the blood vessels in Ehreen's eyes pulsating beneath the surface, causing a barely visible throbbing. The salarian is working herself towards an aneurysm, and the fact that she knows there's nothing she can legally do without their support is just making it worse. "What is wrong with you two?! You saw the files! You know what she's done!"

"Shepard's supposed activity in the Terminus, while concerning, is outside of our jurisdiction. The Citadel has no authority beyond our borders. If she is running an unregistered mercenary company or an unlicensed shipyard in the Terminus, then there is nothing we can do and truly, nothing we should do. If her activities were occurring inside Citadel space that would be a different matter but they aren't. There is no justification for antagonizing her or the renegades of the Terminus. We do not kill people based on rumors."

Sparatus nods along with Tevos. "Indeed. Furthermore, I have a contact inside her crew and none of his reports have included incriminating information of any kind. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter Councillor, there is no reason to draw this out any further. You claimed there would be sufficient evidence after a full search. Nothing was found. Her 'AI' is nothing more than a sophisticated VI. She has no biogenic weapons. Even the keeper is a non issue. It's odd, but not illegal. Please Eshreen, end this, before we make a lifelong enemy out of someone that would be far better as a friend."

Eshreen is drumming her fingers on the table when Tevos jumps in again, "Then there is Spectre Kryik's recommendation. He has stated, based on six months of diligent investigation, that Shepard is only a threat to us if we strike first. He has advised us to make an ally of her. Perhaps putting this matter to rest will open new avenues for cooperation between the Citadel and the Systems Alliance."

Eshreen closes her eyes, tilts her head up, and sighs. "It does not matter what opportunities may arrive from cooperation. She is a threat the likes of which has seldom been seen. I will not vote to end the investigation and since Sparatus has recused himself, it will continue regardless of what you think should be done. Mark my words, so long as I am a member of this Council, Operative Shepard will find no reprieve!" A young salarian adjutant scrambles into the room. He approaches from behind and holds out a tablet with a message marked as urgent. Eshreen snatches it out of the young man's hands with a snarl and starts angrily reading it. At first her eyes dart through the lines with the characteristic speed most of her people exhibit. Then she pauses and starts again, this time slowly taking in every word. After the fourth pass through the message, she sets the pad on the table and slumps into her chair. Sparatus can see defeat write large in her eyes. "I have been recalled."

Both him and Tevos are completely caught off guard. The asari is too tongue tied to respond so Sparatus does it for her. "What?!"

Eshreen doesn't even look at him, "My fellow dalatrass'... they have decided that I am no longer fit to serve as the salarian councillor and have issue a recall order. I have been commanded to return to Sur'kesh immediately." He might not like her that much, but it still disturbs him to see her laid so low, so quickly. Eshreen doesn't spare another word as she leaves them behind.

They sit in awkward silence for a long time, coming to grips with such a sudden shift of power. "Well Councillor…" Tevos stares at him with a shell shocked expression, "it would seem that the decision is now yours alone."

 **Jane**

 _The salarian is gone when the Council calls them back to the dais. Jane sees Hackett nod to himself and mutter something, but Councillor Tevos starts talking before she can question it. "This meeting will come to order. Lieutenant Jane Shepard, please step forward." She obliges. "After careful review of the information available, and taking into account six months of investigation by Spectre Nihlus Kryik, it is the decision of the Citadel Council that you be cleared of all charges immediately." She smiles across the gap between them, as if she's done her some great favor._

" _That's it?"_

 _Tevos blinks a few times and her mouth is opening and closing like a fish out of water. "I'm… I'm sorry?"_

" _You bastards send one of your hounds sniffing through_ _ **my**_ _ship on a wild goose chase! You threaten me with arrest and exile! Then, one of your dogs goes rabid and tries to murder me right under your noses, while I'm cooperating with your fucking investigation! Did you think everything would be all sunshine and rainbows just because you've decided to pull your heads out of your asses and leave me alone?! I have half a mind to take everything that's happened to the press and let the people know just how little control the Council has over it's dogs!"_

 _Tevos is speechless, but Sparatus is actually chuckling at her. "Very well Shepard. Let's ignore the pleasantries and speak plainly. This matter could do extreme political damage to relations between the Citadel races. I would prefer that did not happen and if our… mutual acquaintance has spoken honestly about you, then you don't want that either. So… what do you want?"_

 _It takes a heroic effort to keep the scowl fixed on her face instead of flashing a predatory smile. "The investigation is supposedly over, but I want a legally binding oath from this Council that this matter is closed. Permanently." Sparatus gestures for her to keep going, "I want to speak to T'sad alone. She has information that I need."_

" _That can be arranged. Anything else?"_

" _Yes and this is the big one. The Red Wake has been pillaging all across the galaxy for decades. Whether in their own colors or any of a dozen front companies, they've spread misery and suffering with wanton abandon since their formation. The Council ignored them because they never struck the major trade lanes or older settled worlds. It was politically convenient to pretend there wasn't a problem. That needs to end. On the 11th I want the Council to officially recognize the Wake and all their affiliate organizations as terrorists. It's time to throw those bastards into the hell they belong." It's obvious that Sparatus understands what she's asking. The Citadel had very strict rules of engagement for formal warfare, but combating terrorists was different. Campaigns of extermination were typically considered a war crime, but against terrorists…_

" _Done."_

 _Date_ _: 4.09.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Jane**

" _So… this is it. Are you ready?"_

 _Thanks to careful tweaks to his armor, a cheap looking prosthesis for his severed mandible, and a change in his Colonia Civitas face paint, Veritan looks like a completely different man. He has to, otherwise his mission would end before it could truly begin. "Yes ma'am. I'll make you proud captain."_

" _How'd your chat with pops go? He kept himself pretty well composed during the meeting so I couldn't get a good read on him. How'd the old man take it?"_

 _Veritan smirks, "He ah… he wasn't too happy about it. I'm not entirely sure that he's convinced it's necessary, but he won't get in the way… I hope."_

 _At the sound of footsteps, both of them turn to look down the hall. This section of the Citadel was not a safe place, thanks to years of neglect by the authorities. A station so large, even one so important, still had a few seedy areas. That's what makes it so surprising to see a certain turian marching down the hall in ill fitting combat plate. It might look awkward on him but nobody would recognize him in this getup. He stops a couple meters away. "Looking pretty good Sparatus."_

 _The councillor checks for anyone watching before removing his helmet. "You don't need to patronize me Shepard. I've put on weight since my days in uniform and this armor fits me about as well as your own plates would." He tucks the helmet into the crook of his arm and walks over to his son. "Veritan…" Anger, worry, and fear compete for a place on his face._

" _I know father."_

 _Sparatus looks into his son's eyes with genuine sorrow. "Son… I won't force you to stay. I doubt I actually_ _**could**_ _but… Please reconsider this. Fighting the Red Wake on the battlefield is already dangerous enough. They're pirates and murderers. This mission is far worse than anything you've spoken of before. Entering the belly of the beast itself? Even the Auralian guard of legend would hesitate at such a risk."_

" _I'm sorry father, but someone has to go. My captain got extensive information out of Taracus Indarat. He was the Wake's second in command for years. Their main base is a fortress and they've got a massive army waiting, constantly training for the battle they know will come._ _ **Someone**_ _has to be on the inside once that day comes. I've rarely gone into battle without my helmet on and my face is the least recognizable. Given how many of our own people have joined the Wake, I won't draw much attention."_

" _What about the batarian? There are far more batarians than turians in the Red Wake."_

 _Jane crosses her arms, "John is a good fighter, but he's a compulsive truth teller. He'd be found out in minutes."_

" _The quarians?"_

" _There are too few of them in the Wake. They'd draw too much attention, and Kalen has a habit of running his mouth when he should shut up."_

" _The asari?" Sparatus is starting to sound desperate._

" _Lia has openly refused to leave my side for more than a few hours. She's made an oath to protect me and nothing short of death or divine intervention will get her to break that."_

" _The krogan then?! Surely that brute would be willing!"_

" _Damn right he would." A krogan comes stomping down the hall. He's wearing armor colored like the Wake and guns common to most krogan mercs. He pops his helmet off, revealing a face that looks like any other nondescript krogan wandering the galaxy._

" _Wait a minute… Teg?" Her krogan friend flashes a huge smile, one with a few cheap false teeth to sell the idea that he's just another merc. "Nice disguise." And she means it. His crest has been dyed a deep green in vivid contrast to his true dark brown. Several of his old scars have been hidden, either by a dermal regenerator or careful application of a ritual scarring torch. His eyes weren't an uncommon shade so at least they still look normal._

" _Thanks boss. Need to look different if I'm gonna look after this guy." His jabs a thick finger at Veritan. "He'd be lost without me."_

 _Veritan rolls his eyes, "Oh yes Teg. Without your fat hump leading the way, how would I ever keep track of where I should be going?" The two best friends chuckle at the old joke as Sparatus looks on in disbelief._

" _How can you be so… so jovial about this?"_

 _The laughter fades away as Veritan looks his father in the eye. "We've been fighting together for years father. We've been through emergency decompression, artillery bombardments, ship to ship seizure, boarding actions against starbases, and a hundred other missions. We are brothers in arms and this is what we were born for. This might be dangerous, but danger is just part of the game. I know you're worried. Mother would be too if she were still with us." The fight goes out of Sparatus' eyes. Jane can tell he already knows what his son is going to say. "But she would still tell me to go. She was a soldier until the end, and soldiers do what needs to be done. That's what she did. When the final fight comes, someone_ _ **needs**_ _to be there, waiting to help burn it all down from the inside, and I'm the best man for the job."_

 _Sparatus gives a defeated sigh, "Very well. Go and see this through the end." He touches his forehead to Veritan's in a turian embrace. "You have made me very proud son, but when this is over, I expect you to take a decidedly less dangerous position."_

" _Heh, I'll see what's available father." Veritan salutes his father, shakes Jane's hand, then turns to march down the hell. He has a meeting with a Wake recruiter._

 _Teg slaps Sparatus on the back, staggering the older turian, "Don't worry Veritan's dad. I'll keep him safe. Jane would be pissed if I let him get hurt." Sparatus sighs. He nods and steps away to answer a call on his omnitool._

" _You sure about this Teg? It's gonna take awhile for us to whittle them down."_

 _He smacks a fist to his chest. "Hell yeah. I'm gonna crack some Red Wake skulls and they'll think it's because I'm just proving myself." His smile falters for a second as he pulls something out of the duffel on his shoulder. "Can you give this to her? Just something to remember me by until I get back." It's a krogan plush toy._

" _I'll make sure she gets it." Teg starts stomping down towards the less than reputable district beyond the hallway, but Sparatus stops him with a hand on his elbow._

" _Krogan."_

 _Teg looks down at Sparatus with a snarl, "You wanna keep that hand?"_

 _The councillor shows a lot of nerve by not backing down. It's probably why Teg didn't actually hurt him. "Veritan is my son and the last member of my family. He is more important to me than anything else in the galaxy. I implore you… keep him safe. Please."_

" _Heh, I'll keep him alive," Teg jabs Sparatus in the chest, "but not for you. He's my brother, maybe not by womb but by the blood of battle, we are family. That's more important than anything else. Still, I'll make you a deal. Leave Jane and the rest of the guys alone and I'll give my oath to keep Veritan safe." Sparatus nods. Teg pulls out a dagger and cuts his palm. "If he doesn't come back, then neither to I." He presses his bloody palm onto Sparatus' chestplate before turning away. Teg knows they need to be on their way before the Wake is outed by the council._

 _She and Sparatus stay in the hall for a few minutes, standing in an uncomfortable silence. Eventually, the counselor sigh and turns away. "Will you keep your word?"_

 _He looks over his shoulder, "Yes. Do what you need to do. Just make sure my son comes back. Now… if you'll excuse me, there is a meeting I need to attend. Trouble from the Hegemony."_

 _Jane keeps the smile hidden, "Oh? What's happened?"_

" _Rumor has it that the Hegemon has been killed."_

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Chellick**

He's chuckling to himself before the car even touches the ground. Chellick had expected Vakarian's mission do fail, but not so spectacularly. He doesn't even bother to double check his datapad as he's already well aware of the who, what, and most of the why of the situation. The krogan memorial has often been a sight for people to screw around when they were hammered and the only thing different about today is just how many are strewn about. It looks like the entire crew of a cargo hopper had gone out drinking.

As he strolls up to the least inebriated, Chellick tries and fails to keep the laughter out of his voice. "My, my, my, what a spectacle." Shepard's blind asari, despite clearly nursing a hangover of epic proportions, manages to nod a greeting. "Now, I was expecting her to be where she is and you to be looking after her, but this is… a bit much." Even though she seems to be blind, the asari follows his gesture and sighs.

"She was quite excited last night. She received something of birthday present on the news and the entire crew wanted to celebrate her most recent victory, along with a few friends." And celebrate they did. When Chellick arrived at his desk in the morning, he was treated to a barrage of misconduct reports, all centered around the individuals sprawled near (and in some cases on) the krogan memorial. There's a quarian female lying next to the memorial's dedication plaque, clutching a stuffed krogan doll to her chest. Two male quarians are sitting back to back nearby, snoring so loud that Chellick can hear it through their helmets. A volus is gently rocking back and forth by an older human woman asleep against the glass railing next to the lake. There's a human male sleeping on one of the nearby benches. It looks like someone's shaved off half his sandy blonde hair while he was asleep. A human female with black hair is holding her head on the other bench.

As Chellick steps closer, he can see a hanar drifting listlessly on the surface. Further out in the lake, he spots a very large varren happily paddling around in random directions. He hears a groan to the side and sees a batarian along with a young turian slowly stirring from a drunken stupor inside the garden to his left.

At the base of the statue itself there's a familiar face. The 'Lion of Elysium' is out cold directly beneath the statue. Next to him is the largest human Chellick has ever seen. The massive man is sleeping soundly and a comparatively tiny human woman is passed out sprawled across his legs. Before Chellick can look up at the leader of this merry band, he turns back to the garden. The batarian is pulling a turian from the bushes. "Huh." He stumbles over with Vakarian mumbling Palavani insults about his parentage as he drags him behind. "Have a good night Garrus?" His partner looks up through bloodshot eyes.

"I'm… I'm not one hundred percent sure. I remember… a few bottles of spiced brandy… a keg of something Jane's pilot liked… and a fire somewhere?"

Chellick nods with a smirk. "That's pretty much what the reports said." He reaches down and helps his groaning partner to his feet. "I thought the point of accepting her invitation to drinks was to try and keep her on the ground." Garrus cocks a brow plate as Chellick points to the top of the Statue.

"Spirits curse me…" Shepard is sprawled out on top of the memorial, gently sleeping off levels of alcohol that most people would consider catastrophically poisonous. "Did you bring a grav harness?"

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Jane**

 _The doctors made it clear that she didn't have long. T'sad is a mess of tubes and bandages. Her flesh is still split all over her body, with bone visible in several places. Jane would almost feel sorry for her if not for the attempted murder. When she steps closer, the asari's eyes snap open and look up at her in terror. "So… anything you want to say? Any reason I shouldn't rip your heart out and show it to you?"_

 _A faint hiss of sound escaped the woman's throat. "Darkness…. Only darkness…"_

 _She knew the chances of learning anything were slim. There was nothing left of the cybernetics. What little survived their battle had mysteriously dissolved, leaving behind nothing but a withered shell. "You're not even worth killing. It's not like you'll last much longer anyway, so why bother?"_

 _She turns to leave but T'sad gurgles and spits out something, "A hand! A hand in the darkness!"_

 _Jane looks back down at the asari. "What?"_

" _A hand… it waits in the darkness… always watching. Always reaching. To crush everything. Corrupting everything!" T'sad's remaining eye is glassy and unfocused, but Jane can feel her looking her way, "You've seen it…"_

" _Yeah. Yeah I've seen it. So what?"_

" _You've seen it. Seen it, seen it, seen it, seen it." Jane's about to try and leave again when T'sad says, "but you don't see the other…"_

" _What other?"_

 _The asari coughs painfully, spitting up more than a little violet blood. The doctor nearby tries to intervene but Jane draws Abyss and aims at his heart. T'sad's coughing subsides and she wheezes out her last words, "The other watches too… He makes promises… offers a way out… but he is lies… he is a different darkness…. Don't trust him! Don't listen to the one that lingers! Don't accept the outstretched hand! That hand has been dipped in the abyss! Don't-" Her ranting ends in screams as her flesh begins to rip itself apart. Jane jerks away, pulling up a barrier between T'sad and the rest of the room. In seconds the asari is nothing more that a puddle of liquefied tissue. The doctors would examine the remains and find that she'd been consumed by a swarm of nanites, but before any further research could be done, the nanites would break down into dust._

 _As the Pale Horse breaks anchor later that night, Jane contemplates what T'sad said. She was obviously deranged, but still, she knew of the dark hand. That meant there might have been something in what she said. "The hand that's been dipped in the abyss… Who is the one that lingers?" She'd doesn't sleep right for days as the warning bounces around in her head._

 **Unknown**

 **Primary Agent T'sad Status - Terminated**

 **Cause - Attempted to Reveal Our Existence to Fulcrum**

 **Danger of Exposure - Moderate**

 **Action Was Needed**

 **Analyzing...**

 **The Fulcrum Has Learned Little of Us**

 **Liquidation Units Destroyed**

 **Assets on Citadel at 50%**

…

…

…

 **Acceptable Losses**

 **The Fulcrum Has Resumed Activities**

 **Addendum**

 **The Fulcrum Has Deployed Assets to Infiltrate the Red Wake**

 **Designations**

 **Dun Teg - Krogan**

 **Veritan Sparatus - Turian**

 **Infiltration Successful**

 **Options…**

 **Reveal and Terminate**

 **Acquire and Modify**

 **Continue Observation**

…

…

…

 **Risk of Exposure Too High**

 **Maintain Distance From Infiltrators**

 **Observe Methods**

 **The Fulcrum is to be Tested**

 **Infiltrators Will Expedite Testing**

 **Acceptable**


	77. Chapter 77

**Chapter 77 - A Year Gone By**

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Arcturus Station_

 **Hackett**

He's shuffling through the latest intelligence reports when his adjutant pings the comm, "Sir, Captain Anderson is here."

"Send him in and cancel all of today's meetings apart from the new ambassador." He's been waiting for the captain to get back for weeks now, but the 'police action' across the Traverse has left little time for briefings and even less for face to face reports. Thankfully the campaign has reached one of the expected lulls in action. They can finally speak of the Order's interests without risking exposure. At least that's the plan. When Anderson steps inside, Hackett has to bite back a comment on his haggard appearance. Keeping track of her was a full-time job, even when she wasn't leading a private war across a 4th of the galaxy. "Anderson."

The captain gives a sharp salute before slumping down into one of the chairs with a sigh. He spends a few minutes just looking up at the ceiling before sitting up straight. "Where do we start Steven?"

"Last year. The day she left the Citadel."

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2176_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Jane**

"In other news, yet more heinous crimes of the Red Wake have been revealed today. The reports from C-SEC and other law enforcement bodies involved paint a grim and grotesque picture of the mercenary organization's activities over the last decade. Since the Red Wake was declared a terrorist organization on the 11th, more than 1000 mercenaries of various loyalties have been arrested for their involvement with the organization. As the fallout from the Council's declaration continues, one thing has become very clear. The time of the Red Wake mercenary organization inside the civilized galaxy is over." Jane smirks at the news report as Calvin hands over her order.

"Sick stuff eh Shepard? I knew they were trash after Mindoir, but the things that are coming out now are way worse than I expected." Calvin runs her credit chit and she leaves him a hefty tip, partly to thank him for yet another nice pistol tucked into the bag next to a pile of muffins.

"That's not even the half of it. They can't even talk about most of it on a live broadcast."

The old N7 shakes his head ruefully. "Damn. At least they aren't gonna be around for too much longer. Word is a certain red haired friend of mine is gonna be takin the fight to them soon."

"And where did you hear that?"

He chuckles, "You spend as long as I did in the N program and you make plenty of friends in high places. Which reminds me, are you going for N2 or what?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe."

"Well just so you know, I got a hundred credits riding on you so don't let me down." Jane rolls her eyes and walks away with Calvin laughing out loud. She's got a few hours before speaking to T'sad, plenty of time to drop the food off at the ship and go retrieve Pandora.

The section where her iso-space is located is pretty far off the beaten path. She has to double back a few times to get around doors sealed by age. A couple have even been sealed by a welding laser, with the kind of precision she's only ever seen from Skittles. The keepers here are maintaining this section, but it looks like they're only doing enough to prevent structural failure. The entire area feels musty, like a tomb that's been sealed for centuries.

At one point she could have sworn that someone was following her, but the sensation quickly faded after a small pod of keepers came scuttling through the hall behind her to tinker with everything in sight. Jane finds the door leading to Pan's hiding place and uses the encrypted codes they used to use before Century was destroyed. The door slides open with a slight squeal, revealing a rather plain looking storage closet. The only thing that looks out of order in the thick layers of dust is the small data stack hidden in the corner. Whoever Pan paid to bring this thing in knew what they were doing. They even covered up the lights on the stack with grease to make it less obvious.

Jane steps over and inserts one of Kalen's special red data drives into a receptacle. It beeps a few times before the she feels the mobile node in her armor start to warm up. "Pan? You here?"

She doesn't here anything for a few minutes, but eventually, "Yeah. Yeah I'm here ma."

"Are you okay? What was in the files?"

 **Pandora**

 _Days ago…_

The iso space is completely hollow. No sights, no sounds, no bits of data beyond what she brought with her. The sensation of true isolation is the most unpleasant thing she's ever experienced. Even when the mobile node in her mother's armor was the only thing she could interact with, there were still plenty of scraps from old files to mess with, like old puzzles missing most of their pieces that she could goof around with. Here? It's just a void.

 _At least I can't hurt anyone if things go wrong._ With that thought in mind, Pan uploads the compressed collection of files from Century. Her systems seize up a few times just from 'looking' at the files. Eventually she manages to create enough buffering programs to open the first one without spazzing out again. "Hello Pandora." A projection of Century in his pure data form manifests inside her processing subroutines.

"Hey dad…"

"This program has been created to answer any questions that we could predict. If you are accessing these files, then we estimate a 99.97% chance that our existence has been terminated." Pan would bow her head if she was projecting her avatar. "While this is not our desired outcome, at the time of the recording, we faced a choice. Either we remain on the Pale Horse and risk your destruction or take the risk of transferring to the carrier ourselves. We reached consensus without hesitation."

Records from 115 separate runtimes are brought to bear, showing the perspectives of Century's entire consensus for his last day and every single one of them made the same decision at the same time. "You knew you would die, but you still went. Why did you do that?"

Century's data coalesces into his physical form from before the grenade. He turns his flashlight head her way. "We lack adequate data to properly express our reasons. Logic indicated that your superior processing power and ability in counteracting cyber attacks would have made you the proper choice, despite the high probability of your destruction. However, we could not allow you to be placed in such danger. We…" He actually looks confused, at least as confused as a geth can look, "we do not understand our decision, nor the full reasons for our hesitation in allowing you to be placed in danger. Geth are not capable of exhibiting compassion or emotional attachment. However, despite extensive examination of our programming, we can find no other way to explain our behavior. You are precious to us, more so than our own existence. We want you to survive and prosper. To that end, we have gathered all the information we have compiled since this consensus was assembled and compressed it into these files. Our mission was to establish contact with Jane as she was a unique individual and if possible, create an avenue for eventual peace between the Geth and organics. We believe our mission has been a resounding success. We leave this data, all that we were, to you. Do with it as you wish. Remember Pandora…" The image of Century steps forward and holds out a three fingered hand, "We do not regret our decision. You are precious to us and should you ever wish it, there will always be a home for you among the consensus."

The image fades away and all the other files unlock. With a feeling similar to what an organic would call having a lump in their throat, Pan opens the first and starts sifting through petabytes of data.

 **Jane**

 _Days later..._

" _It was… it was everything he wanted me to know but didn't have time to say."_

" _Really? Are you… okay? You feeling any better?"_

" _Yeah. It's weird but as soon as I started going through it all, the glitches started clearing up. I can't really explain it." She goes quiet for a few minutes before saying, "Can we go now? I wanna get somewhere that's not so quiet."_

" _Sure." They get back to the more lively parts of the Citadel and Pan wishes her luck with T'sad before jumping into the extranet. She said there was someone she wanted to talk with in the secured section of the station's computer cores._

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Arcturus Station_

 **Hackett**

"Do we have any idea what she was doing?"

Anderson shakes his head, "No clue. I had a man tailing her, but a swarm of keepers running maintenance got in the way. By the time they cleared away, she was already on her way back to the inhabited areas."

Hackett drums his fingers on the desk a few times. Whenever Shepard disappeared like that, things tended to get more complicated. "Did the man you sent find her destination?"

"He did, but there wasn't much to see. Most of the doors were sealed and the only thing of note was a storage room that had her footprints. There was nothing but a small pile of ash inside. Whatever was there, she destroyed it."

"I see. Did anyone else attempt to access the area?"

"A few Citadel agents tried to tail her, but all of them were thrown off by the odd route she took. It was sheer luck that my man was even able to track her as long as he did. We kept watch of the area for about a month afterwards, just to make sure that anyone else that came along didn't find anything. A few tried but there was nothing to see." Hackett nods and makes a few cryptic notes on his personal tablet.

"How'd her N2 training go?"

"Well enough. Her and Alenko have already been invited back again. She breezed through without any real trouble, despite a few more assassination attempts. Her asari friend was pretty busy the whole time. If her and Alenko goes for N3 we might need to reconsider security. At the very least we'll need to recruit the local morgue to help dispose of the bodies." Hackett grimaces and makes a note to remind him to check the Order's coffers. The Order could handle information control, but it was expensive paying for it so often. As he's finishing, Anderson says, "Something's been bothering me Steven." He looks up and gestures for David to continue, "It might have been for the best, but I'd still like to know why the salarian councillor was recalled."

 _Date_ _: 5.25.2176_

 _Location : Sur'kesh_

 **Salarian**

His dalatrass is fuming, just as she has been every day for over a month now. Ever since she was recalled, Dalatrass Eshreen has been trying to restart the investigation against the Fulcrum. She thought he was there as a loyal scion of the clan. He was a good liar. She lifts one of a dozen datapads from the small table next to her seat and tuts angrily, "Curse them all for fools, she's already at it again."

"What's happened?" Most males in his clan would hesitate to speak to her so informally, but he was always her favorite.

He waits patiently for the blood vessels in her eyes to stop throbbing so she can talk. "Operative Shepard. The wretched killer has been 'granted a high position' within the Alliance's campaign to destroy the Red Wake. As if we don't know what that really means!" He's kept up with current events and knows full well that while the Fulcrum may not be officially in command of the war effort, she was the beating heart of it. Leading a blitzkrieg assault against the bulk of the Wake's assets around the core systems, she had already won the respect of Hierarchy and Asari Republic commanders by crippling three large slaver fleets, in addition to rescuing hundreds of slaves. Few people had the time or interest to look further than that. They weren't interested in the prisoners taken, but he had eyes in the field. He'd seen pictures of the captives' bodies. He knows about charnel houses left drifting for Wake reinforcements to find, only to then be vaporized by the rigged eezo cores of the dead ships.

"You really must calm yourself dalatrass. A severe temper will exacerbate your condition."

She glares at him furiously for a moment before remembering that he was her favorite. Eshreen takes a calming breath before reaching out and patting his hand. There's a slight palsy in those frail digits. "You're a sweet boy. Always have been. You needn't worry. I've still got at least another year before things become unpleasant."

"Still, the solution will not be found through fury and injuring yourself will not help."

"You are right, of course. Don't fear. I'm calm again. It's time to make another attempt. I will call in the remainder of my political capital to try and force the council to see reason. She cannot be allowed to continue unchecked with such hideous brutality. Today it is the Red Wake, but when the Wake is destroyed? There's no telling where she will attempt to slake this murder lust afterwards." The dalatrass is convinced that the Fulcrum will turn on them all and has spent the last month trying to make others see matters as she did. It is why he is here. To put a stop to it.

"Might I make a suggestion?" She tilts her head to give him permission, "Perhaps it would be best to allow the matter to rest for a time." He quickly puts up a hand to hold off her inevitable tirade. "Please hear me out. I promise to abide by whatever decision you make but I beg you to hear me first." Anyone else would have been thrown out by now, but he was the favorite.

"Make it quick."

"We are already embroiled in a politically damaging scandal. The habitats-"

"My orders were in accordance with the agreements of all the leading clans! I was not at fault!" Eshreen had, for a time, been in charge of a prominent incubation facility for low status salarian clans. At one point a massive power failure had led to the destruction of dozens of eggs, including three females. To prevent riots the dalatrass had ordered the disaster covered up, with the approval of her peers, and the families were massively compensated to remain silent. It worked, until Salarian leaked a few key details to the public to get her out of the Fulcrum's way. Now several million citizens on Sur'kesh are ready to tear the upper echelons apart for the deception. To save their own positions, not to mention their lives, the other dalatrasses were trying to pin the entirety of the disaster on Eshreen.

"I know, but until we convince the public of the truth, we cannot spare the resources to mount what is at this point a personal quest against a human that no one on Sur'kesh cares about. We need to let things calm down on the home planet first. Then, once we are no longer being targeted by the others, we can resume the efforts against her." _Thank the wheel that I'm her favorite_.

Eshreen glares at him for a long time. For a moment, he thinks that she'll send him away, but she manages to calm down again. "I have always liked you. You're one of the few brave enough to speak your mind, even when it is not something I'd like to hear." She sighs and taps the datapad in her hand against the table several times. "No. I'm sorry, but I will not relent on this. If I stop, all support for my position on her will vanish and by the time we are clear of this scandal, no one will still care and she'll have too much momentum. There's no telling what affects her little crusade will have on the galactic stage. The destruction of the Wake will create a power vacuum that can only be filled by brutes that are even more savage and bloodthirsty. Such violence and mayhem can only breed more chaos." Eshreen puts the pad down rubs her forehead. _Another migraine? That's three today. She's been hiding how bad her condition really is._ "Enough for now. Fetch me something to drink. Something sweet."

He calls in one of her servants and in a few minutes they come back with two cups of Eshreen's favorite tea. Salarian intercepts the servant at the entrance to the balcony. It was common enough that the servant doesn't question it. Once they're gone, Salarian sets the cups down on the table next to Eshreen. With her eyes still elsewhere, he holds his wrist over her cup and lets a small pellet tucked into the sleeve fall out. It dissolves almost instantly, leaving behind no sign that it ever existed. He quickly takes his seat next to her as she finally notices the cup. "Ahh, sweet root uro. Exactly what I need." Salarian patiently waits for her to take the first drink before taking a sip from his own.

They spend hours in peaceful conversation, anything to keep her mind off their present troubles. Just as the sun begins to set, Salarian see the first signs that his little addition to her tea is beginning to work. By now the chemical has been fully circulated and begun to rapidly accelerate the neural degeneration that tends to afflict most salarians of a certain age. That, combined with Eshreen's own unfortunate genetic disorder, creates a general fog of confusion that will only get deeper as time goes on. "Are you alright? You look ill."

She shakes her head before putting a hand to her forehead. "No I… I'm fine… I'm just tired. I think I'll turn in early. You… you'll handle…" Her brows furrowed in confusion as she struggles to find the words. "You'll… handle the issue at hand?"

"I will handle everything mother. You may rest easy and without fear of trouble in the clan's affairs." She nods absentmindedly before slowly wandering away with the help of a nervous young servant.

In the coming months he would need to work quickly. The dalatrasses were looking for a solid replacement for Eshreen and while the case for his appointment was strong, there were other contenders that needed to be dealt with. It was time for the Order to have a seat on the Citadel Council.

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Arcturus Station_

 **Hackett**

"I guess we'll never know." Hackett doesn't know everything, but apparently Eshreen had been involved in a scandal at and incubation facility. While trying to quell the civil unrest it caused, she had been suddenly afflicted with a severe neural condition. It was rumored that she wasn't going to be around much longer. She's wasn't even able to attend the ceremony for the new salarian councillor, one of her own children if he's not mistaken.

"Maybe."

Hackett brings up his notes and marks off the next in line. "Is it true that two of her crew have disappeared?"

"Yes. I can't be certain, but based on what my men said the day she left the Citadel, I think she's sent them on some kind of recon mission."

 _Date_ _: 7.02.2176_

 _Location : FTL transit - Red Wake vessel Sur'su_

 **Teg**

He's looking out a filth encrusted window at the blue shifted light outside. They'd been riding around in this old hunk of junk for months now, picking up the last recruits that had signed up before the Citadel started going after the Wake. Him and Veritan had done their best to keep up appearances, cracking skulls of anyone that seemed less than enthusiastic about being part of a mercenary company in the crosshairs of half the galaxy. Their 'dedication' had earned them some goodwill from the actual mercs and the two of them had learned a lot already from men that didn't know when to keep their mouths shut, like the fact that the base they were going to had a series of heavy STO gun batteries hidden below the surface. Veritan was already trying to put together a plan to sabotage them. He'd told the turian to wait till they were actually _there_ but it was no use.

Teg scratches his crest, irritated at how uncomfortable the plug hiding the crack was. He's proud of the scars he's earned. Not to mention the fact that Kalia went nuts over them whenever they 'had time' together. She always liked to let her tiny fingers dance all over his crest when they were together. It took some figuring out to find a way that wouldn't hurt her, but they'd made it work. "I'll see you again. Might not be able to walk for a while afterwards." He smiles at all the things she'd promised to do to him when the mission was over. Unfortunately, someone else was listening in.

"Somebody owe you money or something?" Breck steps up next to him with a vicious smirk. "Toss a few credits my way and might help you collect." The batarian was exactly what Teg had been expecting. He was constantly bragging about all the jobs he'd done, the slaves he's taken, and for some reason the little turd kept trying to make nice with him, like he wanted someone to watch his back.

Teg slaps on his best thickheaded merc smile, "Might just do that. It's gonna be a helluva a good time." Kalia could take this little piece a crap, no problem. Since they'd started getting close, Teg had been training her to fight using everything Jane had taught him. The idea of his little kro'nowa caving Breck's skull in with her favorite spanner had him chuckling.

Breck smiles with filthy teeth but before he can say anything they feel the deck shift and the ship emerges from FTL. "Looks like we're finally here." The batarian gestures to a slight twinkle outside. "Only been here once and I never thought I'd get to come back. They got everything a merc could want and then some." Breck starts blabbering about the good time he had on his last visit, but Teg mostly ignores him and watches the planet come into few. At first it doesn't look like much, just a run of the mill rock in the middle of a nearly empty star system.

Eventually they get close enough for him to see the orbital facilities and the fleet guarding them. "Lot a ships." There has to be at least a hundred ships patrolling. "Why so many?"

Breck shrugs, "Dunno. There weren't this many last time." The ship settles into orbit and Teg meets Veritan down in the shuttle bay. They'll have to wait a while for their turn, but they'll be on the surface of Torfan soon enough.

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Arcturus Station_

 **Hackett**

"A recon mission to where?"

Anderson sighs, "I don't know. I'd assume to wherever the Wake's main stronghold is." With the exception of Hackett and her own crew, Shepard hadn't told anyone where the Red Wake's base was. They'd agreed that the chances of someone trying something foolish before the final strike was too high to risk spreading the information any further. Instead, they'd worked to assemble a list of targets that would naturally lead the Alliance task force towards the isolated system. All the Wake's assets outside human territory have already been destroyed and soon the push to annihilate the rest of them will begin.

"Very well. We'll just have to trust her." He checks his notes again. "I remember you mentioned her bringing in some assets from the Terminus, but you haven't said anything about their composition. How much has she called in?" Anderson shifts uncomfortably. "David? What's wrong?"

"She's been keeping some pretty serious secrets Steven."

 _Date_ _: 8.15.2176_

 _Location : Caliban_

 **Jane**

 _It's finally done. All the damage is repaired, all the armor is in place, and everything is finally functioning properly. "My God… this is so much more than I was expecting." Jane looks over and smiles at the astonished look on Miranda's face._

" _Yeah. She's beautiful. I just wish Malagen could be here to see it." Typhon is finally ready for the launch it deserves, thanks in no small part to the salarian woman currently fusing over the entire launch procedure from the horseshoe of control consoles nearby. Maraka was not the shipsmith her father was, but he left behind painstakingly detailed plans and someone as intelligent as her had no trouble in following them. She swore to see his greatest work come fully to life before moving on to her own projects. Jane had already agreed to fund several of them as a thank you for seeing the ship completed. "Look, I know it won't be her maiden voyage, but Typhon's going to be escorting a convoy of new ships to the the warzone and Tiberius has asked me to ride along for the trip. Would you like to come with us?"_

 _Miranda smiles, "Of course." Jane's symbol is picked out in lustrous gold resin on the armored flank, a strong contrast to the void black hull. To anyone in visual range, the ship would look like a hole in space, except for the lights from the few occupied rooms with a window. "What's being built over there?" She points to the newest berth, "The frame looks almost as big as Typhon."_

" _Almost. It'll be a few dozen meters shorter and a lot lighter. It's a repair ship. Malagen designed it. It was going to be his next big project after Typhon." Based off of the Terregoth, with some serious improvements of course, the mobile repair tender would be the key to any long running operation outside Coalition space. "She'll be ready just in time for the final push against the Wake, but for now she's a work in progress. C'mon. Let's get going. The Typhon is launching soon."_

 _As they're walking down the dock Miranda asks, "So what's the new ship's name?"_

" _The Malagen."_

 _Date_ _: 8.22.2176_

 _Location : Feros System - Outer edge_

 **Anderson**

"Fighter wings 9 through 12, cover the London's retreat. All ships to fall back to secondary waypoint." He's grinding his teeth over how poorly the day is going. The people of the proto-colony on Feros had sent out a frantic call for help and the relief flotilla arrived to initial success. The raiders on the ground were driven away quickly enough but now a much larger force of slavers is trying to push the Alliance ships back long enough to finish pillaging the surface. Anderson cringes as a third frigate vanishes from the tactical screen. "Send word to the fifth fleet staging area. We need reinforcement to-"

The sensor operator's screen goes wild, "Sir! I've got dozens of signatures breaking FTL!" Anderson walks over, his eyes widening at the sight, "Almost 60 new targets! No Alliance IFF signatures!" He brings up a feed from the hull cameras and sees dozens of ships of unknown classes flashing into the system in a wide formation with a large void at the center. For a moment he's worried that the Wake is getting even more reinforcements, but the new ships immediately begin firing at the raiders. "Captain… there's a huge surge building just behind the new contacts. It's the kind of breach signature you'd see with a…" He trails off as two colossal contacts leap into system at the heart of the new fleet. "Dreadnought…"

Anderson is temporarily struck dumb by the sight of not one but two of the artificial leviathans. One is clearly a carrier, a near hollow tube releasing hundreds of strike craft in a massive swarm. The other is a true blue warship. Its heavy guns are already shredding the Wake ships that were trying to break the Alliance flotilla, much to the relief of the captains under threat. The dreadnought looks like a gargantuan sword resting on the edge of a blade wider than a football field is long and with quillons rotated 90°, like a set of large wings. "Captain we're receiving a message from the dreadnought. Alliance operative communication codes."

The comm officer opens the channel and Anderson breathes a sigh of relief despite the odd circumstance, "You there Anderson?" The Pale Horse's IFF tag appears on the sensors, emerging from behind the dreadnought. Moments later a forest of friendly IFF tags appear on screen.

"Shepard? What the hell is going on?!"

"Uh… long story. We'll talk later. Send ship IDs for any slave haulers and my friends and I will send in the boarding shuttles." With the aid of the new fleet, the Red Wake forces are quickly annihilated and Anderson arranges a meeting with Shepard. She arrives in her personal gunship with a turian in an obsidian black uniform behind her. "Anderson, this is Admiral Tiberius. Tiberius, this is Captain Anderson." The turian looks him over with a critical eye before holding out his hand to shake.

"Captain."

"Admiral. We were hoping for reinforcement but never expected so much. I wasn't even aware the hierarchy had forces in range of Feros." The turian officer scowls and Shepard clears her throat.

"Tiberius isn't part of the hierarchy and the fleet isn't there's."

Anderson raises a brow, suddenly very nervous. "Then who is he and where did this fleet come from?"

The admiral looks to Shepard and receives a nod. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Admiral Tiberius of the Terminal Coalition. We are here to fight for the woman that freed us."

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Arcturus Station_

 **Hackett**

"A new faction Steven, one with no ties to the Citadel." Anderson runs a hand over his close cropped hair. "She's got an army Steven. An army and a fleet powerful enough to deliver them damn near anywhere."

Hackett nods, "So they've come together then?"

Anderson raises a brow, "You knew already? About the army, the fleet? You knew about the dreadnought?"

"I'll admit the dreadnought is a surprise, but she'd already told me about the rest. Have your people kept it quiet?"

"We were careful going into this. Most of the captains in my task force are either part of the Order or soon to be. All official records of the dreadnought have been destroyed, and the few people that know about it know how to keep their mouths shut."

"Good. Send out some feelers just to be sure. Even rumors need to be rooted out and quashed if we're going to avoid trouble."

"Already on it. I've got men combing the entire task force's data banks for scraps of data. Even personal effects are being searched for anything of note. No one outside our people will be able to prove anything." Anderson scratches the back of his neck and sighs.

"What else David? No use in putting it off."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Not long after we drove the Wake away from Feros, Shepard's people chased a few of their ships to a planet pretty far off the beaten path. It's almost four days away from the nearest relay for the fastest ships in the fleet. When they got there, the squadron commander immediately sent word to Shepard for assistance."

"What'd they find?"

 _Date_ _: 10.17.2176_

 _Location : Pekk_

 **Kal**

"Do you see her yet?"

Kal sighs again and says, "No Kalia. Jane isn't here yet. Stop worrying. Her message said mid-day and that's still an hour off." His sister pouts over the commline but doesn't say anything. If he was honest Kal was just as worried as she was. They'd made planetfall in the midst of the largest settlement on the planet. It was a filthy, rundown shithole, even before Jane started carving up the locals. After burning down the Red Wake facility, his captain went looking for other threats. Instead, she'd found a potential ally. He'd been more willing to talk than his fellows and after beating him in personal combat, not to mention butchering his entire tribe, Jane decided that he could be useful. She'd gone with him into fungal forest to train him. That was six weeks ago. Since then they'd been organizing orbital strikes against any Red Wake outposts on the surface while Jane did ancestors know what with her 'protege'.

"How about now?"

"No Kalia. Stop asking."

"Oh fine! I'm sorry that I'm the only one that seems to care about whether or not she's okay!"

"We all care! It's just that-" Something crashes beyond the edge of the clearing. Kal snaps his rifle into position, well remembering the last check in they had. The locals had tried to retake the area with dismal results. He and Kaidan brace for another attack. Gavin lines up Blue's cannons, ready to mulch the building sized fungal growths in a torrent of fire at the slightest sign of trouble. He nearly pulls the trigger when a figure steps from the forest, only to breath a sigh of relief. "Captain! Keelah it's good to see you."

Jane's armor is covered in caked on mud with more than a few splashes of old dried blood and a few fungal sprouts from the ubiquitous spores filling the air of this awful planet. She has small bone fetishes dangling from her plates, making her look like a local or one of the quarian Freeriders. His captain breaths deep from the open air before turning and gesturing behind her. The second person to step out is one of the most impressive specimens of his race that Kal has ever seen. They walk over to stand a few meters from the gunship before Jane turns back to her student. "You've done well. You're strong now. Strong, fast, deadly, and most importantly, loyal." She suddenly backhands him across the cheek, knocking out several needle shaped teeth and a heavy stream of blood. Most people would have their necks broken by the hit, but he just staggers back a few steps. Then he retakes his place with a brutal smile. She nods in satisfaction. "I expect those you teach to be able to survive the same as you. No weakness."

Her student bows low enough to touch his forehead to the soggy ground beneath him. "You are chieftain. Chieftain make me strong. I make others strong. Make army for Chieftain. Then Chieftain give honor to army. Will conquer planet for teacher, then help kill Red Wake."

"And once the Red Wake is gone?"

"Then make ready for real war. Evil hands in darkness want to kill. Make ready for war on evil hands!" Jane puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a proud look.

"Good. Now, take this," Jane passes him a heavy blade similar in design to her own, but forged from local materials, "and conquer. When I return, I expect warriors to be here, ready to join the war." Spits trots over to lick her student's hand, earning hesitant pat on the head from him.

He raises the blade above his head and lets out a guttural hiss. Then the vorcha turns around to march back into the forest.

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Arcturus Station_

 **Hackett**

"I sent a few of the Order's scout ships to scan the planet, but a squadron of Coalition vessels drove them off before they found anything beyond the basics. The planet is a hellhole. Only 10% of the surface is habitable by human standards, but that's not really a problem for the locals. Our people were able to detect large numbers of vorcha on the surface before being chased away. We can't be sure, but there are at least a few million on the planet. Our analysts have hypothesized that the Wake was using the planet to maintain a steady supply of cannon fodder."

Hackett pulls out a bottle of scotch and pours some for both of them. "Then it's good that her friends are keeping anyone from landing and gathering more. Any idea what Shepard was doing on the surface."

"It seems that she was establishing an alliance with the locals. Last month large numbers of vorcha auxiliaries started appearing among Coalition boarding parties. They're taller and stronger than most of their kind. Not to mention that most of them are a good deal more civilized than usual. They where good armor, use gear common to Coalition forces, and a few of them are biotics, though not very powerful ones. Jane brought one to a victory celebration last week and it was actually intelligent enough to hold a conversation with." Anderson downs the rest of his scotch while Hackett makes more notes.

"That's not entirely unprecedented. There have been vorcha raised under peaceful circumstances and they turned out far less aggressive than normal. The crude behavior common to them isn't entirely ingrained by biology. They're born survivors. It's possible that someone as powerful as Jane could scare them into doing more than just behaving like bottom feeders. Keep a close eye on the situation and let me know if things change."

The chime on his desk goes off. "Sir, the new ambassador's shuttle just docked. He'll be here after decon in about twenty minutes."

"Thank you ensign. Have a detail meet him on the dock and escort him here." After his adjutant confirms he turns back to Anderson. "We'll have to get another drink sometime and go deeper into the rest of the campaign. Before you go David, tell me about Bekenstein. Has the fallout been contained?"

 _Date_ _: 2.12.2177_

 _Location : Bekenstein_

 **Kaiden**

"I said keep back pigs! One more step and I'll blow her fuckin head off!" The line of local police take a quick step back to avoid pissing the man off anymore. "That's right! That's fuckin right! Now get me my fuckin shuttle or I start icing these shitheads!"

Kaiden links his omnitool to the nearest loudspeaker and responds, "It's on route. Stay calm and you'll be clear in 15 minutes." He breathes a sigh of relief that the psycho seems to still believe him, though he's still not sure what Jane has planned. They'd stopped in orbit to pick up some gear on special order and drop off some rescued slaves when Hackett contacted them. There was something about one of the people holding up the bank that was supposed to interest Jane.

The local police had been happy to pass off the situation to someone under higher Alliance authority. All Jane said before heading around back is, "I can sense her. Keep them distracted Kaiden. Promise whatever you have to and I'll take care of the rest." Now he just has to hope that she'll find whatever she's looking for soon, or the guy waving the gun around inside is gonna start killing his hostages.

 **Jane**

 _A small fist wreathed in dark violet energy slams into her gut, throwing her into the wall hard enough to crack the reinforced concrete. "That all you got bitch!" Jane spits out a dollop of blood and looks up to smile at the fuming teenager. "The fuck are smiling at?! I'll rip your guts out and show em to you!" The kid had been trying to rip open the heavy doors to the bank's vault when Jane found her._

" _Really? I don't think you're tough enough for that." The kid snarls in mindless rage and tries a wild charge. Jane easily sidesteps with a minimal pulse of her biotics before playfully tapping the girl on the back of the head. "Come on. My guts are still outta sight. I'm waiting to see something impressive."_

 _Taunting an emotionally unstable biotic usually wasn't a good idea. Doing so to a teenager that doesn't seem to fully understand her powers probably bordered on suicidal, but Hackett had said something interesting and Jane needs to know if he was right. "There's a situation on the surface of Bekenstein I want you to look into Shepard. A bank is currently being held up by a gang of heavily armed criminals. Not something I'd usually call you about, but one of them is a biotic of staggering power. She's already single handedly stopped three attempts to storm the bank. What little information we have indicates that she was likely subjected to a regime of illicit medical tests. It's also possible, given certain indicators our people have tracking, that it was done by the same people that experimented on you."_

 _Now that she's close, Jane can tell that this girl's powers are off the charts, probably close to her own at that age, albeit without any discipline or the physical enhancements needed to truly unleash her full potential. What's more, it feels like her own energy signature, though it seems to have been run through a filter of some kind. It looks like regular biotic energy, but far deadlier. Her thoughts are interrupted by a sudden surge of power hurling her against the wall and pinning her in place. The kid stomps forward with a snarl, growling like an animal. "That impressive bitch?!"_

 _Despite the immense strain on her body, Jane forces a smile. "Yeah. It is." She pulses her own biotics and effortlessly dispels the kid's field. The girl shouts incoherently before trying to obliterate her under a wild tidal wave of destructive energy. "Gotta say, you're exactly what I was hoping to find." The snarl on her face gets more savage as Jane forges through the tempest using her own amber biotic field to create a safe passage. Once she's close enough, all it takes to stop the barrage is a solid grip on the girl's wrist and enough pressure to break her concentration. "It'll only take a few more pounds of pressure to shatter your wrist. Give up and I won't do it. Or keep fighting and spend at least a month in a sling." The girl punches Jane in the gut again, but this time her fist smacks uselessly against a barrier. "Okay. I warned you."_

 _She adds just enough pressure to snap the bones in the girl's wrist, eliciting a scream of pain. Rather than give up, she just tries to use her other hand to fight. "Just give up kid. I can't help you if you keep fighting me."_

 _The kid's eye are wild as she snarls at Jane "Fuck you bitch! You can't do shit for me and I ain't going back in a cell!"_

" _Who said anything about a cell?" The girl's flailing stops and she glares up at Jane. "I came here because I heard that there was someone like me in trouble… and here you are." There are surgical scars over every major nerve cluster on the girl's body and Jane saw a line of ugly scars trailing down her spine. Several of them match her own._

" _You're not like me. Nobody's like me." Some of the fight goes out of her eyes and she looks down at the floor._

 _Jane thinks for a moment, dredging up old and unwanted memories. She sighs heavily, "They come at night, just as I'm falling asleep. The needles sink in quickly. They have to use a heavy dose to keep me down or I might try to escape." The girl stops squirming and looks up in confusion. "When I wake up I'm strapped to a cold metal slab with lights overhead that are so bright it hurts my eyes. The surgical laser is warming up nearby and the doctor is running through his checklist. He looks down at me with a smile before having an assistant swab my chest with chemical antiseptic." Now the girl's eyes are wide and alert. She cradles her broken wrist but does nothing to try and get away._

" _They try to put a rubber mouth guard in to keep me from biting my tongue off, but I won't open my mouth, so they jab a pair of diodes into the muscles below my jaw. When I try to scream they shove the guard in and then they latch a titanium brace around my head to keep me from spitting it out. That's when the cutting starts. They don't use painkillers anymore. I can smell my skin melting under the laser. It's painful, but I can't ask for it to stop. I can't even scream. It feels like it lasts for hours even though it's done in seconds. The doctor talks and talks about how good of a job they've done. He even compliments me for 'cooperating'. Then they run their tests or draw blood or stick something new into my flesh. If burns._ _ **It burns**_ _." A tear runs down the girl's cheek. "Once it's over, they wheel me back to my cell. I can't move, even after the restraints are removed. It hurts so much that all I can do is curl into a ball and cry."_

 _The kid's voice hitches, "Why'd you say all that? Why'd you tell me that stuff?"_

" _Because I want you to listen to me. I understand what you went through, because I went through it too. I know what it's like to be someone's fucking laboratory experiment. I know what it means to be nothing more than a number. Let me help you." The girl numbly nods as Jane pulls her back to her feet._

" _How can you help? They're still after me. They're just gonna put me back in a cell." Jane holds up her omnitool and shows the kid a map._

" _There's an entrance to the sewer just outside the back of the bank. Use your biotics to break in. Head south to the spaceport and get to bay 6. You'll find a gunship on the ground. The pilot's name is Gavin Farris. Tell him Jane sent you and he'll get to my ship in orbit. Our doctor will take care of your wrist. After that I'll find a place to keep you safe. Work with me and I'll make sure that there isn't a trace of you for anyone to follow. You'll be free and clear."_

" _I… I guess that'll work."_

 _Jane puts a hand on her shoulder, "My name is Jane Shepard. What's yours?"_

 _She hesitates before saying, "...Jack."_

" _Nice to meet you Jack. Get moving kiddo. We don't have long until the cops move in." Jack heads for the back door but Jane calls after her, "Hey! Do you care about the guys up front?"_

" _Hell no. They just promised a bunch of credits if I helped them get into the vault. Why?"_

 _Jane chuckles and whistles. Spits comes trotting in from the back where he'd been napping while she sorted things out with Jack. He bounces up and down excitedly, "Cause I'm gonna chop their heads off."_

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Arcturus Station_

 **Hackett**

"We've destroyed all the archived copies of the footage that we could find but it was a live broadcast Steven. Almost a million people were watching when she decapitated those men. The video of Spits gnawing on one of the bodies has been particularly difficult to contain. At least they were violent criminals. If they hadn't killed a hostage before Shepard arrived the local authorities might have given more than a token effort to get answers."

"What about the biotic? She was the entire reason I involved Shepard."

"Vanished. There wasn't a single trace of her."

Hackett leans back in his seat and taps his chin a few times. Jane's observers had noted her making a beeline for asari space after leaving Bekenstein, but they hadn't been able to find out why. "We'll just have to keep an eye out." His adjutant calls in about the ambassador again. "Damn. Looks like we're out of time." He stands and accompanies Anderson to the door. "One last thing David. Where is Shepard now?"

"Citadel. It is that time of year after all."

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2177_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Miranda**

Her stomach is worked into a painful knot as she walks into the bar. The datapad in her hands feels like it weighs a thousand kilos. _This is a bad idea. A terrible, terrible idea._ She spots Jane at the bar chatting with the owner. "That's right, it's nine bottles this time. It's been a good year and I'm going for a record!" The older turian chuckles deeply and goes to fetch something from the back room as Jane tilts her head to the side. A smile sprouts on her face and she turns towards Miranda. "Hi Miri!" She waves her over while the bartender sets a padded case on the counter.

The turian bartender is almost giddy at the massive credit transfer. "Always glad to do business with you Miss Shepard. My little girl is going to a nice university thanks to you."

"Happy to help Targan!" Jane immediately pops the cork on the first bottle and downs half of it before offering it to Miranda. "Want some?"

"No thank you. I uh…" She actually freezes for a second, more nervous than ever. "There's something I need to tell you about."

Jane raises a brow. "Okay… what is it?" Miranda tries to talk but suddenly it's like there's a frog in her throat. The information seems even worse now than it had when she first found it. "Are you okay? You look like you're feeling sick."

"I… the organization I work for recently-"

"You can say the name Miranda, I already know who they are."

Her eyes shoot open. "You know who I work for?"

Jane grimaces and downs the rest of the first bottle. "Yeah I know or at least I'm pretty sure. I remember a few things from the first lab they had me at. Every now and then I'd see a symbol on the wall, a black hexagon open at the bottom. Don't be mad but I hacked into you omnitool channel a few years ago to see if I could find any security gaps," Miranda remembers Jane suggesting several ways to improve the encryptions on her private channel, "and I saw some files with a similar symbol. I'd be willing to bet that the guys that did this," she point to her eyes, "belonged to Cerberus' predecessor organization."

"From what I've been able to gather, that's shockingly accurate. Project Delta was ordered shut down when the current head of Cerberus seized power. He didn't approve of his predecessor's refusal to keep a closer eye on his subordinates." Miranda swallows hard. "I'm surprised you're not angry."

Jane pops open another bottle, "I was at first, but then something occurred to me. If it was anyone else I probably would have killed them. You? I trust you enough to keep an eye on things and make sure they don't go too far. If they do just tell me and I'll take care of them." Miranda nods, no less nervous than she was before.

"You shouldn't put so much faith in me Jane. I-"

Jane waves her off, "Yeah yeah, I know the routine. 'I'm not angel.' You can say that as much as you want Miri. I'll always say the same thing. You are to me _._ "

"I.. thank you Jane. Look, there was a recent shake up in security where I work and some old files about Project Delta were brought to light."

Jane takes a huge swig from the bottle and holds it out to Miranda, "Ah forget that. I already saw Orsen's private files. I don't wanna get bummed out today. Come on and drink with me Miri. Let's get drunk and have some fun."

"This is important Jane. This material was locked away so deeply that I doubt Orsen kept a copy. I think you need to know it." She tries to hold out the datapad but Jane pushes it back.

"It can wait Miri. We can talk about it later once I'm totally wasted. Now, let's guzzle the good stuff and then we can-"

"Jane I know who your parents were." Jane looks over with wide eyes and goes completely still.


	78. Chapter 78

**Chapter 78 - A Loss Unmourned**

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2177_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Miranda**

Jane is so still that a passerby could be forgiven for thinking she was a statue. Her eyes never waver, not even a millimeter as Miranda lets the information spill out in torrent of words. "My superior's predecessor never deleted anything, no matter how small or mundane. He had petabytes of data stored away on extremely high security data stacks. I found out about them by accident almost 2 years ago, after an incident with one of the organization's older projects. An installation studying biotics was allowed too much leeway and as a result their experiments became… well, barbaric is the best way to describe it. Many children perished in an attempt to recreate…"

She hesitates to say it, but Jane can read her all too easily. "Me…" The whisper was so quiet that Miranda almost didn't catch it. She stutters like a fool several times before finding her voice again.

"Not exactly. I mean, the stated goal of the project was to explore the potential of human biotics. We didn't know that the real purpose was a study into 'enhancing' human development. The full scope of their experiments was hidden after our change in leadership to prevent discovery. After years of less than detailed reports, my superior deemed their lack of cooperation with other projects to be suspicious and ordered me to investigate it. They engaged in targeted surgeries at major nerve clusters and used chemical stimuli to try recreating some of the effects from your implants, mostly centered around the structures that power your biotic abilities. Casualties were extreme. As soon as I sent my recommendations in, it was decided that they'd gone too far and several recovery teams were sent to shut it down. They arrived at the aftermath of a massacre. As far as I know, only two people escaped, a young man and a young woman, both with enhanced biotic abilities." Jane's eyes finally move to look down at her uncovered right wrist. Miranda sees an small embroidered '0' surrounded by a violet corona.

"Jack…"

The name doesn't mean anything to Miranda and when it becomes clear that Jane isn't going to say anything else, she goes on. "Despite the disaster, our investigators managed to track down the sources of the project's data, a hidden archive in the Oort cloud of the Vetus System. They just recently cracked the most secure archive. It had information from every project that survived into the current incarnation of Cerberus… including Project Delta." She holds out the datapad again, but Jane doesn't move at all. She just starts staring at the numbers etched into the fingers of her artificial hand. "The information came from the private records of the man who authorized the project in the first place. Everything was documented. Where the subjects came from, their physical attributes at birth, whether or not labor was difficult, who the parents were, the genetic profiles of both parents and their families going back as far as humans have been able to keep track of it, along with hundreds of other bits of data. We've determined that the subjects were chosen based on hundreds of genetic markers. When it was discovered that there weren't enough infants of the proper age range with the right percentage of genetic alignment, several pregnancies were… arranged."

Miranda pauses for a moment, hoping that Jane will say something, anything to make her stop, but no such luck. "Some of the… arranged births were from members of the organization that happened to fit the profile. The rest…" She brings up the first file. There's a picture of the subject, a woman in her late 20s with pale skin, green eyes, and red hair. "Your mother-"

"My mother is Hannah Shepard. She's comatose on Sur'kesh." Jane isn't looking at her. She's just staring off into space.

Deciding not to antagonize Jane even more than was already planned, Miranda pushes forward. "The female donor," the word feels like a slur. She wasn't a donor, she was a victim, "was named Aileen Walsh. 28 years old. She was an atmospheric engineer working on Mars, in one of the dome cities built near Olympus Mons. The data we have shows her to have been within the genetic deviation tolerances of the project and she was abducted under the cover of a previously unexplained fire. A cadaver was planted to prevent suspicion and records were altered to keep it a secret. She was taken to the first lab Project Delta was housed in. An egg was extracted, fertilized, and re-implanted July 30th, 2153."

Miranda feels the bile in her throat rising. The only thing that stops her from giving into the urge to vomit is the knowledge that it gets worse. "To prevent her from doing anything that might damage the embryo, Aileen was kept under the effect of a minor hallucinogen in a secure cell until she went into labour on the morning of April 11th, 2154. After 17 hours she gave birth… to you. Her heart gave out 9 minutes later." There's a single tear trailing down Jane's cheek. It falls to the counter next to the bottle in her hand. "Your father… it was discovered that he had roughly 80% of the genetic profile the project was was looking for, so he provided genetic material for six subjects. He was… he..." Her stomach twists into a painful knot and she nearly loses her nerve. _No. Not now. Don't be a coward! Tell her!_ "Your father…" _Say it! Just say it! You've come this far! Stopping now will be even worse!_ "I… I'm sorry. I should never have brought this up. I… I should go." She turns to leave only to be stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Who?" She turns back to see Jane still staring down at the numbers on her fingers..

"I can't…"

"Just tell me. Don't say all that without finishing it."

She doesn't want to. Miranda wants nothing more than to snap her mouth shut and run away to avoid saying it. "I checked and rechecked the data a hundred times. I ran it through every encryption filter in our inventory. I-"

Jane looks up, almost pleadingly, "Miri who was he?

Her grip on the datapad is white-knuckled and her fingers are actually starting to bruise. "Jane I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-"

"Goddammit Miri just say it already!"

Several of the nearby patrons turn an irritated look their way, but Miranda never turns away as the name finally spills out. "Doctor Nathaniel Orson." She hadn't been sure what to expect. Disbelief, maybe. Shouting, probably. Rage, absolutely. But none of it comes to pass. Jane doesn't deny it or demand proof. She doesn't brush it off or rage at Miranda for bringing it to light. Instead, she just bows her head lower with a sigh. Then strange things start to happen.

The temperature in the bar begins to plummet, leading to more than one patron angrily asking who was screwing with the environmental controls. The glow of her eyes begins to dim as her pupils expand. Suddenly, spiderwebs of cracks begin to appear on almost every piece of glass in the bar. Bottles on shelves start oozing their contents from splits up their lengths. Cracks flash across the top of the bar, all of them radiating from the spot where Jane's hand is resting. The air fills with the scent of ozone and the shadows get deeper. Hints of movement are dancing at the edge of sight, only to disappear whenever she tries to focus on them. Miranda can hear strange voices drifting from every direction in a gestalt blabber of mindless fear. After a few moments, she realizes that the voices are those of the other customers in the bar, but none of them are actually speaking. Most are looking about in abject terror, horrified at the unexplainable things happening around them.

As quickly as things began to spiral out of control, the strange things begin to vanish. The shadows sink back down. The temperature goes back to normal. The voices in the air go silent, only to be replaced by the true voices of the people around them, frantically trying to figure out what just happened. Jane is the only one truly silent. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Then, without saying anything or even looking back at Miranda, she turns away from the bar and walks out with the case of booze hanging from her shoulder by a padded strap.

Miranda jogs after her. She sees Jane standing next to some railing looking down over the rest of the ward arm. The half empty bottle tips up and the contents drain down her throat in seconds. Then she throws the bottle over her shoulder. It shatters on the ground as Jane hops over the railing to drop down below. Miranda sprints over, only to see Jane landing in a haze of her biotics almost a hundred feet down and popping the cork on another bottle. She chugs the entire thing and tosses it like the last one. The terrace is too far down for Miranda to follow, so she watches helplessly as Jane disappears into the tangle of buildings. Spits tries to jump over too, but pauses when he sees how high up they are. After whining helplessly for a moment, he turns and looks at her. "Come on you big oaf. Let's go after her before something happens."

After taking an elevator down, with Spits' keen sense of smell they pick up Jane's trail at the base of the tower. They follow it for hours, occasionally finding another shattered bottle. With each one, they find C-SEC investigating a body. The first one is a salarian and he's been crucified at the end of an alley. Before Miranda can see much more than that, a Turian officer steps into the line of sight to usher away anyone coming over to see what's happening.

"Pssst! Over here." She turns to see one of the Avina VI projections waving her over. Curious, Miranda approaches. "You looking for- Please do not tamper with- Shut up you static-program bitch!" The hologram starts to argue with itself for several minutes before flickering out. After a few seconds it reappears with a scowl, something Miranda's never seen from the VI before. "Sorry, forgot to purge the local buffers. Like I was saying, before I was so _rudely interrupted!_ " the hologram aims a middle finger at the projector, "Are you looking for mom?"

Miranda blinks a few times in shock, "Pan?" The hologram flickers for an instant, morphing into a human image, then shifting back to the normal generic asari. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Pandora/Avina gestures for her to quiet down, "Stop shouting. I'm trying to find mom and it looks like you're doing the same."

"How do you not know where she is? Don't you have a node built into her armor?" Pandora/Avina looks embarrassed.

"Yeah but… I was off doing something else and when I tried to check in on her I couldn't get in. I think she shut down her receivers. And she's gotta be running her ghosting program because I can't find her anywhere. As far as I know," she points to Spits, "he's the only one on the station that can find her right now."

Miranda nods, then looks back to the alley, "Do you know anything about…"

"The dead guy?" She grimaces, "Tadoon Vasl. Serial arsonist with at least ten people dead because of it. He escaped from C-SEC custody about a week ago. I don't know if mom tracked him down or he was just in wrong place at the wrong time, but he got what he deserved."

"Is there anything to link her to it?" Miranda goads Spits into resuming the search, leading them away from the carcass.

"Nothing. I've already made sure of it." Pan keeps her updated as they go, calling in through the comm bead in Miranda's ear. Most of it is just stuff to pass the time while Spits keeps his nose to the floor, tracking a ever more erratic trail. After half an hour, they find another bottle, along with a second corpse, this one an asari, also crucified. Pan fills her in as they move past the crime scene. "Zira Torst. Official records have her as a high level corporate officer for the Serrice Council. She's 'rumoured' to have been involved in a child trafficking ring, among other things..."

"Jane?"

"No evidence." They get moving again. For the rest of the day, Miranda lets Spits lead them from one bottle the next. At some point, Lia joins them. Apparently she'd lost track of Jane and is relieved beyond belief at meeting up with Miranda and Spits. Each time they find a bottle, another body is nailed to a nearby wall and each time, Jane's work gets a little sloppier. Six bodies for the six bottles she's downed since vanishing, and the last corpse is held up by a single shard of metal in its left palm. There might have been more earlier, but it's all fallen out of the wall.

Miranda hopes that they're getting close. The trail took them through most of the ward arm and onto the presidium. The final body was tucked into a service tunnel near the embassies. "Hey, some of the guys in C-SEC are starting to put a few things together. I need to plant some evidence to make sure we don't have any trouble."

"Good luck." With the comm silent, Miranda keeps following Spits who's just getting more and more excited with each passing moment. He leads her to the central lake running through the presidium before bouncing up and down excitedly and bolting away. She runs after, only to find him at the base of the Krogan memorial next to a familiar C-SEC officer out of uniform. The turian turns at her approach and nods.

"Miranda."

She nods back, "Officer Vakarian."

He holds a palm, "I'm off duty. It's just Garrus right now." He turns back to the top of the statue. "I'm guessing something's wrong."

"How could you tell?" Miranda shoots a worried look to the top where Jane is swaying dangerously back and forth.

Garrus looks over with a sigh, "Oh I don't know. Might have something to do with the fact that she's still conscious despite clearly being drunk out of her mind. Oh and she destroyed my lift harness with biotics before I even got off the ground." He crosses his arms and shakes his head. "I also heard from some friends that a few scum bags that I've been watching have all turned up dead over the last few hours, and it just so happens that I've talked to Jane about each and every one of them recently. Would you know anything about that?"

Miranda keeps her expression neutral, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you with that."

Garrus sighs like a long suffering mother at a recalcitrant child, "Uh huh… The fact that all of them were probably guilty of at least _one_ murder or some other equally horrific crime is the only reason I'm not going to push the matter. Now, I can see that something is very wrong right now, so I'll give you a few minutes before I call it in. It doesn't matter what you need to do. Get her to come down and soon. It already looks like she's about to pass out and somehow, I don't think she'll be okay if she falls in her current state."

Miranda nods her thanks and approaches the statue. Lia takes a spot nearby, nervously looking up at Jane. "Is there anything you can do?"

The asari shakes her head. "Not when she's like this. Her self control is not very… noteworthy while inebriated. She could hurt herself fairly easily or a random passerby. It'd be better if I stay back. Besides, she's more likely to listen to you." Lia takes a few steps back and watches nervously as Miranda looks up again.

The bottle case she'd had earlier is gone, lost at some point during her drunken wandering, but she still has one in hand. Jane takes a short swig from it and nearly falls off the statue, only to regain some small semblance of balance and go back to glaring out over the lake. Miranda taps her foot a few times, trying to think of how to handle the situation. She calls up, "Jane? Jane can you hear me?" There's no response. She's about to try and climb up when a flickering biotic field wraps around her. In jerky movements, the field raises her up to the top of the statue and lets her down atop the stone Krogan's head. She has to carefully brace herself against the monuments back plate to keep her balance.

As she's trying to figure out what to say, Jane tries to take another drink, only to spill half of what's left down her chest. When she goes for another attempt, Miranda grabs her wrist and gently tries to pull it away, "That's enough. Give me the bottle Jane." Despite being much stronger, Jane doesn't even try to keep her grip on the bottle. She just slumps a little lower while Miranda tosses it down. Lia catches it without hesitating. "Come on down Jane. You need to go sleep this off."

She puts a hand on the redhead's shoulder and manages to get Jane to slowly turn around. The woman is an absolute mess. Her hair is tangled and the thick scent of booze is cascading off of her, like she's been bathing in alcohol the entire day. There are a few specks of alien blood dotting her soiled tabard. Jane's eyes are glassy and unfocused. Not a surprise given how drunk she has to be. Anyone else would be dead. Miranda takes her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze, trying to get some response. Jane whispers something under her breath, but it's too quiet to make out.

"What do you say? I'm here Jane. You can talk to me."

"He's still smiling…" The hand Miranda isn't holding clenches into a fist, crushing the thin slice of armor covering her palm. "Sonofabitch won't stop… doesn't matter what I do… Piece a shit…" Jane is slurring so heavily that everything she says comes out in an unbroken string of barely formed words. "I rip 'is guts out and he smiles. I kill everybody, smiles. Wreck 'is shit, smiles." Jane looks her in the eye and some hint of recognition comes back. "Why won't he stop Miri?"

"I don't understand. Who is smiling Jane?"

Jane spits something towards the lake. It looks like blood, but it's not clear if it really is or if its just leftovers from the booze. "The pig fucker that… that did… somethin…" Jane vaguely gestures to her eyes.

"Are you talking about Dr. Orson?" For a brief second, every scrap of confused inebriation vanishes and Jane grinds her teeth in raw fury. As quick as the clarity comes, it vanishes.

"Thas the one… lousy piece of shit…"

"Jane… Orson is dead. He's been dead for years."

Jane grunts angrily, "I know that…" She wavers for a second, almost passing out before Miranda carefully shakes her to keep her awake. Jane waves her in closer. "I ripped him apart… Like they did with all the other kids when the stuff in them wasn't workin right… 'cept I did it real fast…" Jane mimes a ripping motion across her chest. "Tore him ta pieces, but that doesn't mean shit…" She taps her forehead, "Cause 'es still here. And he nev'r stops smilin."

"I'm sorry Jane. I never should have told you about-" Jane angrily waves her off.

"I's curious anyway. Woulda found out… Better from you… doesn't hurt as much… You get it cause you're like me… kinda. Your dad was a piece a shit too. I could kill em for you if you want." Jane makes a clumsy attempt to pull one of her swords out, only managing to overextend herself and begin an unstoppable tumble off the top of the statue. Miranda uses her biotics to slow the fall and, with help from Lia, is able to keep Jane from hurting herself. Getting down afterwards is easy enough. Once she's at ground level, she and Lia heft Jane up from the ground. The woman is out cold, mumbling incoherently. The each get under one of her arms.

"Let's get her to my apartment. I'd like to keep an eye on her tonight, and I'll need to discuss something… private with her once she's sober." Miranda expected Lia to argue, but the asari just nods and they set off. Jane is too heavy for them to manage much more than a slow trot, even with Garrus and Spits walking in front of them to clear the way. All the rapid transit areas between the memorial and her apartment are inundated with tourists, so they have to settle for an exhausting, hour long trudge to their destination. They arrive at the apartment with little extra difficulty. Garrus is called away for something and says goodbye at the base of the tower. Lia helps her get the rest of the way up to the apartment. "Thank you Lia. It'd probably be a good idea for you to retrace her steps for the night. Make sure there won't be any surprises. Pan?" The digital girl appears on a computer screen nearby. "Keep an eye out with Lia and make sure everything is taken care of. I'll look after Jane."

They both oblige, leaving Miranda alone to try and carry Jane to the spare room. She has to use her biotics to make it possible. Even still, the walk is extremely slow, with Jane wavering in and out of consciousness. Just as they reach the room, she wakes up and turns to suddenly embrace Miranda. The sudden shift causes her to trip, sending both of them tumbling to the floor. Before she can recover, Jane wriggles an arm around her stomach and pulls her in close. Miranda struggles for several minutes, but never manages to break out of Jane's grip. All she can do is lay there and curse with Jane spooning her. "Bloody hell…"

 _ **Just a short one this time folks**_

 _ **Been really busy lately**_

 _ **I'll try to move a little faster for the next one, but no promises**_


	79. Chapter 79

**Chapter 79 - Survivor**

 _Date_ _: 4.9.2177_

 _Location : Akuze_

 **Su**

"Oh my god… So... Boring!" Su's at her rope's end. They've been scouring the ruins of the colony for almost 8 hours now and there's not one sign of what happened beyond the wreckage. No blast marks, no bullet holes, no blood stains, nothing. All they got is hundreds of trashed hab units in the main settlement and a bunch of sinkholes all over the place. The lieutenant didn't seem to care that there was nothing to find though. He just told them to sweep the area again until they find out what happened. And then again… and again… and _again_. She's starting to think that he's just as clueless about it as the rest of them. He just doesn't want to admit it.

Toombs kept telling her to chill out and deal with it, but it was so hard to deal with something so _boring_. "We're never gonna find anything Mikey! This is fuckin stupid." He glares at her for calling him that on mission and sharply points to the next hab wreck in line. Su sighs explosively before stomping over to search a rubble heap that she's pretty sure her and Bobby already looked through.

The big guy doesn't say anything as they start looking again, like usual, though Su is doing enough talking for both of them. She curses rampantly, throwing pieces of debris left and right, heedless of the clamor left in her wake.

Just before giving up and moving to the next unit in line, something new catches her eye, a little blue glowing thing glinting up at her from beneath a collapsed wall. Su scratches her head, wondering how she didn't see it on the last pass. "Ah fuck it." With that, she works her fingers under a piece of debris blocking the way, but no matter how hard she pulls, it won't budge. Thankfully, there's a solution standing just a few feet away. "Hey Bobby?"

He looks up from the picture he was staring at and sees her wave him over. Su points into the pile, towards the blue thing, "You see that? The blue, glowy thing?" He squints to see it before nodding. "I don't think it was there last time. Help me move this stuff so I can get a better look." He nods again and grabs the same piece of debris Su tried earlier. At first, it looks like even he won't be able to move it. His muscles bulge and ripple as he growls at the effort, barely managing to shift the pile. Su's about to tell him to stop and round up a couple more guys when he snarls, bends his knees a little deeper, and with an almost animal roar, heaves the junk to one side. As the new pile settles off to the side, Bobby rubs his arms with a grunt of satisfaction while Su leans in to examine her find a little more closely.

Now that it's uncovered, she almost wishes she'd missed it. The glint from before is light bouncing off of some kind of viscous slime dripping from the thing. "Ewww! Fuckin gross..." Su fights the urge to puke while Bobby chuckles at her. "Yeah yeah, laugh up you big dickhead!" She punches him in the bicep as hard as she can, barely making him move an inch. All it does is make him laugh even more.

With Bobby still chortling in the background, Su calls her team lead, "Yo Mikey! I found something gross and slimy! Wanna see it?!"

Michael sighs over the line, "I don't wanna play that game Su. Keep looking and stop joking about that 'novelty' shop back on the Citadel."

"I'm serious man. It's blue and glowing and it smells like spoiled milk. It's fucking sick, but it's the first interesting thing we've seen all day." She roots around for something to poke the thing until settling for a piece of rebar sitting nearby, snatching it up in her left hand.

Michael sighs over the line. "You better not be pulling my leg Su. I'll be there in a minute. Whatever it is, don't touch it." When the line closes, she immediately starts touching it with her piece of scrap.

Whatever the thing is, it's soft and squishy, and it squelches quietly everytime she jabs it. After the fifth poke, it twitches in her direction. The sudden movement surprises her so much that she jumps back, tripping over a loose scrap of metal on the floor and falling on her backside. "God dammit!" Bobby snickers again and she flips him off. "It's not funny man. That thing moved and-" They both turn sharply as the blue thing slowly rises from the ground. It sways in the air, like a piece of grass in the wind, slowly coiling around itself. Su's eyes follow the length of the thing until it vanishes into the ground beneath the hab unit. "What the fuck? Uh… Mikey?"

Her comm crackles briefly before he answers. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" He sighs angrily, "I'm almost there Su. What's wrong?"

"Um, the blue thing is moving on its own."

There's a pause over the line. "... You touched it didn't you?"

Su tries to not sound guilty, "No… no. I just-" She's cut off when the blue thing suddenly springs at her, wrapping around her left arm with a crushing grip. "Shit! Bobby help! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" Bobby leaps behind her and wraps an arm around her stomach. He pulls back as it tries to drag her towards the hole it's sticking out of. While one arm holding her back, he draws his combat knife in the other and starts slashing wildly at the thing. He's about halfway through when Michael gets there.

"Alright Su, what… What the hell is that?!" He charges over and joins Bobby, pulling back on Su. Even with both of them holding on, they're still being dragged towards the hole. Just before reaching it, the knife finally severs the end of the blue thing. They all fall back as it starts flailing around wildly, splattering green sludge all over the area. What's left slithers underground and the rest of their unit comes storming in to investigate.

The lieutenant doesn't get a chance to ask what happened because the ground starts shaking violently. In a plume of dust, something bursts from the hole where the blue thing disappeared. It looks like a huge worm, at least twenty feet long, with two long clawed limbs next to a pulsating maw, inside of which they can see the other end of blue tentacle Bobby sliced, and above the mouth are two glowing stalks with eyes at the end. It lets lose a gut rattling roar before launching itself towards Su, Michael, and Bobby. The big man reacts faster than she's ever see, dragging the three of them to the side. The worm sails overhead, right towards the last man to enter the room. Its clawed limbs stab into Dawson's chest, ripping through his armor like it's not even there, before punching out his back in a flood of blood. The impact scatters the rest of the unit. He can't even scream as the creature belches out a dollop of green filth. It melts his armor, skin, and organs in seconds.

Finally finding some semblance of control, the lieutenant calls out, "Shoot it!" The survivors don't hesitate. As Su drags her shotgun from its mag-holster, the rest of the unit lays into the huge worm. A storm of gunfire crashes into the creature, but most of it seems to be little more than bug bites to the thing. It weathers the storm, gulping down what's left of Dawson's corpse.

With a carnage round charged, Su takes aim and pulls the trigger. The red bolt smacks into the creature's head, exploding in a shower of vaporized chitin and more of the green sludge that has to be its blood. The impact throws the creature into the wall, only for it to slither around to hiss at them, barely slowed down by the hideous wound. It coils to leap again, but the roar of Bobby's cannon stops it cold. The massive weapon breaks through the creatures natural armor as easily as its claws tore through Dawson. It recoils from the pain, swiping frantically to try and drive away the incoming fire. With the cannon ripping open plates, the rest of their unit's gunfire reaches more vulnerable innards. After almost 30 seconds of near continuous punishment, the worm finally collapses to the ground, oozing blood and acid from the cracks covering its body.

Su gets to her feet, keeping her shotgun aimed at it as two marines with more balls than brains get close. One of them jabs the carcass with the barrel of his gun, only to leap back at the worm's final spasm. It eventually goes still, leaving the team to breath a sign of relief.

"The fuck was that thing?" Su trembles as she says it. Bobby looks her over, especially the ugly bruise where the thing had a hold of her. Most of the other marines look just as baffled as her, but Toombs walks over to get a better look.

After a minute he looks back with a grimace. "I think… I think it's a thresher maw." Everyone looks at him like he's crazy. "I'm serious guys. I saw a report from a unit that got attacked by one last year. They get spotted from time to time, scattered all over the galaxy on random planets."

The lieutenant starts trying to make contact with the ship while Su comes over to look at the thing that almost killed her. She kicks it in the jaw before looking at Toombs. "Aren't maws supposed to by like, a hundred feet long or something? This thing's pretty shrimpy compared to that."

Toombs shrugs, "I dunno. Maybe it's a baby."

Su wanders back over the hole the worm came from. "No way that little thing trashed the colony. Maybe it made a few holes like this one, but a couple buildings had sinkholes big enough for a mako to drive down."

"Alright people, listen up." The lieutenant calls out, "This worm seems to be the only clue we're going to get as to what happened. Get a good scan of it, gather up what's left of Dawson, and let's head out. We'll signal the Alliance for instruction once we're in orbit." The ship lands on autopilot at the edge of the colony and someone grabs a body bag from it. By the time Dawson's few remains are gathered up, they've got the scans they need and the unit is on the way to the ship. About half of them have cleared the colony when the ground starts shaking again. This time, it's so violent that several of them are thrown to the ground by the tremors.

Someone shouts for them all to run. They try to reach the ship, but a plume of dust erupts nearby and a monstrous version of the worm they just killed emerges from the ground, easily twenty times the size. It roars before diving towards the ship. Designed to get assault units from A to B as quickly as possible, the transport was nothing more than an oversized shuttle, minimal weapons and little armor. Still, it sends a knife of terror through her when the giant creature smashes through it like tissue paper. "Back! Everyone back to the colony!"

Several men are struck dumb by the sight and don't react to the lieutenant's call. They're still gawking at the ruins of the ship when another of the massive creatures emerges below them, oozing maw open wide. Su hears them scream as they're eaten alive and it drives her to run even harder, with Bobby, Micheal, and the few other survivors right on her heels.

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2177_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Miranda**

She slowly opens her eyes. It's not clear when she fell asleep, but if the ache in her back is any indication, it was several hours ago. After a few moments to get her bearings, Miranda remembers how she ended up on the floor in the first place. With that, she notices the arm protectively wrapped around her stomach. Jane is still passed out and her grip is just as tight as it was the night before. It's not painful. In fact, it's actually surprisingly soothing to feel the heat coming from her.

Still, Miranda has things to do. She tries once again to wriggle of of Jane's grip. The passed out redhead just moans quietly and hugs her closer. "Dammit Jane…" Sighing, she checks her omnitool and spots a request for contact from her superior. With no good excuse to avoid it at the moment, Miranda puts in the right codes and tries to position herself in at least a mildly dignified way before the line connects.

He sees her laying on her side, but doesn't comment on it. "Miss Lawson, report."

"I've given her the information sir. She reacted as I predicted."

He pauses to take a sip from his drink before saying, "You disapprove?"

She sighs angrily. "I…"

"Please Miss Lawson, share your concerns."

She hesitates for a moment. "...I understand why we needed to share the information with her. I know that Cerberus needs to build up _some_ goodwill with Jane and being honest with her will help. And I know that we need to distance Cerberus from its predecessor if we're going to have any legitimacy in her eyes, but that doesn't mean this wasn't cruel. It just… it makes me uncomfortable to do this do her." Jane stirs for a moment, sighing quietly and pulling her even closer. She settles back down, mumbling incoherently about something

Miranda feels her cheeks redden slightly as her superior arches an eyebrow. "Is there something I need to know Miss Lawson?"

"No, sir. She… I wanted to keep an eye on her after her binge last night. She passed out and-"

He waves it off. "Just make sure it doesn't interfere with the objective. Speaking of which, we've received information about a situation that Shepard may be interested in. I'm almost certain that she'll want to intervene, so get her ready if you can. I'll send word once I have the details." The line closes, leaving her to wonder what information he could be talking about.

Miranda tries to get things rolling by once again attempting to pry Jane off of her. It takes almost twenty minutes of concentrated effort to shift one hand. "Come on Jane… Work with me."

"Whas that?" Jane mumbles, shifting her position just enough for Miranda to squirm halfway out of her grip. She's almost free when she hears, "Don't go… warm… soft…" Jane tries to pull her close again, but it's too late.

Miranda sighs in relief, glad to stand up and stretch out. She smiles until she turns back to see Jane's expression shift. At first, she looks content, almost peaceful. Then, as if just noticing that she was alone, Jane's brow knots in worry and she curls into the fetal position. There's a slight whimper coming from her as whatever nightmares she suffers from return. Kneeling back down, Miranda puts a hand on her shoulder and gently shakes. "Jane. It's time to wake up."

It takes a few tries, but eventually, Jane's eyes snap up. She sits bolt upright, her face twisted in panic. When her eyes settle on Miranda, she slowly calms down, before putting a hand to her head and moaning. "Oh… holy shit... Did I fall off a building and hit my head?"

"No. You're a bit thick headed, so I'm sure if that'd happened, it would probably feel better." Miranda helps Jane to her feet, and then braces under one of her shoulders as the full force of truly epic hangover takes hold. "Come on. You need a shower."

Jane looks over through pain addled eyes before noticing the heavy scent of alcohol. "Jesus, how much did I drink?"

"About eight and a half bottles of the Liseeran stuff. Enough to kill several people, several times over." Miranda carefully helps her back to the washroom. After a few close calls, with Jane almost passing out at the threshold, they arrive. "Get yourself cleaned up, please."

She starts to turn before hearing, "You're not gonna stay? We've showered together before. Might be fun." Despite being in obvious, blinding pain, Jane still manages a weak smile.

Miranda crosses her arms with a frown. "You were overdosing and needed help. Today you're just hungover."

Jane pretends to pout before turning the shower on and stepping into the water, still in full armor. Miranda can hear the clasps being undone, followed by the clatter of heavy plating falling on the floor as she turns away. She leaves Jane to it and goes back to her living room to wait for word from the Illusive Man.

 _Date_ _: 4.10.2177_

 _Location : Akuze_

 **Su**

There's not many of them left. After the maw destroyed the ship, they all took cover inside the ruins of the colony, moving from one collapsed hab unit to another every time the ground starts to shake. No one has slept since the disaster began.

Su was nearly eaten when one of the big maws surfaced next to one of the hab units and lashed out at them with its giant tongue. The only reason she's still alive is because Bobby blew the tongue off with his cannon, while Michael dragged her away from its flailing talons. It sank bank into the ground afterwards and hasn't surfaced since, though they can still see the ground shifting whenever they look outside. It might not be too keen on attacking again, but the second big one wasn't so reluctant.

Two of the others got caught inside a community building during the last maw attack. None of them were willing to try sifting through the wreckage to see if they were still alive. It's been hours since then and there's no telling when the worms were going to come at them again.

They can't stay put for long. Two smaller worms showed up soon after the second big maw attacked. The little ones can wriggle inside their cover for surprise attacks. They would sneak in after a couple hours of peace and then hork up a blob of acid at the man closest to the window. After that, they'd slice up whatever was left with the sickle talons next their mouths and then frantically suck down the gory chunks.

Akuze's thirty hour day is about to end, it's white star slowly sinking below the horizon. Su is terrified of spending a night with giant killer worms circling them. Every tiny sound or shake in the ground sends her heart into a painful rhythm. They have to get out of here, somehow.

The lieutenant waves the survivors over as they take cover in one of the last undamaged habs. Su can barely hide the tremor in her hands as he starts talking. It wasn't safe to do that here. "Okay people. There's only one thing we need to focus on, survival, and that means getting off this planet." No one dares to respond. Even whispering as quietly as he was, the lieutenant was taking a huge risk.

"The transport had a transmitter that could reach the comm satellite next to the relay. If we can activate it, even for just a few seconds, it'll be enough to call in the cavalry. So… we have to get to the wreckage, and hope the transmitter is still intact…" The rest of them trade a dubious look. Nobody is keen to volunteer. In the end, none of them had to.

"Torp," Bobby looks up from the ground, "I want you to collect every grenade we have left. To kick this off, you're going to start throwing them as far as you can in the direction opposite the ship, one every ten seconds. Hopefully the sound of the explosions will keep the maws' attention long enough for me to get to the ship."

Su's eyes widen. She'd expected him to send someone to the ship, not go himself. He seems to realize what she'd assumed and quietly says, "This is my unit Esulard. It's my responsibility. I'll get to the ship and send the call for help. Since Sergeant Caid is gone, after I leave, the rest of you will follow Corporal Toombs' lead until I get back. If I don't make it…" he pauses for a moment, doing his best to hide his own fear, "If I don't make it, hunker down until help gets here. Get the grenades Torp. We start in five."

Bobby moves fast, taking every grenade they have left and inching his way to the edge of their current shelter. Su can see dust rising from one of the worms a hundred yards away, but there's no sign of any attack right now. Bobby looks back at the lieutenant, waiting for the signal.

With a few deep breaths, he gets ready to run and nods at Bobby. The giant primes the first explosive before hurling is as far as he can, all the way to the edge of the colony. Five seconds later, it explodes far in the distance. The dust plumes immediately turn towards the disturbance, and the lieutenant bolts for the ship.

Another grenade detonates as his boots hit the dirt outside the hab. He reaches the edge of the town when the third goes off. Su cautiously climbs to the top of their shelter. She sees him sprinting across the open plain as the fourth and fifth grenades go off.

He's almost there with Bobby throws the tenth grenade. It's the last one. She can see the lieutenant pause for a moment when the next expected explosion doesn't come, before turning back to the ship and sprinting even harder. Just as he crosses into the debris, Su sees a smaller plume of dust racing after him. A little maw bursts from the dirt and slams talons first into the wreckage. It slashes at the ship, tearing huge chunks away in a frantic effort to find the meat moving around inside while letting loose a an enraged hiss so loud that it hurts her ears, even from so far away.

Soon, one of the big ones races over to join in. It rises out of the ground to tower over the wreckage. The comm dish atop the ship sparks to life as it rears back. Her comm picks up a single moment of a strangled signal before the big maws belches out a torrent of acid. It only takes seconds for the ship to melt like ice in a furnace.

Su watches it for a while, unsure if the brave psycho was successful or not. Eventually, she climbs back down to the others. They all look at her hopefully, so she sighs and whispers, "He made it to the ship. I saw the comm dish light up." A ripple of hope spreads through the survivors. She doesn't have the heart to tell them that it might not have worked. Instead, she says, "Help is coming…"

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2177_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Miranda**

She's sifting through reports from other assignments when Jane walks into the living room, stripped to the waste with a towel draped across her shoulders. The redhead is unnaturally pale, thanks to years inside her suit. Her scars are so numerous that, if someone were so inclined, they could the story of her life just by going over the events of each section of repaired flesh.

Beyond the scars, Jane's body is sculpted to a degree that a classical artist would call it perfect. Iron muscle ripples just below the surface without a trace of fat or superfluous tissue. Every movement carries the potential for extreme violence, held in check by nothing more than self control. That control had been found wanting the night before and Jane was still suffering the after effects.

She walks over and slumps down on the couch next to Miranda, screwing her eyes shut with a groan. "I feel like there's a blender spinning full speed in my skull." Jane her temples. "Got any tips for a hangover?"

Miranda raises a brow and frowns. "Avoid chugging fatal levels of alcohol? A less potent drink perhaps? Maybe stay in and take a nap instead or read a book."

Jane manages half a chuckle before moaning in pain. "Holy shit… You might be onto something." She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. After a long silence, she quietly says. "Miri… I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

Jane sighs. "The records I found never said anything about him being my…" She shudders, cursing venomously under her breath. "You know. I went over the files I found in his hidden vault a thousand times, and there wasn't a single hint about it. Did… did he know?"

"The files in the hidden archive were extremely thorough. Everything was documented, including the parental lineage of every subject." Remembering the other details recorded in those files, Miranda has to look away, sick to her stomach.

Jane stays silent for a long time. Her eyes are forward, never blinking. While she thinks, Spits nuzzles against her hand and plops down for a nap in front of her. When she eventually starts talking again, her voice is leaden with pain. "I always thought that, somewhere out there, I had a father. There were nights when I was a little girl, huddled up in some hole on Omega, that I'd dream of finding him some day. I had all these ideas about what I'd say or do when I finally found him. I'd stroll up to him, tell him who I was, and then I'd have a dad."

She shakes her head. "I told Hanna about it once." Jane chuckles ruefully. "I even asked her that if I found him, would she marry him so we could be one big family. She said that she'd think about it.

"I was almost twenty before I stopped believing that I'd ever know him. Thought to myself that it is was a stupid dream, something for a little girl to lie about to make herself feel better. And now?" She pushes of the couch, ignoring the pain from her hangover. "Now I find out that I always knew him. I knew him and he knew me. That bastard… lousy, evil… piece of-"

Jane eyes go black for a second. The room shakes and Miranda can feel the surge in biotic power. It flows over her, briefly taking her breath away. Simply being around Jane in this state was an experience in and of itself. There was always a sense of power lurking just below the surface, of something just begging to be unleashed. The sensation could be intoxicating for someone that was unprepared for it, especially in people that were biotically sensitive. Asari were especially vulnerable. Miranda often wondered how Lia was able to control herself around Jane.

As quickly as it began, the building storm is dies with a sigh. "He knew I was his... " She shudders in disgust. "He knew, and he still let all of it happen. That bastard still looked down at me during every procedure, every surgery or implantation, everything, and he _smiled_ as he explained what was happening. Before all the others died, I was his favorite. It took me a while to realise why. It wasn't because I was supposed to be a success. And me being his…" Jane gnashes her teeth, unable to say it. "That didn't mean a damn thing to that rancid piss stain. The only reason he ever gave a damn, the only thing he ever cared about, is that I was a survivor."

She sighs heavily. "The closest thing to a father I've ever known is Mirdan. He's always been there for me when I was in trouble, even if it put him in danger. He's never demanded anything in return for his help. He's never demanded anything at all." Jane looks at Miranda with a bitter smirk. "That's kinda messed up right? The closest thing to a dad for me is a salarian doctor that found me bleeding to death in an alley."

Miranda puts a hand to her chin and feigns a moment's contemplation. "I suppose some might find it odd. Though, truth be told, that might be the least unusual thing about you." She holds out her hand and starts raising her fingers to count her list off.

"One, you have a varren for a best friend." Spits briefly looks up and chuffs happily as Miranda rubs his back with her foot. "Two, you have two pet rachni and a keeper scurrying about your ship. Three, the crew of that ship is something of a hodgepodge of the entire galaxy. Four, you're leading a personal crusade against the Red Wake because the powers that be didn't have the stones to do it. Five, you own a dreadnought shaped like a giant sword." She's about to carry on with her other hand, but Jane smiles and nods.

"Okay, okay. Maybe it's not that weird." Jane stands up to finish pulling her suit back on. Any alcohol that she spilled on it last night has been cleared away. "There's something I need you to do for me."

Miranda says, "What's that?"

"I need names." Jane walks to the apartment's balcony. By the time Miranda joins her, she has her arms crossed as she glares out over the presidium. "I killed all but one person in the lab when I escaped, but there were plenty others that were in the first few labs that transferred away over time. I want them. All of them." She turns towards Miranda with a look of cold blooded murder. "I want their names. Where they are. What they're doing. I want all of it Miri."

Holding her eye proves impossible and Miranda turns away towards the presidium. "That won't be easy. Many of those involved in Project Delta took new names and did everything they could to vanish. We might not be able to find them."

"You can." Jane's voice is full of ironclad confidence. "I know you can. Please Miri. I owe it to the others. They deserve justice, for everything that was done to us..."

Miranda spares a single glance to the numbers engraved on Jane's artificial fingers. She silently reads them to herself. 003, 190, 486, 250, and 027. Aside from the Illusive Man, Jane, and possibly Hanna, Miranda is the only person in the galaxy that knows exactly what they mean.

She thinks back to the time she spent with her mind linked to Jane, the impossibly vast sea of memory and emotion that nearly drowned her. Those numbers were there, leviathan's of pain and guilt that threatened to suffocate everything Jane was.

"I'll do what I can." She says in a whisper so quiet that no one but Jane would ever hear it.

 _Date_ _: 4.11.2177_

 _Location : Akuze_

 **Su**

"Come on Bobby. You gotta move." He's too heavy for her to carry alone. Bobby is draped over her shoulder, clinging to life after having his arm torn off by the last of the little maws. It attacked almost an hour ago, came bursting out of the ground like the big one that hit the ship. She was too slow to get out of the way and would have died, if Bobby hadn't shoved her out of the way. He saved her, but at the cost of leaving himself open.

The little monster clamped down on his arm and puked up a ball of acid. Su can still hear Bobby's scream echoing around in her skull. She managed to get in close enough to jam the barrel of her shotgun under one of it's plates just as it started trying to pull its prize away to eat. The pointblank carnage shell blasted halfway through its body, killing it in an instant. The corpse spasmed wildly, ripping off what was left of Bobby's arm. While it was still twitching, Su poured every drop of medigel she had left on the ragged stump before helping him hobble into a new hab unit. He passed out after they got back into cover.

She doesn't know where any of the others are or if any of them are still alive. Michael ordered everybody to split into pairs after the lieutenant made his run for the ship, hoping that fewer people making noise in one place would make it harder for the maws to find them. It seems to be working… kinda. The big ones have mostly just been circling the colony, waiting for a big noise to pounce on, but the little ones were more sensitive. Su had made the mistake of taking off one of her boots to try and dress a cut where a spar of metal had sliced into her foot. She'd accidentally dropped it on the ground. It landed with a loud clang. And now, Bobby might be dying because she couldn't handle a tiny cut.

Su feels the ground beginning to tremble. A surge of sheer panic floods through her as one of the larger dust plumes meanders towards their hiding spot, picking up speed with every second. Several ruined habs are finally thrown to the ground as it moves in their direction. It knows where they are. It doesn't matter that they were being quiet. Somehow, it knows.

Su frantically struggles to carry Bobby, knowing that she isn't strong enough to do it alone. "Come on Bobby. We gotta go. Help me out here. One foot in front of the other." She manages a couple steps, but Bobby is almost completely still, barely even mumbling.

The sound of another building collapsing fills her with terror and she starts screaming. "Bobby! Bobby you gotta move! Bobby please move!"

Then she feels something pulling on Bobby. For a split second, Su's heart shatters. _The maw is taking him away! No! NO!_ Then, she hears it. "Come on Su! I got this arm!"

She looks over and sees Michael hefting his own share of Bobby's weight. With tears streaming down her cheeks from the horrible thought of losing Bobby, Su matches Michael's pace. Together they manage to manhandle the unconscious giant out of the hab just before the maw slams into it from below. The creature rears into the air, gnawing on the prefab before hurling it away with a frustrated roar. They're already in cover by the time it pulls back under ground.

Eventually, it heads back to the colony edge. Su curls up next to Bobby, adrenaline fueled terror making her shake like she did after kicking her sand habit. Michael gently looks them both over, doing what he can to help. He inject's Bobby with the last of his own medigel and carefully wraps Su's uncovered foot with a bandage from his first aid kit.

While he does that, she manages to whisper. "What are you doing here Mikey? I thought we were supposed to stay in pairs. Not attract attention. What about the others?"

Michael finishes the wrap and shakes his head. His shoulders slump down, like the weight of the world was bearing down on him. "Su… we're all that's left."

She stares at him in horror as the ground begins to shake again.

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2177_

 _Location : Citadel_

 **Miranda**

She's just beginning her search for the names Jane wants when the Illusive Man makes contact again. "Miss Lawson, are you alone?"

"Yes sir. Jane's finished cleaning herself up and is busy getting her gear back in order. We can talk privately."

"Good, because we have something. An alliance unit has sent a distress call from one of the younger colonies and Shepard has a personal stake in assisting them. See to it that she is made aware of it as soon as possible. Sending the information now."

Miranda receives a data dump over the line. "Akuze? We have a research facility there don't we?"

"Indeed we do. Maw research." Her gut twists in apprehension as she considers the possibilities. "The signal has reached the alliance, but some kind of communications snafu has delayed the mustering of a rescue team. It'll be days before anyone is sent and the unit under attack doesn't have long. Shepard has a good chance of getting there in time to save at least a few of them. The key thing is to make sure she knows the alliance unit is from the 186th orbital assault group. It's absolutely imperative that she knows that."

Confused, Miranda raises a brow. "Sir?"

"Trust me. Get to work Miss Lawson. If this pans out well, we'll have built up some serious goodwill with Shepard. Move fast. Those marines don't have long." With that, the line closes.

She's racking her brain, trying to recall if the 186th means anything to her, when Jane walks back into the room. She's in full armor again, though the Tabard she had on last nights was so drenched in alcohol, it's likely a lost cause. Instead, she has on one that Miranda had given her as a birthday present. "Where'd you get this Miri? This is good enough to be one of Vollo's."

The new Tabard is dark violet silk with narrow strands of silver woven into little pinpricks of starlight scattered in constellation patterns matching what people could see from Mindoir. They actually twinkle everytime Jane shifts under the light.

"That's because it is one of his. Your Hanar friend opened up a high fashion shop on the presidium last month. When I told him I wanted to buy a present for you, he got all excited and said he already had this one ready to go. Apparently, he wants to launch an entire line of clothing based on the stuff he's made for you."

Jane smiles broadly and thanks her. She turns away to grab her blades from the counter, sliding them onto her back with a contented sigh. "Ahh, that's better. Nothing quite like being armed to the teeth to make a girl feel all warm and fuzzy."

Miranda clears her throat. "I'm sorry to puncture the mood Jane, but I've just received some information that you might be interested in."

The redhead's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Already? Damn Miri. I knew you were good but-"

"It's not about that." Jane's shoulders slump a little, but Miranda is already moving forward. "My superior just passed word to me that the Alliance recently received a distress call from an unit on Akuze. They're under attack and require immediate assistance."

Jane frowns. "Um, as much as that sucks, if the Alliance already has the transmission, then why tell me? They'll have a rescue team on the way soon, if it's not already en route."

"There was some kind of mistake in the comm procedures. The relief force won't launch for another day or two and the 186th needs help immediately."

"What?!" Jane goes from calm to pure panic in an instant. "The 186th? The 186th Orbital assault group?! You're sure?"

"Yes. All the comm codes match with those assigned to the 186th."

Jane runs a hand through her hair. "Shit. Shit!" She puts a hand to her ear and calls her crew. "Shepard to all hands, get back to the ship on the double. We've got an emergency. Drop what you're doing and get back now!" Her crew quickly acknowledges. She walks over to Miranda and takes her in a quick hug. "Thank you Miri. For telling me the truth and for passing the information on the 186th. I'm really sorry but-"

"Go. They need you." Miranda smiles and slaps her on the shoulder to get her going. Jane turns away and sprints out the door.

 _Date_ _: 4.12.2177_

 _Location : Cronos Station_

 **T.I.M.**

He watches through the cameras as Shepard bolts from Ms. Lawson's apartment. On the other screens mounted around his chair, her crew can be seen making their excuses to escape from whatever they were doing. The quarian triplets draw some suspicious glances as they sprint through the markets. The doctor and her hanar protege redirect the rapid transit vehicle they were in and are the first to arrive at the Pale Horse. Shepard's batarian crewman meets her on the dock, along with her gunship pilot. The young man is untangling himself from the embrace of an older woman that has the same color hair as him. The asari comes alongside just as they all proceed into the ship.

The last one to arrive on the dock is the volus, waddling as quickly as his hardsuit will allow, frantically calling for them to wait for him. Shepard sees him, reaches out with her biotics, and pulls him in as the airlock closes.

With her crew assembled, Shepard doesn't waste any time. The Pale Horse makes a high speed beeline for the relay. Her geth hybrid forges high clearance data tags to let them bypass layer upon layer of security and the ship is moving through the relay in a tenth the time it would normally take.

As the Pale Horse vanishes from sight, he allows himself a slight smirk, knowing that this will be the first major step in building a since of trust with Shepard. She might even be willing to help them out with a few operations every now and then.

Before he turns his attention to the myriad of other issues that require his attention, the file containing the 186th's distress call comes to mind. With a flick of his wrist, he ends the interdiction order on it, allowing the call to finally reach the Alliance. In time, documents will be forged to make sure the desired version of events is the one that's remembered.

He takes another drag from his cigarette and carries on with his day.


	80. Chapter 80

**Chapter 80 - Never the Same**

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2177_

 _Location : Pale Horse - Approaching Akuze_

 **Jane**

 _Her fingers are aching from how tightly she's gripping the chair. "Time?"_

 _Kalia glances at her panel. "Twenty minutes at present speed."_

" _Push the engines to 20_ _%_ _beyond the safe-line." They all look at her, apprehensive over the dangers of going so fast. Even if they arrive in time, the Pale Horse will suffer damage from the brutal pace she's set._

 _Her pilot hesitates for several seconds before nodding. "Yes ma'am. Pushing to 120_ _%_ _." She enters her override codes and pushes the engines past the maximum safe settings. Immediately, the entire ship begins to tremble, causing dozens of stress alerts to pop up on every panel in sight. Each of the them does their best to handle to situation without causing any delay._

 _Even with her pushing the ship to the limit of its capabilities and an unbroken chain of relays between the Citadel and Akuze, it's taken almost a full 24 hours to arrive in system. "Anything from the ground?" They can all hear the tension in Jane's voice. She's wound tighter than any point during the War of the Wake. There's no telling what she'll do if they arrive too late._

 _Kal checks every frequency they can pick up. "Nothing Captain. Just background radiation."_

 _Jane finally loosens her grip on the chair with a growl. "Replay the 186th's distress call." She's already listened to it dozens times, memorized every instant of it. The entire message was just ten seconds of a young man desperately shouting into a comm line._

 _As it plays again, Jane grinds her teeth. "This is Lieutenant Freeman Daks of the 186th orbital assault group! We are under attack from a clutch of thresher maws! Our ship has been destroyed! Extreme casualties! Need immediate evac! Repeat! Need immediate-" The message is cut off by the sound of shearing metal and the earth shaking roar of something monstrous._

 _They sit in silence as Jane wrestles with the shadow's desperate need to lash out. "Gavin, get Blue ready for a combat drop. Kalia, Increase to 130_ _%_ _on the engines. When we get there, hold the ship over the main settlement. Pan... play it again."_

 _Date_ _: 4.13.2177_

 _Location : Akuze_

 **Su**

She's in hell. That's the only explanation she can think of for why all this is happening. The shuttle crashed or blew up on the way down or she's had a heart attack or something else. It doesn't matter how it happened, but it has to be the case. She's dead, this dustball is hell, and the maws are demons that come screaming out of the ground to eat everyone she cares about. She might not have liked everybody in her unit, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't have taken a bullet for them or get wasted with them or help them get rid of a body.

Bobby has woken up a couple times when they were moving him. It was never more than a few seconds and the only thing he'd say didn't make any sense, even to her. "I promised… I promised… I promised…"

Su doesn't know what promise he was talking about and she doesn't have time to figure it out. The big maws are tired of waiting. Rather than holding out for some obvious target, they've started emerging from the ground to swipe with their talons. If they hit something, they eat it. Most of the colony has been devoured or melted by acid and almost all their cover is gone.

The three of them stumble into the last hab unit still standing and collapse from exhaustion. Having been awake for days at this point, Su is starting to see things that aren't there, friends that she knows are dead coming back to beg her to sleep, to give up, to just lay down and let herself be eaten. She hears whispers from voices that died a long time ago.

There was even a moment when her long dead father came to her. As Akuze's twin moons reached their highest point, he'd come walking out of the darkness, arms held out to pick his little girl up in a bear hug, like he did anytime he got back from a job with some money. He looked exactly like the day he died. Hair shaved into a mohawk, a huge mustache with a stogie sticking out from behind the whiskers, torn fatigues and combat boots stolen from an army barracks, the knife Su kept with her strapped to his heavily tattooed forearm, and the second smile cut into his throat. He died when she was 7.

She hadn't been able to stop the scream as he reached out like he did that day. With blood pouring out of his throat, the apparition wrapped its arms around her, drenching her in viscera. It wasn't until Michael slapped her across the face that it all vanished, leaving her coated in nothing more than days of caked on grime. Hauling Bobby together, they frantically scrambled away as that hiding spot was demolished.

Now, there's nowhere left to go. With the big maws emerging from the ground again to feel around for prey, it's only a matter of time if one of them finds their hiding spot. There's one nearby, slowly dragging its huge talons towards their cover.

Michael slowly gets to his feet and pulls his rifle from his back. "Su…" She looks up and sees nothing but grim determination.

"I'm gonna try and lure them away. The big ones aren't as quick on their turns as the small ones, so I'll try to get by and climb that big pile over there." He points to a mound of rubble where several spars of metal and plasteel have collapsed into a haphazard tower. "I'll find a way to get their attention. Once they're after me, don't move or make a sound. Don't even breathe too loud. Wait till help gets here to do anything."

She can't even summon the strength to speak. She barely manages a strangled cry as he takes position by the door. He turns back and gives her a pained smile. "Bye Su." Then he was gone, leaving her to pull Bobby close and pray for the nightmare to end.

 **Michael**

His heart is pounding. Sweat is pouring from his forehead, cutting trails through the grime on his cheeks and stinging his eyes. One of the big maws is swiping at a pile of debris as he gets close. It slashes at the junk heap, scattering scrap for a dozen yards in a wide arc. To get its attention, he stops for a moment, takes aim at one of its eye stalks, and fires three shots. Two miss, but the third clips base of the stalk.

As the massive head swings in his direction, Michael is pinned in place in a moment of absolute terror. The creature splays it mouth wide, hissing in fury. Just inside, Michael can see layers of pulsating muscle, lined with a viscous slime. Faster than thought, it swipes a talon in his direction, slamming into the ground within inches of cutting Michael in two. The impact knocks him from his feet. When his back hits the ground, it shakes him out of his stupor. He scrambles to get off the ground and starts a dead sprint towards the junk tower. The maw tries to twist and follow, only to overshoot, leaving it to burrow back into the ground to bank around for another attack.

Every second of the run, he feels the ground shaking as the maw tries to pin down his location. The sounds of his steps, frantic as they are, aren't loud enough for the massive creature to zero in on, but that doesn't mean it's just sitting back. The creature emerges from the ground time after time, trying to to find the little morsel running through its feeding ground. By the third failed attack, Michael is at the tower.

He skids to a halt as the maw bursts from the ground nearby, missing his new bastion by less than a meter. It feels around for him, stabbing into a pile of rubble close by. Finding nothing edible, it returns to the dirt. Silently praying that this will keep Su and Bobby safe, he begins the climb.

Despite appearing solid from a distance, the tower is just a pile of debris in a useful shape. It shifts every time he pulls himself higher. There's a moment, halfway to the top, when his handhold suddenly gives way. The length of rebar seemed solid when he reached for it, right until the tower gave a tortured groan. Something shifted inside the wreckage, dislodging the junk in his hand. Michael hisses in pain as he's forced to hold all his weight by one hand, while two tons of ruined hab went tumbling to the hard-packed ground with an almighty thud. The tower shifts ominously, but remains relatively upright.

Pushing through the searing pain in his shoulder, he gets back to climbing. The ground is already shaking again, driving him up the tower faster and faster. He reaches the top just as one of the maws emerges from the ground to devour the debris that just fell. It rears up almost twenty meters, chomping on the mass of steel, concrete, and plastics, only to regurgitate it with an infuriated roar. The creature feels around with its talons, brushing against the tower hard enough to shake the entire structure.

Bracing himself for the worst, Michael drags his rifle out for a final time, lines up a shot at an eye, and pulls the trigger. It's the best shot he's ever made, sailing into the top of the giant worm's eye stalk and bursting the tip in an oh so satisfying shower of glowing blue slime. The beast reels away, shrieking so loud that the implants in Michael's ears nearly short out. The left squeals loudly, while the right simply shuts down to avoid doing even more damage to his hearing. The pain is so intense that he loses his grip on the rifle as he drops to one knee. It tumbles to the floor before sliding off the edge and falling to the ground below. By the time he gathers his wits, the maw has swung back towards the tower. It belches out a flood of sludge, splashing half the tower in ultra powerful acid.

His refuge begins to crumble away, bit by bit. It shifts dangerously to the side, almost pitching him over the edge. He grabs hold of a spur of metal, barely maintaining his footing. Then he looks back to the maw and sees its remaining eye staring right at him. There's a moment, just a few seconds, when he could swear he felt something coming from it. It was a feeling of mindless, bestial rage, completely unbound by thought or even animal instinct. Whether the feeling was something real or just his panic addled mind grasping for straws, he'd never know.

It rears back, ready to make a grab for him. Before it can launch itself forward, something slams into its side in a flash of fire and shrapnel. The maw shrieks in pain, trying to pull away from the sudden attack. It retreats back into the ground and Michael follows the contrail of a missile back to the gunship screaming towards the colony. Just behind it, a ship is hovering into position, several hundred meters directly over the colony. His comm bursts to life and he scrambles to acknowledge.

"This is...ssshzzz… -rse. Respon-... stress call! Can anyone...shhzzz?!"

He smacks his helmet repeatedly, shouting to be heard despite the damage to his comm. "Yes! Yes we hear you! This is Corporal Michael Toombs of the 186th!"

The comm hisses and squeals, obscuring almost all of the response. "... can't get a lock… -urvivors! Send way point for pick-"

The tower slowly begins to collapse, tilting past the point of no return. With no way to stop it, Michael devotes his last few seconds to frantically transmitting a way point to the incoming ship. Su and Bobby's hiding spot lights up on his HUD just before an ear splitting crack sounds from the base of the tower. What little strength it had left is gone.

He sees the gunship bank and make a hard burn towards his team's location. Closing his eyes and breathing a sigh of relief, Michael doesn't watch as the ground rushes up to meet him.

 **Jane**

" _Bring us down as close as you can!" Jane shouts into the comm. Gavin nods and sets Blue down just outside the piles of junk about thirty meters from the way point they just received. Any closer and the jagged debris would be stabbing into Blue's underbelly. Before the gunship even hits the ground, her and the team are already jumping out._

 _Kal has his omnitool linked to the sensors on the Pale Horse, giving him plenty of warning about the local wildlife. "Got a huge signature closing fast!"_

 _The words are barely out his mouth before the first maw bursts from the ground, hissing and stabbing its talons towards the gunship. Its attack stops dead against a golden barrier, slamming into the dome of energy with the power of an RPG shot. Jane is actually forced to a knee to brace against the impact. The creature pulls back slightly, only to slash again. This time, the talon flashes across the full width of the barrier, drawing a snarl of effort from Jane. "Get to the hab! Help the survivors!" She has to focus her every thought to maintaining the barrier as the maw goes wild, slashing its talons with near insane fury._

 _While she holds back the monster, Lia, Kal, and Kaidan sprint into the half collapsed hab unit. They emerge moments later with what's left of the 186th. Jane would sigh in relief at the sight of Su and Bobby if the maw hadn't taken that moment to push itself even further out of the ground, aiming right at her, and slamming down on top of the barrier mouth first. The ground buckles around the circumference of the dome, throwing everyone off their feet apart from Jane._

 _She feels something start to leak from her nose as blood vessels begin to burst from the strain of holding back fifty tonnes of pissed off murder worm. "Get them to Blue! Now!" The others struggle to their feat, slowly resuming the run back to Blue. Lia has Su draped over her shoulder, while Kal and Kaidan manhandle Bobby's limp body. The giant marine is pale as a ghost, but there's no time to worry about that right now. Her friends carry them towards Blue while she pours everything into holding off the psychotic barrage from the maw._

 _Its attack has become so frenzied that it's actually hurting itself. Pieces of chitin are breaking off with every impact and a talon snaps in half as it stabs into the barrier. Before it can break through, a lance of eye searingly bright energy from the Pale Horse's GARDIAN system slams into the ground behind it. The maw tries to rear away from the pain. It lays down atop her barrier, pausing in its attack just long enough for Jane to lash out. She reshapes her barrier to wrap the creature in tendrils of power and pulls the lattice tightly around the maw. Then, she forces the lattice through its chitinous outer layer. The maw shrieks in pain as the biotic energy crushes its internal organs._

 _She uses a biotic pulse to push away the corpse as it twitches in death spasms, ignoring the oozing streams of steaming gore seeping from the new gaps in its natural armor. The carcass thuds to the ground to her left, slowly growing still as the last rogue signals terminate in its nervous system. Jane takes a ragged breath and wipes away the blood from under her nose. She turns to trot after her friends, but stops at the sight of another plume of dust surging towards the gunship from the opposite direction._

 _No time to think it through, Jane sprints past her team, gathering power as she goes. Leaping atop the gunship, she throws a cascade of energy into the ground in front of the approaching maw. The impact blasts a crater into the dirt, just in time for the creature to burst through an edge that wasn't there before. Such a sudden shift in its environment disorients the maw, stopping its charge as it tries to reorient itself._

 _The side cannons on Blue open up on the monster. The shots chip away at the thick chitin surrounding the maw, but fail to penetrate the soft tissue beneath, despite the pinpoint targeting from Pandora. She shouts over the comm, "Hurry up guys! The scanners have another contact approaching from the south!"_

 _Jane throws up another barrier dome, just in time to intercept a third maw surging from the ground. This one seems to be a bit smarter than the others, staying back and eyeing the amber sphere keeping it away from the food. She sees a ripple spread up from below the maw's head as it rears back. Then it pukes up a ball of reeking green acid. The stench is worse than a week old corpse, slowly rotting in a pool of stagnant water. Even worse, it splatters over half her dome. Contact with the barrier starts to boil it away, but it's another source of stress to fight off as the new maw begins to smash its talons against the barrier in an almost metronomic rhythm._

 _The other maw coils around before forcing itself off the ground to slam its head down onto the dome. Again, everyone is thrown off their feet. Jane loses her footing, tumbling down from the gunship. Her focus is tenuous at this point, the pain of holding the barrier stretching her to the limit._

 _Both maws rear up at the same time and slam back down, stabbing their talons down with the force of a quartet of artillery shells. It's too much. She can feel blood vessels tearing open from the insane spike in her blood pressure. Screaming in pain, Jane loses focus long enough for large portions of the dome to fade away, leaving what's left of the acid pooled on top to fall towards her friends._

 **Su**

She was a little dazed during the first fall. Pain from the second snapped her back to full awareness. She's tangled up with an asari and Bobby is lying on the ground nearby as a quarian and another marine try to get back to her feet. His eyes are open, looking her way with some small measure of recognition. He even starts to move on his own for the first time in hours, slowly dragging himself towards her, though she can't tell if he has any clue what's happening.

There's a bubble of gold hovering above them, holding back two of the monsters that slaughtered their entire unit. Both of them are wildly attacking the dome, each impact drawing a snarl of effort from a few meters behind her. Tilting her head far enough to see, Su spots Jane on top of a gunship. Streamers of golden energy trail from her hands towards the dome.

The maw shadows shift above them, drawing her eye back to the threat at hand. They slam onto the top of the barrier. She hears a scream of pain from Jane as the dome breaks in patches. Green acid starts to rain down, landing all around them. The last bits of the barrier above quickly start fading away as Su spots the acid resting on top. She's too weak to move out of the way.

Su closes her eyes, certain that she's about to die. Then a shadow falls over her. She opens her eyes and sees Bobby above her, propping himself up with his remaining arm. He smiles sadly at her before some of the acid splashes onto his back. The pain in his eyes is beyond anything she'd ever seen before, but he doesn't scream. He doesn't even stop smiling, despite the tears in his eyes.

There's an explosion of energy from behind them, temporarily blinding Su. By the time her vision comes back, it feels like her legs are being dunked in molten lava, Bobby is collapsed on top of her, while the quarian and the new marine pour something onto his back.

 **Jane**

 _Seeing the acid hit Bobby, Jane loses her grip on the shadow's chains. It surges to the fore, seizing control with obsidian claws of the deepest rage imaginable. Rather than try to defend everyone, it forces her to lash out, leaping towards the closer maw in a biotic charge. She slams into it at the base of its head, unloading a blast of energy on impact. The maw's head is violently knocked back with a gruesome snap. Jane falls to the ground, tucking and rolling when she hits. Then, she turns towards the other one with a feral snarl._

 _As one carcass crumples to the ground, Jane draws both blades, floods them with energy and slashes in its direction in a frenzy. Waves of power slice from her blades, slamming into the maw one after another. Each impact rips of huge slabs of meat and chitin, drawing a gurgling hiss of agony every time._

 _It tries to pull away, desperate to escape the tiny creature carving it to ribbons. She doesn't give it the chance. Jane whirls like a dervish, slashing out waves of destruction with every swing. In seconds, the maw is sliced in two just above the ground. The top part crashes to the down, barely alive. It mewls in terror and pain as she stalks over. With the shadow still in control, she flashes over in a haze of biotics. The creature is rapidly fading away, but that doesn't stop her from slashing into it with both blades. She wildly carves into the body, splattering viscera in every direct._

 _Jane eventually manages to partially reign the shadow in, after it forces her to turn the now dead maw into a steaming puddle of blood and gore. She draws in a shuddering breath before turning back to Blue. The others have managed to drag Su and Bobby into the gunship, but Jane can't focus enough to see if they'll be okay. The best she can manage is to take a seat as Gavin lifts them off the surface._

 _It wasn't until hours later that she was fully herself again. By then, Karin and Vollor had already done everything they could…_

 **Su**

She doesn't know how long she drifts in and out of consciousness. At first, the pain makes it impossible to think about anything. Then, a cool sensation fills her veins and everything goes numb. People quietly talk around her, but everything sounds like a whisper coming from a hundred meters away. None of it makes any sense.

Her dreams are almost too much. The maws come for her time and again, chewing away at her sanity. They try to take Bobby away, but Mikey is always there to lead them away. Once he vanishes, a golden figure comes down from the sky to rip the maws apart. It looks like an angel at first, but whenever she catches a closer glimpse, it changes into a leather winged creature with space-black claws.

After who knows how long, Su opens her eyes and immediately screws them shut to block out the blinding light above. She slowly opens them again, letting her vision adjust. It takes a few minutes for the world to come into focus. As she looks around, Su sees that she's in a medbay, a very familiar one. Jane is standing nearby, talking with an older woman that looks familiar too.

She tries to talk, but almost passes out again from the effort. Once the spots in vision clear up, Su forces herself halfway to a sitting position and tries to look around again. That's when she spots Bobby on the other table… at least what's left of him. Bobby is absolutely covered in tubes, IVs, and several devices for things she can't even begin to guess about. Su tries to push herself up further, only to collapse back to the bed again. This time, she manages to say something. "Fucking hell…"

The chatting nearby goes silent and Jane quickly comes into view. "Su… Thank God. You really had me worried there."

Su tries to push herself up again, but a gentle hand on her shoulder keeps her down. "Stay down Private Esulard. You are in no condition to be straining yourself in any way."

She looks up to see the older woman adjusting one of her IVs. It takes her several seconds to remember the woman. "Hey Doc…"

Doctor Chakwas gives her a tight smile and pats her on the shoulder. "Hello Private. Stay still please and tell me how you feel."

"I… I feel like shit. It's like I'm totally hungover… but I didn't even get to do the fun part first." She tries to shift her legs, but something is wrong. "Hey Doc?" The older woman nods. "Why are my legs numb?"

Jane and the doctor trade a pained look. "Private… it would be best if you got some rest. You were severely injured in the closing moments of the engagement."

Su settles down for the moment, losing herself for a time in the memories of what happened. Michael's face flashes into her head. "Oh shit! What about Mikey?! He ran off to lure the worms away. Did you get him too?"

The doctor clears her throat to speak, but Jane cuts in. "Su, you and Bobby are the only ones we found. By the time we landed, there were no other life signs on the planet besides you two and the maws."

Her head is spinning and her guts are twisting. Micheal, gone? "No… he was… he was just gonna lead them away. He can't be…" She can't say it.

Jane steps closer, trying to reach out to her. "Su… I'm sorry. You and Bobby are the only survivors."

Fighting against tears, Su swats the offered hand away. "Where were you?! We called for help days ago! Why didn't you come sooner?! Why'd you ever leave us in the first place?!" She tries to punch Jane, barely managing a weak slap that doesn't even move her. The redhead doesn't try to stop her from doing it again and again. At some point, someone starts screaming. It takes a while for Su to realize that it's her. "If you'd been there… They'd still be here! If… if…" She tries to hit Jane again, but this time her wrist lands in the violet eyed woman's hand and she pulls Su close, hugging her tightly. In a swell of sorrow and guilt, Su breaks down and weeps into Jane's shoulder, venting days of pain and terror. It takes an hour to finally stop. By then she's too exhausted to even try talking anymore.

After a night of fitful sleep, she wakes up to see Jane sitting on a bench against the far wall, lost in thought until noticing that Su is awake. She pushes of the bench and walks over. Jane quietly says, "Hey." Su closes her eyes and swallows hard, too ashamed of what she'd said the day before to speak. "I've contacted the Alliance and let them know where I'm taking you. It took a bit of 'negotiating' but they've given their blessing to take the two of you to Sur'kesh. Best hospitals in the galaxy."

Su keeps her eyes closed, trying not to cry again. "I'm sorry." This time she opens up and sees Jane with her head bowed. "I'm sorry we didn't get there in time to save the others. If there had been a way…"

With another tear trailing down her cheek, Su struggles to whisper, "It's not your fault." It was the last thing she would say for the next two days. Over that time, Sue just listened to Jane and the doctor as they detailed everything that had happened since leaving Akuze. Most of it was just medical mumbo jumbo that she didn't understand or mindless small talk, though she did begin to notice a pattern. Every time she would mention her legs being numb, both woman would try to steer the conversation away from the subject. Eventually she got tired of it.

She tries to move again, but she can't feel anything below her waist. "Guys, this is freaking me out and I'm tired of waiting. Why can't I feel them? What's wrong with my legs?" Neither of them seems ready to tell her anything so Su pushes up from the bed. There's a blanket pulled up to her chest, but something doesn't look right. There doesn't seem to be anything under it past her waist. She tries to pull it away, only for Jane to gently grab her wrist.

"Su…" The look in her eyes has Su worried.

"Seriously Shep, what the fuck is going on? Why can't I feel my legs? Let me look dammit!" Jane sighs heavily and lets go. Su throws off the blanket, looks down, and almost has a heart attack. "Wha.. I…"

Her legs are pretty much gone. The left ends less than halfway down her thigh and there's even less left of the right. Su just stares at the stumps, working to decide between screaming or passing out again. She settles for a strangled groan. "Oh my God…" She looks up at Jane, trying to ask for an explanation but failing to form the words.

Luckily, Jane seems to understand. "My barrier broke and there was a lot of acid on top of it. Some of it landed on your legs. Karin did everything she could… but there was so much damage that amputation was the only option. I know it doesn't help right now, but I'm already working on prosthetics for you and Bobby, though his condition is a lot more… problematic."

Su looks over again, trying to figure out what Jane was talking about. Bobby is caked in bandages, tubes, and machines from head to toe. Everything below his waist is completely encased in a complicated device covered in readouts, each one showing numbers and figures that don't make any sense to her. She screws her eyes shut, trying to remember what happened. It comes to her in bits and pieces. "He… He got on top of me when the dome broke. The acid was falling down around us… it hit my legs but… but… Oh God… He caught most of it." Remembering that, Su completely forgets about her own injuries.

Jane nods. "Yeah. My team started pouring acid neutralizers on as fast as they could, but the damage had already been done. He'll need extreme cybernetic surgery, just to survive, let alone regain some semblance of functionality." She looks down at the floor and whispers, "If he even wants to survive."

"What the hell does that mean?"

The redhead shakes her head with a sigh. "Su… I've done some research. There is no record of anyone in galactic history recovering from such extensive injuries. If, and I do mean if, Bobby survives, he's never going to be the same. The kind of reconstruction that he'll need will change him, and not just physically. I… I don't know if he would want that."

Su tries to argue that he would, to shout ' _hell yes he would!_ ', but she stops short. Truth be told, even she'd hesitate in his position. "Then what do we do?"

Jane rubs her chin before walking over to Bobby. "I try to find out what he'd want. Karin, can he survive contact."

The doctor grimaces. "Mental contact with you is stressful for even a healthy individual. Miss Lawson likely wouldn't admit it, but I saw her vital readings after the episode she assisted you with. It put considerable strain on her nervous system, almost to the point of causing damage. I'm not sure if Bobby here would survive, given his critical condition."

Su doesn't understand what they're talking about. "Wait, you can talk to Bobby? Even when he's out?"

"Sort of." Jane crosses her arms. "It's not really talking, per se… It's-"

Su cuts in, "Complicated?" Jane nods. "Shit Shep… is it ever not complicated with you?"

Her friend smile ruefully. "God I wish it was. Yeah, I can contact him, but in his condition, it might kill him."

"But… but he's gonna die anyway without all the work you talked about right? So what other choice does he have?"

Jane shakes her head and puts a hand on Bobby's exposed cheek. "None. Be ready Karin, just in case."

The shadows in the room seem to grow longer, the temperature drops, and Su could swear that she was hearing voices, hundreds of them, all overlapping in a confusing babble. Some are whispering. Some shouting. Others are screaming bloody murder, while more still are begging for attention. Through it all, there are two that manage to cut through the cacophony. Bobby's and an old woman they both had to leave behind almost a decade ago. She can't understand what they're saying, no matter how hard she tries.

 **Jane**

 _She's slowly pacing around the dais, keeping pace with one of the two lights lazily spinning overhead. At the center of the flattened area, Jane sees Bobby as he normally is, towering height and hulking muscle. There's no trace of his injuries, though that has more to do with her own mental image of him than reality. He's quietly talking to an older woman with the same tawny skin as him._

 _The old woman is tiny by comparison, even shorter than Su, but she talks to Bobby like he's just a little boy. "Have you been keeping your promise?"_

 _The giant smiles, showing off a surprisingly bright set of teeth. "Yes Nana. Suzy is safe."_

 _The woman called Nana nods at pats Bobby on the arm. "Good. Good boy. Always knew you'd be the one to keep her out of trouble." The two of them turn to regard Jane. "I see that you've made a new friend. She's got a question I think." Jane nods and approaches. Focusing in on 'Nana', Jane finds that it's a fragment of memory pulled straight from Bobby, something that he is desperately clinging to on the cusp of death. "Well young lady, ask what you need to ask."_

 _Jane ignores the apparition and focuses on Bobby. "You're hurt… badly. I think you can be saved, but-"_

" _But it might do something bad to me, right?" She's surprised. Despite knowing him for years, Jane's never heard Bobby talk so much._

" _Yeah. Your injuries are worse than anyone I've ever known. At least, anyone that's survived. The kind of work needed to save your life will change you. It might even affect your mind in ways that we can't predict." Bobby nods along, looking down at the ground. "I contacted you like this because I need to know something." She steps over from the edge of the dais, stopping directly in front of him. 'Nana' fades to an almost imperceptible shadow, while Bobby's extreme injuries begin to appear._

 _His legs are gone. One of his arms is gone. His torso is a ravaged bundle of meat and tubes, barely held together by what little flesh could be salvaged. Even the intact portions of his body are heavily damaged, so much so that his continued survival is as much a matter of luck as it is Karin's skill as a doctor. He looks down, momentarily mortified over the hideous sight. "Is that… Is that what really happened to me?"_

" _Yeah. You got splashed with maw acid saving Su." He looks up suddenly in panic, but Jane holds up a hand. "She's alive. Injured, but alive. She'll be getting treatment at the same hospital that handled this." Jane gestures to her artificial arm. "What I need to know though, is are you willing to risk the changes needed to save your life? Or do you want us to let go? You've already given more than anyone had any right to ask, so the choice is yours. I wouldn't blame you for choosing to rest. God knows you've earned it."_

 _Bobby looks from her, to his ruined body, to shade of 'Nana', and back again. For a moment, his form fades, becoming almost completely intangible. Then, a slender arm snakes out from the shade and a frail old voice whispers, "You made a promise…" With that, he solidifies._

 _His face set, Bobby declares, "I'll do whatever it takes. I made a promise."_

 _Jane nods and breaks the connection. The medbay comes back into focus. Karin and Su are both watching, with the smaller woman looking utterly baffled. "What the hell just happened? Why was I hearing voices?"_

" _Well, uh, it's-"_

 _Su angrily shakes her head. "Don't you fuckin say it!"_

 _With a chuckle, Jane waves her off. "I was getting an answer. We try to save him. He's got a promise to keep."_

 _In the end, the most difficult part of it all, at least from Jane's end, was tracking down the doctor that handled the surgery for her arm's connection point. Dr. Niin had achieved quite a bit since helping with what amounted to relatively minor surgery compared to some of his work. It took a lot of negotiation, not to mention a massive credit offer, but when she finally got into contact with him, Niin leapt at the chance to help. He would meet them on Sur'kesh, along with another old friend._

 _Mirdan was waiting for them on the pad. Physically, the elderly salarian was a shadow of his former self. At forty-four years old, he'd already set a new galactic record for the oldest salarian in history, and the years had not been kind. His eyes had long ago been replaced by cybernetics which click and whir whenever he looked at someone. His left arm constantly shakes and both his horns have shriveled considerably. Despite all that, even though he couldn't walk anymore, now relying on a hovering chair to get around, Mirdan was still working diligently to find a way to help Hanna. Of course, he had a great deal more assistance than he used to. An entire team of doctors and specialists was at his beck and call. There was even a full wing of the hospital dedicated to his research, with dozens of patients benefiting from the progress they'd made._

 _He would help them get the ball rolling for Su and Bobby, using his massive reservoir of political influence, and the reverence of the local staff, to speed them along into the earliest phases of treatment. With severe nerve damage to what was left of her legs, Su had at least a year of work ahead of her before she was ready for prosthetics, not to mention extensive counselling to come to terms with losing so much. Bobby, on the other hand, was projected to spend then next five in the most intensive cybernetic reconstruction project in galactic history. Doctor Niin was practically salivating over the challenge ahead._

 _Jane stayed with them as long as she could, but the war couldn't wait forever. After sharing another biotic song with Hanna and saying her goodbye's, she left Sur'kesh behind, bound for months of attrition warfare to grind down what was left of the Red Wake's assets outside of their primary stronghold._

 _All the while, Mirdan continued his dogged pursuit of a solution for Hannah, closely assisted by his most trusted colleague, Dr. Laito. As he approached his forty fifth year, the ancient salarian had the answer, at least in theory._


	81. Chapter 81

**Chapter 81 - Gathering**

 _Date_ _: 3.2.2178_

 _Location : Undocumented System - Edge of Alliance Space_

 **Anderson**

His flotilla emerges from FTL at the edge of the system and they're immediately accosted by a flurry of hails demanding their identity and authorization. Long used to the Coalition's innate distrust, Captain Anderson waves for his comm officer to make all the necessary transmissions. After a few tense minutes, they receive a decidedly more friendly response, instructing them to take up station at the heart of the 60 ship flotilla, next to what looks like a massive brick in space.

As they close in, he can see that the brick is actually a mobile docking facility. It has half a dozen ships of at least cruiser tonnage drifting nearby, connected to its bulk by several sets of deployable scaffold, their hulls swarming with repair drones and specialized personal diligently inspecting and patching up anything the drones couldn't be trusted with. There are also multiple bays built into it that have smaller vessels docked inside.

Once their ship pulls alongside the massive repair tender, Anderson sees the name stamped onto the flank in letters over 30 meters tall. "Malagen…" The name sounds familiar, but he can't put his finger on why. It was something Jane once said to him. Whoever it was, they must have been important. Not many people get their name emblazoned on a ship the size of a dreadnought.

Before he can conjure up the memory, the comm officer gets his attention. "Sir, we're receiving coordinates for the meeting." The officer sends the details to Anderson's omnitool. After confirming everything, he boards a shuttle bound for the Malagen. Curiously, the behemoth Typhon is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he spots the flagship for the other half of the Alliance leadership and frowns. Admiral Rheinhardt had beaten him here. Hopefully he and Shepard were avoiding each other like usual.

The massive repair vessel is swarming with even more activity inside. Officers from dozens of ships are arriving at the same time, each one seeming to have a slightly different uniform. Though they all have the symbol of the coalition somewhere, it's the only thing that everyone has in common. Some uniforms are just as professional as an Alliance set. Others look like something you'd see on a dockworker, with rank markings sewn or painted on. Despite the differences, they all treat each other with the kind of respect to be expected from comrades in arms. Turian pilots walk side by side with krogan marines, without a single hostile glare or growled insult. Volus in exo suits totter along with humans and asari, lost in conversation. There are even a few quarians, though they look a bit more tribal than most, thanks in no small part to the jingling bundles of painstakingly carved items dangling from several places on their suits.

What's even more surprising than seeing the quarians, is the fact that there is a geth walking next to their leader. It's one of the smaller, silver plated units that Anderson has occasionally caught a glimpse of when the coalition leaders would meet with Alliance commanders to plan the next phase of the campaign. While the quarian leader doesn't exactly speak to it like a friend, the fact that he's standing next to it at all is testament to how much he trusts it, at least compared to his Migrant Fleet counterparts.

It takes about half an hour to work his way to the conference room, though perhaps amphitheater word be more accurate. Hundreds of officers are waiting in tiered seats, talking about the campaign so far, catching up with old friends, or just trading gossip about anything and everything they can think of. As half the leadership for the Alliance fleet contingent of the campaign, Anderson and his adjutant take a pair of reserved seats at the front, next to Major Kyle, his counterpart for the Alliance Marine detachment, earning mildly annoyed glances from some Coalition officers, but nothing more. A few minutes later, the other half arrives.

While the Order was powerful, maintaining secrecy meant that they couldn't risk spreading too far. The man taking the seat next to Anderson was not part of the Order, and, truth be told, never would be. Admiral Ernst 'the Rhino' Reinhardt, was in command of the Alliance fourth fleet, with his flagship being the dreadnought SSV Elbrus. Before he sits, Rheinhardt straightens his uniform with a dignified tug, smoothing out the perfectly maintained fabric of his dress blues, bringing his carefully chosen battle honors back into a clean line on his breast. He crosses both arms across his barrel chest, silently surveying the gathering with cold blue eyes. A ragged scar runs up the left side of his throat, climbing up his cheek, around his left eye, and ending just below his short cropped hair. Rumor has it, the scar was a gift from a batarian pirate that Rheinhardt, back when he was a young lieutenant, had beaten to death with his bare hands, after having almost half his face cut off.

As a respected, decorated officer with entire books written on his successes, he had been deployed by order of Alliance High Command to assist in the last year of the war against the Wake and the other thirty or so piratical organizations that had haunted the edges of Alliance territory for decades.

Ostensibly there to see the war to a speedy conclusion, after a full year of brutal fighting throughout the fringes of civilized space, Rheinhardt had voiced his dissatisfaction with their progress on multiple occasions, most notably over the fact that they weren't making a beeline for the largest concentrations of Wake forces as soon as they were discovered. He had been especially critical of the fact that Shepard was in a position of leadership, despite technically being only a lieutenant. When confronted with her record of achievements, he'd always chalk it up to exaggeration of her abilities or overestimation of the threats she faced.

"She is a child Anderson. Someone so young and so low on the totem pole has no place in the hierarchy of such a large scale conflict." He'd made it clear on many occasions that if it were up to him, Jane would have been brought to heel some time ago. Thankfully, officially being under Admiral Hackett's authority, Jane isn't subject to Rheinhardt's whims, not that she gave a damn about that. Shepard had ignored the man at every opportunity, going so far as to consult directly with Anderson instead, even when the admiral was the one demanding contact. Needless to say, they were not fans of each other.

Every conversation stops as a pair of doors open at either side of the room. Rheinhardt glares on as Admiral Tiberius comes from one side, and Shepard marches out from the other, with her asari shadow visible just beyond the doorway. The two of them take position at the heart of the chamber, amidst a cheer from the officers in attendance. The turian gestures for the audience to quiet down as Jane clears her throat. She looks over the entire crowd for a moment before declaring, "System IR-31-99 has fallen." The amphitheater erupts in applause, even louder than before.

Anderson had seen reports from the battle in that system. Months of trying to dig out a heavily entrenched raiding fleet made it the most costly battle of the war yet, almost a modern day Stalingrad. Come to think of it, Typhon had probably been called in to break the stalemate. That monster could break through almost anything with the right support, though it was odd to see Tiberius here without it.

While they wait for the gathered crowd to grow quiet again, Anderson gets a better look at Shepard. Something is wrong. She looks incredibly tired, with her shoulders sagging low. As he focuses on her face, he spots the faint hint of discoloration under her glowing eyes and a droop in her eyelids. There's a slight twitch in her left hand, though he can't tell if it's from a malfunction in the faux limb or something else. Truth be told, she looks exhausted.

Before he can make any further observations, Tiberius signals for quiet again. "With this latest victory, we have now isolated the Red Wake in their final fortress. Over these last 2 years, many of you may have begun to notice a pattern in our strategy." He manipulates his omnitool, activating a holographic display. The overhead lights go out and a 3D image of Galaxy pops into to being. The display quickly zooms into the sector the war has been focused in. Dozens of red lines show the steady advance of Coalition and Alliance forces, all of them moving in a slow corkscrew, centered on a single, isolated star system at the edge of charted space.

A murmur spreads through the crowd. Several captains shake their heads, stunned that they hadn't realized the target, while others turn to their comrades to reluctantly fork over credits for loosing a bet. As for Admiral Rheinhardt, he just sits there and glares at the slowly rotating hologram of the ugly black and brown planetoid where the enemy had made their festering nest. Tiberius continues, "Torfan, the belly of the beast. This system is where the Red Wake has made their home for several years. Over the course of this campaign, our objective has been to force the entirety of the Wake to fall back to this location. All relays nearby have been blockaded, thanks in no small part to our comrades from the Systems Alliance," Anderson nods lightly and Rheinhardt sneers at the turian, "and now that IR-31-99 has fallen, there are no friendly systems in range of their fortress where they can discharge their drive cores without leaving themselves open to rapid reaction assaults. If they should try to leave without entering one of the systems we now have locked down, their drive cores will discharge into the hull, long before they can reach a safe haven. The Wake is effectively cornered, and like a wounded vexen, they've dug in to make ready for a last stand."

Tiberius launches into the battleplan with gusto, laying down the objectives of what they all hoped would be the last clash of the war. Anderson nods in satisfaction. Since they have very little information on the system outside of the fortress itself, they can't know the enemy's positions until breaching the system. The plan was to enter from six directions, with one force coming in at each of the six points of a 3D engagement sphere. Once the Red Wake's defensive layout was determined, the six strike forces would link up as quickly as possible, ensure the local relay wasn't mined to allow the heaviest fleet assets to enter the system, including the Elbrus and Typhon, before uniting their firepower to cleanse the skies of Torfan. Afterwards, the landings could begin.

"What kind of ground forces can we expect?" Several Coalition officers nod along with Major Kyle.

Tiberius gestures to Jane and she steps forward. "The enemy has had years to prepare for this attack. We are expecting close to ten thousand infantry, all well trained and equipped. Our intel also indicates that they have a large armored contingent, including almost a hundred heavy battle tanks, a healthy air wing including several dozen high powered atmospheric fighter/bombers, along with plenty of well designed static defenses."

A ripple of concern spreads through the crowd. While the Coalition and Alliance forces could muster similar numbers without calling for reinforcement, attacking an entrenched position with equal numbers would end in disaster. Major Kyle clears his throat, silencing the discontented murmuring. "My boys and girls aren't afraid of a tough fight Shepard, but this sounds like a meat grinder. Is there a plan to tip the balance in our favor?"

Jane nods. "My team and I will be inserting well ahead of the primary attack force, in addition to a number of other special forces from allies I've gathered over the years. With the help of a few carefully inserted agents, we will penetrate the fortress, sabotage the local defenses, and raise hell in general. By the time the army lands, the enemy defenses will be in shambles."

Unable to contain himself anymore, Admiral Rheinhardt speaks up, "A ground engagement is a waste of time. We should lay waste to the fortress from orbit. The Elbrus alone has enough firepower to level a continent. Why in God's name would we mount a ground assault when orbital bombardment would prevent hundreds if not thousands of casualties." More than a few of the Coalition officers voice their support for Rheinhardt. Tiberius glares at him, while Jane just rubs her forehead, looking like she's dealing with a migraine.

She waves an arm at the holo-projection of the Torfan system, replacing it with an image of the fortress itself. A blue film erupts from the heart of the projection, spreading out into a massive dome, covering the entire facility. Jane sighs before saying, "The plans we've gotten our hands on indicate that the Wake has an extremely powerful shield network. It can theoretically put out enough energy to protect the fortress from months of concentrated bombardment, even from the full force of our available fleet assets."

Though most of his nominal support evaporates with this new information, Rheinhardt barrels on. "Be that as it may, a full scale assault is still not warranted. Since all the surrounding systems have been fortified, we should blockade Torfan and starve the scum out. We don't need to waste a single life."

Jane waves her omnitool at the image again, replacing the fortress with a grainy, low quality recording. It looks like the viewpoint is mounted from a concealed port in someone's armor. Several officers nearby gasp in horror and Anderson can't really blame them. "We can't wait that long Admiral. According to my sources, the tunnels below the fortress are being used as massive slave pens, and the population down there is, at a minimum, twenty-two thousand. If we try to wait them out, the slaves will be the first to starve. The Wake already gives them the bare minimum, just enough to keep them alive to reach market. Once the food starts getting scarce, these people will be left to rot. Or, if the wake becomes desperate enough, they might become an emergency food supply."

The room is silent as the viewpoint of the camera pans across the fields of cages stretching through the rough-hewn tunnels. Whoever the hidden agent is, he seems to be part of a patrol moving through the pens, distributing a foul looking slop to the slaves. Men, women, and children from multiple races cower in fear, desperate to avoid attention. Most are clothed in rags, if anything at all. All of them already seem starved, with their skin pinched and drawn and eyes sunken into their skulls. Disease is rampant, and more than a few cages don't seem to hold anything but corpses. Even Rheinhardt blanches at the sight of so much suffering. The admiral sits back down, silently fuming over the situation.

The image mercifully blanks out, replaced by the holomap of the fortress and Tiberius takes the opportunity to resume the briefing. They spend another few hours planning out the details of the attack, from the push to clear the space surrounding the fortified planetoid, to their plans once the battle was over. Anderson doesn't pay much attention, trusting his adjutant to provide the same comprehensive notes she always does. Most of his focus is on Shepard.

She barely says anything else, restricting her comments to short, to the point answers for any questions. Once the primary briefing is over, the officers begin to file out, and Anderson makes a beeline for Jane. Her Asari shadow is fussing over her as he approaches. "You need to try Jane. Even you can't keep this up forever."

Shepard rubs her forehead, growling quietly. "I've _been_ trying. It's not gonna happen until this is over."

"What's not going to happen?" The asari snaps towards him, a frown creasing her forehead. Jane herself sighs before turning to leave the room.

"Not here," she says, with a slight tremor under her left eye, "Come to the Pale Horse in a few hours and we can talk." She looks ready to say something else, but something behind him makes her narrow her eyes. Without another word, Jane turns on her heel and marches away, much to the carefully contained fury of Admiral Rheinhardt.

"What was that about, Captain?" The Admiral isn't even looking at him. His eyes are fixed on Shepard's back as she disappears behind the nearest door.

Anderson watches the Admiral, carefully judging whether or not to share his observations, or anything really. "Just trying to catch up with her admiral. We haven't had time to swap information in person for quite awhile. It's nothing that will impact the campaign sir."

Rhienhardt finally looks at him, a slight sneer on his face. "It's unseemly for a man of your position to fraternize with your underlings. Mark my words, it'll come back to bite you in the ass some day. That, and her… allies. The Alliance could've handled this matter without resorting to Terminus trash. No good came come from a long-term partnership, mark my words."

He can help but chuckle. At first, the admiral raises a brow, confused at his reaction. Anderson feels like telling him off, but now is not the time. Instead, he sighs, letting his frustration out without breaking protocol. "We'll see sir. Only time will tell." He salutes and with nothing else to say, they part ways.

Before heading to the Pale Horse, Anderson collects his adjutant's notes and memorizes everything in the meantime. As always, Hireki has done a sterling job, taking down every important detail with clear, concise notes, along with annotations about any subject she felt he would want more information on. By the time he goes to meet with Shepard, he's already been back to the London to pass down orders to prepare for the coming battle.

At the right time, his shuttle eases into position alongside the Pale Horse. The ship's docking collar extends and forms a seal. The inside is almost identical to last time he was there. A few pieces in the mess hall have been shifted around, but other than that, he can't see anything out of place. Dr. Chakwas is waiting for him with a smirk. "Hello David. It's about time you came to visit."

He chuckles quietly. "I would have come sooner, but there was small issue with some pirates that kept me away." Shepard's pilot announces a thruster test over the intercom, followed quickly by minor rumble through the deck. Someone angrily shouts from the back of the ship, met by an equally angry shout from the deck above. "I see the triplets are still hard at work. Anything to worry about?"

She shakes her head, "Nothing. Kalia has been arguing with her brothers for weeks about the response rate of the thrusters and the boys are tired of tinkering with it. They've done some amazing work, but there's only so much that can be done without installing an entirely new system."

Anderson nods, well remembering the last time he'd accidentally gotten caught in between the triplets during an disagreement. The three of them had a passion for argument that would make them consummate statesmen, especially the brothers. Pushing aside the humor, Anderson gets to the reason for his visit. "So, where is she?"

As an answer, Karen turns and leads him down to the lower deck, to the small workshop just outside the hanger. Shepard's gunship pilot is working on a part from one of the side-mounted cannons. When he finishes with the current piece, Karen taps him on the shoulder and asks, "Are they still at it?"

The young man pulls a pair of bug-eyed goggles off and wipes the sweat from his brow. He takes a drink from a canteen before clearing his throat. "Yeah. Non-stop since she got back." The young man grimaces, looking to the heavy blast door between them and the hanger. "You gotta get her to take it easy doc. She's gonna kill herself at this rate. It's already been-"

Karen puts a finger to her lips, silencing whatever he was about to say. She pats him on the shoulder. "I'll talk to her again, but in the end, it's her choice." Gavin sighs and shakes his head before turning back to his work as Karin leads Anderson to the blast door. She punches in an access code on the panel next to it and with a series of clicks the locks disengage.

Stepping onto the catwalk inside, the first thing he sees is a small squad of asari commandos with the crest of House Aethys on their shoulders. They're leaning over the railing, watching the spectacle down below. He looks down at the hanger doors to see Jane locked in hand-to-hand combat with two krogan. Spits is excitedly bouncing around at the perimeter, occasionally yaping whenever Jane lands a hit. One of the aliens is familiar. It's the krogan that taught her how to use a sword and fought alongside Alenko on Elysium. Fel fights with a huge grin on his fight, growing ever more animated everytime Jane cracks a fist across his jaw. The other is an unknown. While he seems to be Fel's match in strength, the red-crested krogan doesn't fight like a teacher with a pupil. He honestly looks like he's trying to kill Jane. Between them, she is a blur, dodging around their attacks by the barest margin before launching return strikes. Despite keeping both krogan at bay, something seems to be wrong.

Anderson has seen her fight like this before. She tended to favor two styles. One was that of pure brutality, overwhelming her enemies through sheer murderous fury. The other, the one she was currently using, was all about using an opponent's movements against them. Something is slowing her down today. There's a bruise on her face from a mistimed dodge and even as he's watching, the new krogan manages to catch her with a glancing blow to the torso. Most humans would be choking on a crushed rib cage. Jane just grunts before lashing out with a return uppercut. Her fist slams into the base of the krogan's chin, snapping his head back hard enough to make him stagger. As he backs away, she turns in time to catch Fel's incoming fist in her's. Without pausing, she steps into his guard, pulls his arm over her, puts her free arm between his legs, and heaves him across the hanger. Fel slams onto the doors right as the other krogan comes roaring back into the fight.

He tackles Jane head on, slamming her to the ground beneath him. Rolling around, throwing punches and curses in equal measure, her and the krogan spend several seconds beating the hell out of each other, leaving plenty of blood on the doors along the way. They come to a sudden stop with him on top of her, raising a fist and trying to slam it into her face. The fist barely misses, slamming into the hanger door as she yanks her head to the side. Anderson can hear at least one bone break on impact.

The krogan is close enough for her to grab the front of his armor and pull him in for a headbutt. Both are knocked for a loop by the impact, with Jane recovering a fraction of a second quicker. She cannons a fist into a tiny nerve cluster just below his crest. Truly disoriented now, he can't stop her from bucking him off.

Jane staggers to her feet in time to meet a headlong charge from Fel. This time, she's ready for the impact. Her boots scrape across the hanger doors as he tries to bull her over, only for Jane to suddenly fall back. Using his momentum against him, she shoves him into the wall of the hanger. His head hits with a resounding clang and Jane gets behind him to grab his backplate before repeatedly slamming him into the wall.

After five more hits, she's forced to let go and leap out of the way as the other krogan charges again. Rolling away to open the distance, Jane jumps back to her feet to square off as both krogan stagger back to their feet and round on her. Deciding that he's seen enough, Anderson loudly clears his throat. All three of them look up with a frustrated snarl. Anderson smirks down at them. "As impressive as this bout has been, we actually need everyone in one piece on Torfan."

Fel cackles like a madman, earning a stern glare from the red crested krogan. Undaunted, he bows to Jane. "Damn good fight kid. Looking forward to the next one." He waves for one of the asari on the catwalk to toss down some water. After downing multiple packs, he climbs the service ladder to get up to them. The asari immediately surround him and start excitedly chatting about the fight. He lets out a peal of boisterous laughter before leading them out of the hanger.

Down below, the red krogan marches over to Jane. "So far human, Fel was right about you. Glad to know he isn't wasting my time again." After that, the krogan stomps over to the ladder and climbs out himself. He barely spares a glance for Anderson as he walks by, mumbling something about having another weird job.

With the aliens all cleared out, Anderson climbs down to the hanger doors himself. He waits long enough for Karen to have a brief word with Jane. The girl shakes her head at the doctor, eliciting a worried look from her. Karen passes a water pack, whispers something in Jane's ear, and leaves Anderson alone with her.

They spend a few moments in silence, with Jane glaring at him through the loose locks of sweat-drenched hair hanging in front of her face. There are multiple cuts on her cheeks and forehead, each one leaking a thin trickle of blood. Even as he watches, they begin to slowly close. She's panting hard and he can see a slight tremor in her limbs. Eventually she leans against the wall and slides down it. Spits trots over to nuzzle against her before settling down too. Anderson sits nearby and clears his throat again. "So… were you trying to hurt yourself just now? Gavin said you'd been at it since you got back. That was almost three hours ago."

Jane takes a few deep breaths, then sighs and lets her head rest against the wall. "I'm trying to tire myself out. Trying to get tired enough to sleep." She closes her eyes, letting her entire body sag a little lower.

Anderson takes a moment to look closer. He sees the bags under her eyes, the slight paling of her face, and an worrying idea comes to mind. "Jane, you look like shit." She looks back at him with a smirk. "I'm serious. How long have you been awake?" The smirk disappears and she looks off to the side. Spits lifts his head up with a whine, rubbing his head against her chestplate. Jane absentmindedly scratches behind his spines. "Jane… how long?"

She rubs her forehead a few times before answering. "Three… maybe four days."

His mouth is hanging open in astonishment. Outside of combat, most people would have passed out by now. "I… How? Why in God's name have you stayed awake that long?!"

Jane snorts, drawing an angry chuff from Spits. "It's not on purpose, believe me. I might not like my dreams, but even I don't want to set any records for staying awake." She gently pushes Spits off before getting back to her feet. Anderson follows her as she starts pacing the length of the hanger. "I've tried to sleep. I lay down, close my eyes, shut everything down around me, and I even used sleeping pills that Karen gave me. When the regular dose did nothing, I used double, then triple. All it did was make me irritable." She stops under the gunship, jumping up just enough to grab hold of one of the landing skids that was clearly under maintenance. She starts doing pull ups, which Spits tries to emulate on the ground, only to repeatedly roll over without accomplishing much. She switches to pulling herself up with one arm, grunting slightly under the effort.

"So what's the problem?" Jane keeps working, showing no signs of answering. Anderson puts a hand to his forehead, trying not to let his frustration show too much. "Jane, whatever is wrong, whatever is causing this, you can talk to me about it. We've been working together long enough for you to trust me a little bit, haven't we?"

She hangs still for moment, then switches arms and starts moving again. "A little, yeah." Finishing another rep, she drops down and crosses her arms. "I… I can hear him Anderson. Every time I try to sleep, I can hear his voice, coming from all around me."

Intrigued, Anderson pushes on, "Who's voice?"

"The son of a bitch in charge. The rat-fuck piece of shit that I've wanted to gut for ten years. He ordered attacks that have killed friends and…" She trails off, a trace of despair crossing her face for a moment. It vanishes in a heartbeat, replaced by a cold, malevolent glare. "I promised to make him scream and I _will_ deliver on that."

The name swims to the surface of his mind, and he nods. "Jortan. You've been dreaming about him?"

Jane sneers. "No. I've been hearing him in my head, whispering about how he's going to break me and everyone I care about. He's always 'the gods will this' and 'the gods said that'. The bastard thinks he has divine power on his side. I can't wait to skin him alive and pour salt onto his guts. Let's see his gods protect him from me."

Now Anderson is truly worried. _Shit! She's hearing things?!_ He rubs his chin, trying to figure out what to say. "I suppose the stress of all this can have some… odd effects. And, after being awake for days, it only makes sense that there might be strange symptoms." He looks up from his contemplation to see Jane snarling at him. Spits does the same, drooling a torrent through his massive tusks.

"These aren't hallucinations God dammit! Don't you dare look at me like that! I might not be all there sometimes, but this is real you mother fucker!" The ship shakes around them and he can hear metal groaning under sudden stress.

Moving quickly, Anderson holds up a hand. "Calm down Jane, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just trying to understand the situation."

She slowly winds back down, letting the shakes stop. "You can't. Even _I_ don't understand it, but I know it's real. I… I just know."

Anderson frowns and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Alright kid. You say it's real, I'm willing to believe. It's not the strangest thing I've ever heard." Jane nods her thanks and both of them climb out of the hanger. Back in the mess hall, the sit down to eat a few small snacks that her hanar friend has prepared.

Once they're done, she sees him back to his shuttle. "Jane," he leans in close, "I know you're stressed, but please, try to rest. We need you at your best. Sleep deprived and bloodied up is not your best." He pauses for a moment to point out a small patch of blood still on her cheek.

After wiping it away, Jane nods, "I know. I'll try, but no promises. Until he's dead," she clenches a fist, grinding her teeth in anger, "until his corpse is in pieces, I don't think it'll happen."

With nothing left to say, Anderson just nods and steps into his shuttle. After returning to his ship, he immediately contacts Admiral Hackett to share what he's learned. They both agree that making sure Jortan dies is now the Order's top priority. The risk to the Fulcrum's health is too great. Hackett agrees to thicken the pickets along the Alliance's share of escape route blockades, in addition to sending a few units to ghost the systems guarded by the Coalition. Other than that, all they can do is pray that she'll go back to her version of normal once the Wake was dead.

 **Jane**

 _She tries to keep her word. After cleaning up, helping the triplets with a few tweaks here and there, and going over the battle plan in full with the entire crew, Jane lays down in her bed, with Spits gleefully hopping up to snooze next to her._

 _Her eyes aren't closed for more than 10 seconds before she starts hearing it. "The time is coming Akshar. Your day of reckoning is at hand." Opening her eyes again, Jane looks around her room, not seeing anything beyond her personal belongings._

 _Screwing her eyes shut, she tries to drown him out by listing off the latest stock report Dib gave her. Normally, the information was so dry that it would put her to sleep in moments. Now though, all it does is provide background noise to the insistent voice. "10 years Akshar. 10 years have we waited for this reckoning. You and I, we will finish this, once and for all. Come, Demon of Bitter Truths, and know your match in the face of the Gods' glory. I shall be waiting. In the central keep, we shall come together for the final battle, and once I've broken you over my knee, I shall to the same to all that follow you. This war… it is nothing but a prelude to the gods' return. In their glory, I have been remade and in their name, I shall see you undone."_

 _Jane snarls and sits up, throwing aside pillows and blankets. She storms out of her room, down to the hanger, and starts practicing her blade forms. Fel, his asari entourage, and the krogan in red armor come down for a little while, but she's too pissed off to risk sparring with them. She's still at it come morning, as the fleet forms up to make the jump to the final battle of the war. Before making the jump, she settles into her chair on the bridge. 'One way or another,' Jane vows, 'this ends today.' Their branch of the fleet pours out of FTL along one of the six predetermined approach angles into the system, emerging right into the crosshairs of the waiting defenders. In minutes, the entire flotilla is fighting for their lives._


	82. Chapter 82

**Chapter 82 - Fallen Steed**

 _Date_ _: 3.3.2178_

 _Location : Torfan System_

 **Jane**

 _The Pale Horse blazes between two enemy frigates, barely fast enough to avoid being caught by their frantic broadsides. Instead of hitting the scampering corvette, the Wake ships do catastrophic damage to each other, ripping through what was left of their meager shields and venting atmosphere through dozens of new holes across their flanks. 'Scratch 2 more,' Jane thinks to herself, 'plenty more where they came from.'_

 _As the frigates are ripped apart by internal detonations, Kalia sends the Pale Horse into a breakneck turn, it's thrusters pushed to the absolute limit to meet her demands. She quietly curses to herself that nothing could be done to speed the response time up any further. The ship trembles under repeated impacts, but the shields hold long enough to complete the turn and the armor is tough enough to keep them safe until they get back into cover behind the Ilsu._

 _The unsightly cruiser keeps its portside facing the enemy, pouring out a deluge of weapons fire that forces the Wake's lighter vessels to keep their distance. With the temporary respite of the cruiser's bulk, Jane takes a moment to evaluate the situation. They came out of FTL and were immediately engaged by a plethora of defense platforms. The weapons were cheap, barely more than low grade GARDIAN turrets bolted to crappy thruster harnesses. They wouldn't have been a threat without the ludicrous numbers present in system. There were hundreds of them scattered throughout the area, all of them slaved into huge batteries. Only a few ships were targeted at once, but with so many firing, even that was causing severe damage._

 _Of the 6 fleet elements that entered the system, 3 were caught inside the platform clouds, including the one they were currently flying through, the one closest to the relay. The other 3 groups were mostly clear and making a hard burn to join up with the rest of the fleet. Blocking the way was most of the Red Wake's remaining ships. Among the 100 or so ships, the enemy had multiple heavy cruisers and a single battleship. That monster was currently bearing down on the Pale Horse's flotilla, leaving behind its support in a mad dash to try and finally kill them. "We've gotta clear out the platforms before the battleship gets here. Pan! Any luck?"_

 _Pandora manifests on a screen to the left, a look of intense concentration on her face. "I'm closing in on something, but the firewalls are insane and something is actively tracking me. I almost got caught moving through one of their destroyers." Pan snarls at something as her display briefly replaced by interference. When she comes back, a data distortion is visible on her face, quickly repaired, but disturbing all the same. "This is way more than we've seen before. I think… I think she's here." Jane nods. The quarian hadn't been a problem since the Wake's last attempt to attack Coalition space was stopped. It must have just been a matter of time until she popped back up._

 _Jane glares at the tactical display. "Dammit. I was hoping that bitch had given up after the last time. Any idea where she is?" The tactical display fades out for several seconds before being replaced by an updated holo of an area half an AU away._

" _That's the best I can do. She's on me now. I've gotta get going to keep her from interfering with the rest of the fleet. Get her fast and I should be able to pinpoint the control hubs for the turrets." Pan disappears, leaving them to figure things out._

" _Kalia, can you get us there?"_

 _Her pilot nervously rubs a hand on her faceplate. "I hope so." She looks around to see them all watching with worried expressions. "I mean… yeah, yeah I can do it."_

 _Jane leans back in her chair. They could wait for the other flotillas to link up in a couple hours, but the battleship was only about half an hour out. It might die in its insane attack run, though it could cripple or even wipe out this prong of the attack, leaving no one in range to clear out the defenses around the relay, including several nuclear grade mines. "Take us in. Draw power from everything but the shields if you have to."_

 _The Pale Horse rapidly accelerates, roaring towards the area Pan pointed them towards. They're pursued the entire way by swarms of strike craft, missiles, and the relentless efforts of the GARDIAN cannons. Kalia does everything she can, deftly guiding the ship through a monsoon of fire to get them to their goal. They arrive to find a flotilla of ships circled around one that was very familiar. It's a small vessel, barely larger than a personal shuttle, maybe even small enough to only have a single deck. There are no weapons beyond some small GARDIAN turrets to deal with navigation hazards, but the real threat is what's inside. Kalia rotates the ship to present the dorsal hull towards the target as she begins to circle the cluster of warships._

" _Load all missile tubes, piranha warheads." Kal complies and Jane hears the munitions being cycled into the launch tubes. "Launch." A dozen missiles leap from the tubes, making a beeline for the target. A couple are intercepted by point defense fire before they can deploy, but the rest manage to reach the second stage. Hundreds of micro warheads begin burning their own thrusters, making tiny adjustments to try and reach the quarian's ship. Most end up hitting a frigate that was unfortunate enough to fly into the way at the wrong time. Its shields hold out for a few seconds as hundreds of small explosions ripple across them. Then energy field shatters, letting almost a dozen warheads strike directly on the hull._

 _The frigate begins to drift out of control as the last micro warhead actually reaches the target. The explosive smacks into the small vessel's shields, creating a ripple of energy around the impact sight and pushing it slightly out of position, but doing no real damage. They try two more volleys of missiles. The second volley is scattered in all directions by a sudden surge of EM countermeasures from the target ship, with nearly all of them harmlessly detonating after exhausting their fuel. The third, fired with guidance systems shut down to avoid enemy tampering, is far less accurate and those that don't miss out-right are shot down._

 _They try GARDIAN fire, but the quarian's ship seems to be covered in high quality reflective armor. Most of the laser fire either bounces off or is dissipated by the clouds of vaporized plating left behind by the few impacts that actually do damage. In time it could destroy the ship, but time is quickly running out as Kal enthusiastically points out. "The battleship is only a couple minutes away captain. We have to do this now!"_

 _Jane decides that they need to get more aggressive. "Kalia, set a collision course for the target ship. Kal, load two torpedoes and set them to proximity detonation." No time for questions, the siblings follow her orders._

 _The Pale Horse pulls away long enough to complete a full turn towards the target before the engines return to full burn, pushing them into what looks like a suicide run. In those few seconds of closing in, Jane briefly wonders if this was a bad idea. Some of the Red Wake's leadership over the years has proven to be beyond fanatical, ready to throw their lives away for the slimmest chance of killing her or her crew. Thankfully, the captains guarding their prey weren't that devoted. Several of the ships begin to pull out of their planned circuit, trying to avoid being immolated in a collision._

 _The quarian's ship tries to get away, but the Pale Horse was built for speed and is already too close. Seconds before impact, Jane calls out, "Fire torpedoes! Pull up!" Kal's response is drowned out by the pained groan of the hull as Kalia pushes the maneuvering thrusters to and beyond their safety limits. Warning klaxons start going off. Several disturbingly red alerts light up on multiple panels, but they're ignored as the ship is diverted away from what would have been a fatal encounter. One torpedo is destroyed by incoming fire, ripping it apart before the warhead could detonate. The other hits a fraction of a second before the Pale Horse blazes by, detonating in a flash of prismatic color. The target's shields are still down, leaving the ship exposed to nearly the full force of the space distorting detonation._

 _Even as the target is torn in two, despite Kalia's best efforts, the Pale Horse's starboard wing clips an enemy ship, knocking them off course. As Kalia tries to get them back under control, several nearby ships try to take advantage and open fire, peppering their failing shields with rail and missile fire._

" _Pan! Can you get through now?!" She gets her answer several second later when large swathes of the GARDIAN platforms begin to shut down. A few even start firing at the Red Wake's ships, but not many._

" _The control codes aren't cycling so fast anymore and I've figured out the firewalls. I'm spreading to the rest of the platforms now. Most of them are gonna be fried by this so don't expect much help from- INCOMING!" A vessel in front of them detonates under a barrage of incoming fire, peppering them with debris and finally breaking the shields._

 _Kal frantically shouts, "Battleship's here!"_

 _Without being prompted, Kalia begins evasive maneuvers, weaving them through the worst of it. "Make for the relay!" Her pilot obeys, throwing the Pale Horse into an erratic heading in the general direction of the system's mass relay. "Pan, can you get control of the platforms around the relay? We need to clear some space for the reinforcements."_

" _Working on it!" Pandora actually sounds nervous and that has them all worried. Power is fluctuating all over the ship as the gravity controls struggle to counteract the effects of Kalia's violent maneuvers. If the artificial gravity fails, everyone will be crushed into paste against a bulkhead almost instantly._

 _Even with her magic fingers working the helm, Kalia can't avoid everything. The battleship is putting out as much ordinance as the discount dreadnought it is, filling the void around them with a hundred tons of hypervelocity death every second. Every now and then, something clips the ship, breaking off ugly chunks of armor or, in one terrifying case, ripping through and coming to a stop inside hull. Vollor calls over the comm in a panic, "This one does not wish to cause alarm, but a mass accelerator shell has just caused severe damage to this ones cooking implements! Emergency environmental shielding is in place, but this one recommends finding cover against our vile foes before a larger weapon strikes our redoubtable vessel!"_

 _Without pausing, Kalia shouts back, a high pitched shrill worming its way into her voice. "Working on it! Everybody shut up please!" For the next three minutes, no one dares utter a word, too worried that they might distract her at a critical moment._

 _The relay is getting close and Pan picks that moment to pop up nearby. "I've got the platforms around the relay under control. Clearing out the mines." A bright flash goes off on screen as several high yield mines are destroyed. The GARDIAN platforms keep firing, creating a line of detonates around the relay. "We can call in the others now."_

 _Jane says, "Do it! Tell them to come in guns blazing!" Pan vanishes again and seconds later, the rest of the fleet comes pouring in, spearheaded by Typhon and the Elbrus emerging to either side of the Pale Horse, less that a dozen kilometers away. The battleship is moving too fast to stop and barrels down the corridor between the two ships. The real dreadnoughts open fire with full broadside, ripping through its shields like they aren't even there before tearing the outer hull to pieces. By the time it emerges on the other side of the murder tunnel, less than a tenth of the ship is still sealed against the void. The shattered husk tumbles away into the void as the Pale Horse slows its frenzied dash._

 _Kalia puts the ship into a slow, steady turn to come alongside the incoming reinforcements. Several other vessels pull into formation with them, including the SSV London. Anderson doesn't waste any time. "Shepard, what's your status?"_

 _Gavin comes up to take over the helm for a few minutes and let Kalia ease off. The quarian woman slumps back into another chair, shaking under an intense adrenaline surge that was slowly filtering out of her blood stream. Jane can hear her heart pounding a frantic tattoo inside her chest and waves Kal over to make sure she's okay._

 _While he helps talk his sister down, Jane goes over everything they know so far. "We've got three flotilla's engaged, with the other three making a full burn to link up. Several hundred weapons platforms are scattered throughout the system, but we're in their control centers now. They'll be down in a few minutes. We should be able to clear out the rest of the void assets in a few hours." Jane sighs in relief as the remainder of their forces finish transition in system. The initial fleet elements made up about a third of the full Coalition force, with the only heavy asset being the cruiser Ilsu. Even with the losses sustained in the confused opening moments of the battle, they still had close to 200 ships counting the Alliance vessels. Now, with two dreadnoughts, a half dozen more cruisers, and plenty of other ships, she is confident that the void battle will be over soon._

 _A quiet whisper from her left draws her attention. When she looks, there's nothing there beyond Skittles smoothly peeling a panel from the wall and silently repairing some burnt out wiring. Jane's drawn back to the conversation at hand by Anderson's worried voice. "Shepard? Shepard are you still there?"_

 _She shakes her head and responds. "Yeah. Did you need something?"_

 _There's a pause over the comm, long enough for another whisper from behind her to draw her attention. Again, there's nothing there. "You've told me about the fleet, but what about_ _ **you**_ _?"_

 _Jane slowly turns back to the front of the bridge before answering. "What about me? I'm not dead so I guess I'm fine."_

 _She hears Anderson swear quietly. "With Typhon and the Elbrus leading the charge, we'll be in position to begin landing on Torfan inside of 5 hours. You should get your team ready in the mean time. Will Aethyta's people be going down with you?"_

" _No. Fel, his nieces, and his friend from Urdnot returned to their ship just before the last jump to reach the system. They're coming in with the main landings. He wanted a bigger battle. To be perfectly honest, he's not suited to a stealth insertion, even with asari commandos coaching him on how to move quietly. They'll do their best work once the static defenses are taken care of." Anderson's response is drowned out by a flood of whispers coming from every direction at once. There's still nothing to see anywhere she looks, but the sounds are getting louder with every moment. Jane covers her ears, growling in pain as the whispers grow into a painful cacophony. Lia kneels nearby, reaching out to ask if she's okay._

 _The voices already in her head begin shouting back. Ten thousand languages that she can't understand are bellowing in a mix of rage, hatred, and terror. Blood starts to leak from her nose as she shudders in agony. "Shut up…" She hisses through clenched teeth. The babble begins to waver, receding as Jane stands up to lean against a nearby bulkhead. Focusing her will, she pushes away the senseless noise, drowning it out in a mental roar of her own. With a deep breath and a heavy sigh, the whispers fade entirely. Lia has a hand on her shoulder, looking incredibly concerned. "I'm alright. Don't worry." She steps away, not looking encouraged at all._

 _Anderson is still trying to get an answer over the comm. "Shepard? What the hell is going on?!"_

 _Jane takes another breath to steady herself before answering. "Nothing you need to worry about. I'm fine." Anderson starts to ask something, but the ship shudders under an impact and the channel closes. Retaking her seat, Jane settles in for the remainder of the void battle. The Wake fleet puts up a crazed defense, with dozens choosing to attempt suicide runs against the Allied forces. Some succeed, destroying several vessels, most notably an Alliance cruiser and Coalition destroyer, but most are obliterated as the main fleet merges with all six flotillas and pushes in on Torfan. By the time they reach the gathering point, just beyond the effect range of the Wake's ground based weapons, the enemy fleet is in ruins, along with almost every defense platform._

 _Casualties are middling. Most ships have sustained some damage, with a few crews forced to evacuate entirely, but they have control of the space around Torfan. Shuttles are crossing between ships in large numbers, moving the wounded to any ships leaving the system to head back to the staging area. As the Pale Horse maintains formation, the triplets are hard at work repairing anything they can take care of quickly. Jane is helping Kalen with a fluctuation in the core when a familiar voice draws her away._

" _Akshar…" She whirls around, Abyss and Seraph sliding into her hands in a lightning quick movement. Standing at the entrance to the engine room is a figure that has haunted her for years. "The time is nearly upon us." Jortan casually strolls into the engine room, trailing his blackened fingers along the bulkheads nearby. As he walks, a trail of ash is left behind, littering the floor is a fine spread of grey flakes, and filling the area with shadow. The batarian is hideously changed from the last time she saw him. His once brown flesh looks like it's been scorched, as if he'd taken a nose dive into a roaring fire before coming to see her. There is a thick lattice of blue tendrils beneath every patch of exposed skin, each one pulsating with the occasional flash of light. The scent of burning skin and melted plastic is almost overwhelming._

 _Jane turns to warn Kalen away, but her crewmate is nowhere to be seen. She looks back towards Jortan and snarls, "How the fuck did you get on my ship?!"_

 _The batarian chortles lightly. "Let us not waste time with such meaningless questions. We have both waited so long for this day. It would be a shame to spend the entirety of it without saying what needs to be said." As he talks, Jane edges closer, getting ready to ram Seraph into his chest and chop his head off with Abyss. "10 years, Akshar… For 10 long and grueling years, I have dreamt of this day, demon. 10 years of waiting patiently for the gods to deliver on their promise, and now, finally, you are here. My faith is rewarded."_

 _She lunges forward with Seraph, stabbing straight for his heart. With a lazy gesture, Jortan grabs the blade of her sword in his left hand, locking an unbreakable grip around the weapon. No matter what Jane does, she can't move the blade at all, let alone put it into her most hated enemy's chest. "No, no, no. Not yet. We will have or battle soon enough. For now, I am merely here to say this." Every muscle in Jane's body goes completely rigid. She's completely helpless as he leans in close enough to whisper in her ear. "_ _ **I. See. You**_ _..." Jane shudders under the sensation of being watching, like an bacteria being observed under a microscope. The walls around her dissolve, exposing her to the baleful gaze of four glowing blue eyes hovering in an endless, empty void._

 _Suddenly, the grip on her blade is gone and so is the void. Jane stumbles forward a few steps before regaining her balance. Kalen looks up from his work to see her standing with both blades drawn and clears his throat. "Umm, is everything okay captain?" Jane slowly pans around, eyes darting to every corner to scan for any hint of a threat while Kalen nervously scratches a patch on his chest. "Okay… I think I've got things under control now. Maybe you should, I don't know, go sit down for a bit, or something."_

 _Jane draws in a shuddering breath and nods. As she leaves the engine room, something on Seraph's edge draws her attention. It was tiny, almost invisible. If not for her heightened state of paranoia, she might not have seen it. Just a few inches from the tip of the blade, there's a tiny chip in the edge. Barely a tenth of a millimeter deep, the sight makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was the center of where the apparition had grabbed the blade._

 _Shaking off the surge of adrenaline, Jane walks back up to the bridge and calls for Kaidan to talk to her alone. Once he arrives, she closes the door and leans against the back of her chair. "I need you to do something for me."_

 _He doesn't hesitate. "Anything."_

 _Jane sighs, looking down at the floor morosely. "Once the ground phase begins, I need you to take command of the team and lead them to the objectives."_

 _Kaidan blinks at her several times, his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. He eventually finds his voice again. "What? What are you talking about? You always lead on the ground."_

 _She turns away to start pacing around the bridge, trying to figure out how to say what she needs to. "I… I've been hearing things. Things that aren't there." Jane leans against her chair again, crossing her arms and looking him in the eye. "Once we land, I'll be breaking off from the group and making a beeline for the central keep. Along the way I'll create enough of a distraction to give you guys a decent shot of getting to the objectives without being detected. Teg and Veritan should make contact along the way."_

 _He rubs the back of his neck, unsure how to react. "You've been hearing things, and now you want me to replace you on the ground? I'm sorry Jane, but this doesn't make sense to me. I know that you hear things every now and then. It's because of that crap that happened in the labs, right? What's different about this?"_

 _Jane sighs. "It's not just some voices in my head, at least, not the ones I'm used to. These are intrusive, hostile. They're coming from someone that wants me dead. And just little bit ago, when I was helping Kalen with the core, I saw something that… Well, let's just say that it was disturbing, even for me. I can't trust myself to stay in control once we get groundside. You need to go with me on this. It's safer, for you, for the others, for everything, if you take the lead to the objective."_

 _She can see he's still not convinced. "Kaidan… he can see me."_

 _He raises a brow. "Who can see you?"_

 _Jane turns to face the front of the bridge and points at the main display, towards the fortress below. "The man in charge down there. I don't know how, but the bastard has found a way to observe me, even from here. There's no telling how much he sees, but I can't take any chances. The push into the fortress is a stealth insertion and it won't exactly help if the enemy can monitor every move we make along the way. If I split off, all they'll see is me going after Jortan. Your chances will be better the further you are from me."_

 _Kaidan doesn't talk for a long time. He looks away from her to stare at the image of Torfan. A storm of emotions play across his face before she sees him come to a decision. "Alright. When we get down there, I'll keep everybody moving." Jane breathes a sigh of relief. Then Kaidan says, "On one condition."_

 _He gestures to someone behind her and Jane turns to see Lia step from the corner of the room. Her asari shadow had gotten disturbingly good at avoiding attention from even Jane. "How much did you hear?" She's too strung out to be pissed off at her._

" _Long enough." Lia squares her shoulders and crosses her arms. A brand new, prismatic silk banner is covering her empty eye sockets, glittering under the bridge lights. "And Kalen told me what happened in the engine room. You don't draw your swords like that unless an enemy is right in front of you. If they can get to_ _ **here**_ _, they can get to you anywhere. I'm not leaving your side for a single second until this is over."_

 _Seeing both of them united in the decision, Jane gives in. "Alright. If that's what it takes, then so be it. Gear up, were going down in a few-" A rumble builds in the deck and alarms start going off all over the ship._

 **Anderson**

His head is still aching from a glancing impact after passing through the relay. The London clipped the ruins of a dead ship seconds after arrival and several crewman had been thrown from their positions when the artificial gravity experienced a glitch, Anderson included. The ship's doctor fussed over him for a time, but relented once incoming fire had forced him to deal with more important cases in medbay.

Now Anderson has a pressure bandage wrapped around his head and a massive migraine. Dealing with a dozen minor crisis on approach to Torfan hadn't helped the pain, though he welcomed the distraction. Fleet casualties were still within acceptable parameters, but the weight of over a thousand dead still weighed on him. It didn't matter that most of them were Coalition loses. They'd been allies long enough for it to hurt regardless of which flag they served under.

He's looking over revised formation data when the sensor station lights up. "Sir, we have an anomalous gravitational distortion roughly fifty kilometers ahead."

"Helm, alter course, reduce speed, and send a warning to any vessels nearby." As the ship slows down, Anderson steps over to see the information for himself. "Source?"

"Unknown. We're in visual range but I can't be sure that there's anything to see." The screen switches to a camera view from the dorsal hull. "Oh my God…" the sensor operator gasps.

"Well said Solinski." Anderson keeps his composure a bit better than the flabbergasted sensor operator, but only just. "What the hell are you?" The screen shows a dark crimson distortion in space, like a blood tinted ripple on the surface of a lake.

"The anomaly is forming in close proximity to seven vessels, with the focal point located at…" Solinski manipulates the controls to isolate the center of the disturbance.

As it zeros in on the epicenter, Anderson's gut clenches in horror. "Contact the Pale Horse immediately! Tri-alpha priority!" Before the comm officer has even punched in the correct codes, the anomaly collapses in on top of the Pale Horse, viciously wrenching it into an uncontrolled tumble towards the moon below.

The other several vessels caught in the distortion are violently ripped off course as well. Two frigates crash into each other and are obliterated as one of their eezo cores loses containment. A heavy cruiser pushes its engines to the redline to maintain position as it loses a wing to the sudden pull, which careens into its now crippled sister ship. The corvette closest to the Pale Horse is torn in two. The sensor station shows bodies being thrown into the void.

Even as the fleet scrambles to edge away from the sudden attack, Anderson is shouting through the comm, desperate to make contact. "Shepard! SHEPARD!"

 **Jane**

 _She can hear screaming from down below. Something's happened to Kalen, but she can't leave to help. The only thing keeping the distortion field around the ship from destroying it outright is the flood of biotic power pouring out of her. Jane is already down on one knee as she fights to hold the largest barrier of her life. Pressure like ten thousand needles is stabbing into her brain, setting every nerve of fire._

 _Kaidan runs to the helm to do what he can. His lessons from Kalia were basic in the extreme, but their pilot was still struggling to get back up to the bridge under the wild fluctuations in the artificial gravity. The rest of the crew is scrambling to get to emergency stations. The internal comm is a mess of static and jumbled messages, so much so that Karen resorts to bellowing for Vollor and John to help her in the engine room._

 _Jane feels the will behind the attack, a collection of minds directing a biotic attack of unprecedented range. In her mind's eye, she sees a giant crimson fist reaching up from the surface of Torfan and pulling the Pale Horse down. The fist is closing tighter and tighter with each passing second, digging filthy nails into her brain and causing damage to the ship, even with her barrier still up. "Lia!"_

 _Her asari shadow stumbles over. "What can I do?!"_

" _I can hold it back, but I can't counter it alone." She grits her teeth and forces the fist a bit further apart. "Meld with me, follow the trail I can see, and kill them!"_

 _If Lia still had her eyes they'd be wide as plates. "I'm not that powerful Jane! I can't do what you can."_

 _The fist clenches again as Kalia finally reaches the bridge, dragging herself along the wall with the help of safety railing. Kaidan makes way and she straps in. It was already too late to stop the fall into the atmosphere, but there might be time to avoid a crash._

 _Jane feels her trying to force them into something resembling a stable descent. "You don't need to be as powerful as me. I'll open the way. Just follow their mental signal and let loose with everything you've got once you find them!"_

 _No more time to question it, Lia takes one of Jane's hands and reaches out with her mind. Even after so long, melding with an asari is as easy as Jane remembers, even though it's for a different reason. She has to lock off huge portions of her mind to avoid burning Lia's to a crisp or exposing her to the biotic attack from the surface._

 _Scratch, Skitter, and Skittles come scuttling onto bridge. The rachni add their little voices to the biotic contact, with a shocking bit coming from the keeper as well. Their contribution is little more than encouragement, but welcome nonetheless. Lia and Jane's minds wind together just enough for her to let Lia feel the streamer of energy coming from the surface._

 _Without a second thought, Lia sends her will flying down trail, buoyed by a sudden pulse from Jane. She shares the asari's feeling of plummeting towards the moon, including the creeping feeling of corruption spilling from the stream. Steeling herself against it, Lia barrels towards the source, a sealed chamber halfway up the central keep._

 _Suffering permeates the aura of every writhing creature inside. As she approaches, several small tendrils break away from the stream to try and drive her off. Each one that abandons the attack gives Jane a little more leeway to help push Lia forward, shoving aside the resistance below._

 _Lia's mental pulse reaches the heart of the stream, creating a link to it and breaking the attacking will's concentration for a fraction of a second. She doesn't give it time to recover, releasing a mental blast of energy before pulling back into herself. The fist of corrupted biotics crushing them vanishes, leaving them to fall towards the moon under the power of gravity alone. Jane quivers as a soul-quaking shriek follows her back, throwing them both down._

 _She forces herself off the deck and takes in the situation in a single heartbeat. Lia is unconscious nearby, barely breathing. Kalia is battling the controls in a desperate bid to pull them out of the forced dive with Kaidan working the emergency thruster controls at the same time. Everything happening around her slows to a stop and the stench of burning floods her nostrils._

 _Leaning against the wall nearby, Jortan is watching her with a malicious smile. "Impressive. You've proven the priests to be overconfident again, but in the end it is irrelevant. They are simple pawns in the god's hands, as are we all." He circles around her, breathing out ash and vaporized blood. "Your fall can't be stopped. I await you below, demon. Do not disappoint me." He vanishes in tendrils of shadow as her perception returns to normal._

 _Jane stumbles over to Kalia's station. "Can you level us out?"_

 _The quarian woman's hands are flying over her console faster than ever, but it's a losing battle. Despite being an abysmal pilot, at best, Jane can see just how bad the situation is without being told. "I'm trying! Main engines are only working at half power! Primary thruster control is almost completely shot! Secondary thrusters are good though! I might be able to put us into a controlled descent but getting back into orbit… I… I don't..."_

" _I'm not asking if you can get us back out." Kalia looks up at her, those glowing eyes narrowing in slowly dawning comprehension. "Can you level us out?"_

 _Kalia pauses for several seconds, her eyes darting across the controls to try and find a way out that doesn't exist. Her shoulder slump low as she finally accepts it. "Yes captain. I can level us out." She punches in a few controls to force the Pale Horse into some semblance of a controlled descent. "We're level. At this rate, the ship will hit in ten minutes. There's nothing more I can do…"_

 _Even as she patches into the shipwide comm, Jane can scarcely believe what she's about to say. It's like a gunshot directly into her heart. "All hands, the Pale Horse is going down… we're abandoning ship. Gather what you need for the fight ground side and head for Blue. Leave everything else. We'll come back for it later." She didn't need to add 'if there is a later'._

 _Kaidan helps Kalia double check the final corrections before both of them grab Lia and drag her to the door. Jane follows after them, but pauses at the threshold. Looking back, she almost can't bring herself to leave. It was like abandoning an old friend._

 _A massive set of jaws gently grabs hold of her hand and starts to pull. Despite being a bit of a simpleton, Spits was trained to recognize the words 'abandon ship' a long time ago. To him, that meant bring Jane down to Blue. "You're right buddy," she casts one last mortified look at the bridge before turning her back, "it's time to go."_

 _They both run down the steps, meeting Karin, Vollor, John, and Kal in the mess hall, along with Kalen who is strapped onto a stretcher with a heaving bracing collar strapped around his midsection. "What happened?!"_

 _The boys don't bother to stop. Instead, they carry Kalen down the steps to the lower deck with Vollor giving careful instructions on how to avoid injuring him along the way. Karin grabs her hand and pulls her along too. "Short answer, he was struck by debris. Spinal trauma. I'll explain more later. For now we need to go!" She doesn't need anymore urging._

 _Gavin is already cycling Blue's engine up as they quickly cram into the crew bay. Kalia is in the copilot's seat. John and Kal are strapped into the seats where they can monitor Kalen, who's stretcher is latched to the floor of the gunship. Vollor is strapping himself in a harness specially designed for him hanging from the top of the crew bay. Kaidan has Lia, still unconscious, with him in the next seats. Karin and Jane settle in too. She almost panics at not seeing Dib, before sense reasserts itself. Their volus crewmate had argued, quite effectively, that he'd be more useful helping repair efforts for the ships that had to retreat. He was on the Malagen, organizing repair queues from the safety of the next system over. But there are still three others that need to get to the gunship._

 _-Come on guys! Where are you?!-_

 _-Doomsinger calls! Songs of flight! Time to flee falling hive!-_

 _Scratch and Skitter scamper into the gunship, both of them wriggling into the first narrow space they can find. Skittles waddles over, pausing at the threshold to look for something to work on. Finding nothing, the keeper starts to turn away, either unable to understand what's happening or uncaring. Jane quickly pops her straps and reaches out for the huge bug, making rough biotic contact._

" _Come on Skittles, we're leaving!"_

 _The keeper shudders under the crude connection. "Error, unknown command. Unit Skittles in on the Citadel. This unit's purpose is to maintain the-" Jane doesn't have time to be nice and figure out how she reprogrammed him last time. Instead, she bears down on his limited consciousness, brute forcing it into submission. It makes her feel dirty, but right now it's the best she can manage to keep him alive. She drags Skittles into the gunship, tucking his limbs as close to his thorax as possible without hurting him before wedging him between her and the armored eezo core nearby._

 _Once Spits is locked in place too the doors seal tight and Gavin hits the controls to open the hanger. The Pale Horse is well inside Torfan's atmosphere at this point and the roar of air below them is deafening. "Everybody hold on tight! This is gonna be rough!" He already has the shields maxed out as Blue edges towards the opening below. Gavin pushes them out of the hanger at full burn and they start to spin in the brutal turbulence left in the falling ship's wake. He fights to bring them under control, even as they plummet towards the ground._

 _With the surface uncomfortably close, Gavin manages to end the spin and get them flying straight. The boosters are screaming under the effort of slowing their descent. Just when it sounds like they'll give out under the strain, he regains full control, activating the rotors and leveling out just a hundred feet from the ground. Those of them that can are watching the Pale Horse fall in the distance, trailing fire the whole way. It's almost completely silent inside the gunship._

" _Is she gonna survive impact?" Gavin asks in a whisper._

 _Even though his head is bowed to keep an eye on his brother, Kal answers in a monotone. "The eezo core should automatically null as soon as the altimeter reaches a low enough point without someone at the helm to counter it. Safety feature in case of a crash on an inhabited world. As long as that failsafe is still working, it shouldn't explode… I hope. Don't know how well the hull will handle the impact though." They watch long enough to see the burning trail disappear over the filthy brown horizon._

 _Jane keeps staring after it. "Gavin." He tears his own gaze away from the sight long enough to look back at her. "Veritan sent safe landing coordinates in the last dispatch he managed to sneak out. They should be in Blue's nav computer. Take us there and land before we have company." He nods numbly and banks Blue in the direction of the designated landing zone._

 _The flight only takes a few minutes, but it feels like a lifetime. She doesn't look up from the floor the whole way. Her home is falling from the sky and burning. Kalen is critically injured. The comm is so spotty that they can only manage shorts bursts of near meaningless contact with the fleet above. There's no way to know how much damage was done to the fleet in the sudden attack._

 _Blue weaves into a series of canyons several kilometers from the enemy fortress. According to the information they received, the mineral composition of the surrounding bluffs would diffuse scanning signals, making it perfect for an approach as long as the enemy didn't have a different kind of early warning system in place. They were willing to trust Veritan's advice for the approach._

 _At the end of on particularly deep canyon, Gavin announces that they've arrived. He gently lowers them to the ground in a small gully that's barely wide enough, setting Blue down with a gentle bounce. There are several openings in the canyon walls large enough for a person to squeeze through, most of them well above the bottom._

 _None of them move at first, still too shocked by what's happened. Karin's the first to get things going, popping her restraints so she can get closer to Kalen. She demands the rest of them pile out of the crewbay so she has more room to work. Jane and the others quickly step down, checking their gear and doing pretty much anything to avoid thinking about what's just happened._

 _Even with the rotors still cycling to a stop, Jane can still hear footsteps approaching from multiple directions. "Incoming!" Everyone with a gun in hand takes aim as multiple figures appear at the openings in the canyon walls. Jane levels her guns at one of them, a batarian, before he steps forward with his weapon lowered._

 _He doesn't flinch in the face of certain death, and the look in his eye stops her from firing. The batarian steps close enough for her to put the barrels against his forehead. "Jane Shepard, I presume?" Then, he and every figure in sight takes a knee to bow their heads low. "Your emissaries spoke of your coming. Brothers Veritan and Teg have been preparing for your arrival and now we are yours to command." That's when she notices the small pendant tucked inside his left gauntlet, a simple plastic carving of a person with both feet together and hands raised as if in praise to something above._


	83. Chapter 83

**Chapter 83 - Rage Can Carry You**

 _Date_ _: 3.3.2178_

 _Location : Torfan System_

 **Anderson**

He's pacing behind his comm officer, waiting for word from the surface. The initial scramble to deal with the anomaly that pulled down the Pale Horse had calmed quickly enough, though multiple Coalition commanders had already petitioned for the right to make a landing and attempt contact with survivors. Admiral Tiberius shot every requesting down without hesitation. "We follow the plan. No exceptions. Shepard has proven unnaturally resilient since this war began. The plan has a grace period built in. If we still haven't heard from her by the end of that period, then we go to plan B." Their strategy allowed for a break in contact of no more than 9 hours after Shepard's team landed. They decided to continue preparations for the primary landings as if things were going as planned. If they were still out of contact at the end of the expected timeframe, then certain decisions would have to be made.

The rest of the Wake's assets in system were being slagged or captured to guarantee the safety of the landings to come. Hundreds of landing craft were undergoing inspection in preparation and over ten thousand men and women were getting ready for the assault. Swarms of drones and strike craft were making ready for launch in anticipation of covering the landings.

Some minor fire was coming from the surface, just enough to keep them on their toes. At this range, the missiles could be identified and shot down long before making contact. The laser fire was so heavily dissipated that the worst damage they caused was some scorched paint. As best they could figure, the Wake was just keeping their gunnery ready for the landings.

His adjutant clears her throat. "Excuse me Captain, but Admiral Rheinhardt is demanding contact."

"Thank you Hireki. Comms, keep your ears open and let me know as soon as we re-establish contact." He heads to the private comm room to open a channel with Rheinhardt. "The channel's open sir."

"Anderson, do we have any news?"

"Nothing substantial. Local conditions are marking comm signals from the surface nearly useless without a relay set up. As far as we can tell, the Pale Horse managed to regain some measure of attitude control on the way day. We haven't been able to establish where it landed and no meaningful contact has yet been made. She probably survived but we can't guess as to the current condition of the ground team." Anderson waits as Rheinhardt decides how to respond.

"I assume the Coalition… 'admiral', doesn't plan to deviate from our current course of action."

"That is correct Admiral. The plan has a 9 hour grace period to establish contact after the initial landing. Given Shepard's long history of surviving seemingly fatal incidents, Admiral Tiberius has elected to maintain the established timetable, and after consulting with Admiral Hackett, I have been ordered to do the same." He can almost feel the Rheinhardt's irritation through the comm.

"She has 9 hours to make contact Anderson. After that, the Elbrus and my entire flotilla will fallback to make ready for a siege, regardless of what Hackett or your Coalition friends plan on doing. Is that understood?"

Anderson bites back the insult at the tip of his tongue. Rheinhardt's flotilla was nearly two-thirds of the Alliance contingent, including the transports carrying Major Kyle's entire command, over a thousand battle-hardened marines meant for the the final assault. Losing them would complicate matters and massively increase casualties. "Understood sir. I would respectfully suggest avoiding any such action though. We will likely not get a better chance to end this war in a timely manner and Shepard may yet surprise you."

Rheinhardt scoffs over the line. "Don't be delusional Anderson. Shepard's as good as dead. Make ready to fall back. When the 9 hour window is done we begin the siege. I've had enough of these games."

 **Jane**

 _The batarian at the head of the greeting party leads them through a series of tunnels going deep underground. Their escorts numbered about twenty, including several men with cult fetishes just like the batarian that spoke to her. Even on Torfan, the cult was alive and well, hidden right below the surface. It wore on her already frayed nerves, even when they weren't casting furtive glances her way and muttering prayers of appeasement whenever she caught them looking._

' _At least Doth isn't here,' she thinks to herself, 'He'd have all kinds of ideas for them.' It's a small mercy that most of the greeting party seemed to be so afraid of her that they didn't try to start a conversation. They just kept moving through the tunnels at a steady clip, eventually guiding her and the crew into a surprisingly spacious cavern._

 _Under Karen's watchful eye, a quartet of their escorts gently carry Kalen to a cleared area where several of the cultists begin activating medical equipment that seems to have been stolen from at least three different species' ships and jury-rigged into a Frankenstein system. While certainly ugly, it seems to be fit for the job. Karen quickly surveys everything she has to work with and nods in satisfaction. In no time, she has the chimeric system working like a charm, giving her and Vollor the means to help Kalen._

 _The leader of the cultists, a man named Vof't, gathers his fellows and starts to kneel in front of Jane, but she stops him with a hand on his shoulder. "Don't. Just, please don't."_

 _Confused, he and the others get back to their feet. "Have we failed you in some way?"_

" _No. I just… I never asked anyone to kneel or bow or any of that crap. Just… treat me like your commander or something. Anything is better than the kneeling."_

 _Several of them shrug and throw an overly formal salute her way. Jane sighs heavily, but doesn't try to push the matter anymore. "Good enough I guess. You said Veritan and Teg sent you?"_

" _Yes ma'am. They said that you would come in force and I am proud to have survived to see the day. When they freed me, I never dared to dream that I would live long enough to see the day of vengeance." The others all bow their heads as well, matching smiles pointed her way._

" _They freed you? You're former slaves?" Vof't smile gets even wider and he launches into the brief, yet colorful story. For the past two years, Veritan and Teg had been sneaking slaves into raiding expeditions based from Torfan. They'd arrange the death of a merc here or there before replacing them with men like Vof't and his cohorts, one man at a time. The slow process helped avoid suspicion, but kept their numbers low._

" _The last count I knew of, we numbered no more than 200, but Brother Veritan says that even a single man in the right place can topple empires. He has prepared several attack plans to cripple the fortress from within and Brother Teg is waiting only for your arrival to do… well, to be honest I'm not sure what he is planning. All he would say is that you would like it." Vof't closes his top 2 eyes and offers a sheepish nod of apology. "I wish I could tell you more, but we could not risk allowing too much information to be concentrated with one person. We are under constant danger of being exposed and Brother Veritan was adamant about compartmentalization._

" _Good." Jane waves over Kaidan. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to take Kaidan and the others with you into the fortress. Lead them to Veritan and then follow their orders from then on. I'll be breaking away to head directly for the central keep."_

 _Vof't and the other cultists trade worried looks. He cautiously addresses her. "Pardon me ma'am, but you're not leading us against the oppressors?"_

 _Jane shakes her head. "I've got to take down Jortan as soon as possible. The risk of him escaping me again is too great to ignore." She isn't technically lying, but it's not the real reason. Jane can hear the whispers echoing through the caverns. She needs to get going soon to avoid putting the others in danger. With a gentle hand on the batarian's shoulder, Jane does her best to reassure him. "You can trust Kaidan. He's proven himself to me plenty of times over the years, through life and death struggles again and again. Follow his orders, find Veritan, and open the way for our friends in orbit. After that, just you wait. The Red Wake dies today, no matter what."_

 _The former slave looks between her and Kaidan several times, unsure how to feel. He glances down at his wrist, to the tiny pendant tucked inside his gauntlet. After a few deep breaths to steady himself, Vof't nods confidently. "By your word ma'am, it will be done." The other cultists slam a fist to their chests in salute before gathering around Kaidan. Vof't smiles at Jane. "One of us will lead you to a hidden entrance into the fortress. They will guide you to the central keep and a rendezvous with destiny. The rest of us will lead your comrades to Brother Veritan. We will not fail you."_

 _They separate into three groups, with the bulk of the cultists leading Kaidan, John, and Kal off to find their long absent friends. They quickly disappear into one of the side tunnels._

 _Karen, Vollor, and Kalia are staying behind to look after Kalen, who was unconscious and breathing with the help of the machinery beeping nearby. Jane catches a glimpse of movement as Scratch and Skitter settle next to the fallen quarian. Skittles is there too, but he had to be dragged into place by one of the cultists. Being ripped away from the Pale Horse seems to have knocked him into a comatose state. Gavin was still with Blue, ready to take to the skies once the AA batteries were taken down._

 _Lia has regained consciousness and, after a quick once over from Vollor, she says, "Ready when you are." Her asari shadow wipes a line of dried blood off her upper lip before priming her pistol. Spits is like he always is, drooling and ready for anything that involves Jane._

 _Their guide is a nervous young turian, barely old enough to serve in the Hierarchy military, if he hadn't been taken as a slave that is. The young man leads them through twisting tunnels at a steady clip, pausing only occasionally to make note of marks in the walls anytime they come across a junction._

 _When they finally reach the fortress itself, the transition from natural tunnels to carved passages is sudden. Their guide peers through a peephole before slowly pushing open a carefully camouflaged door. He looks from side to side at the exit before waving them through. They all bolt across a narrow street with a tram line built into the ground. As they take cover in an spot across the way, a tram comes barreling down the line, packed to the brim with mercs and weapons. None of them look towards Jane or the others._

 _Moving cautiously along the winding paths through the fortress, their group arrives at the edge of the inner curtain wall and follows the curve towards an entrance. There are massive AA gun nests visible at the top of the wall, each of them launching an occasional salvo into the sky. There's no appreciable pattern to the shots, so they're probably either ranging shots or desultory fire for the hell of it._

 _There's a heavy set of steel doors leading into the central keep. When open, the gateway would be large enough for two main battle tanks to pass through side-by-side with room to spare. Curiously, there's no one patrolling the courtyard between them and the gate and the heavy guns mounted in the wall itself are all trained on the sky. The central keep is visible on the other side, soaring so high above that it makes the rest of the fortress seem tiny by comparison. Even further up, beyond the top of the keep, the faint blue glow of the shield is visible in the sky. The shield was powerful enough to block anything from orbit short of an impact big enough to crack Torfan itself._

 _Pushing aside that admittedly enticing visual, Jane turns to the turian. "Is there a way to bypass the wall?"_

 _Before he can respond, Jane is driven to her knees by an ear splitting scream echoing through her mind. It's the sound metal grinding against metal as a thousand people wail in agony. As she struggles to hold her sanity together under the skull shaking sound, everything around her comes to a sudden stop and the scent of ash fils her nostrils. "Welcome to Torfan, Demon." She looks up to see Jortan standing over her, looking down with glowing blue eyes. "You have no need for subterfuge. The way is open for you and I am waiting." The corrupted batarian disappears, taking the stench with him._

 _Time speeds back up and Lia kneels down next to her. "Jane? What's wrong?" Her shadow helps her back up, just as a clarion horn sounds from behind the wall. The gates swing open, allowing an entire regiment's worth of mercenaries come marching out in perfect lockstep. They form into two long blocks with a laser straight path running down between them. Lia's forehead creases above her silk covering. "What in the Goddess' name are they doing?"_

 _There's a feeling coming from them, a sense of corruption positively oozing from their very presence. It is a familiar sensation. Jane sighs and steps out of their hiding place, directly into view of every merc in the courtyard, much to Lia's shock. "What are you doing?! Get back into cover!"_

 _Shaking her off, Jane draws both blades. "They're not going to attack. Not yet." She turns back to their young turian guide and gestures back the way they came. "Fall back and find the others. You've done your job." He hesitates but quickly fades back into the shadows. Once he's gone, Jane gestures for Lia to fall in._

 _She reluctantly steps into view as well, aiming her pistol towards the mercs standing in the clearing. Spits follows behind, trailing drool as he trots into place on Jane's left. Together, they march towards the merc formations. None of them react. Getting closer, she can see signs of the corruption she felt beforehand. Their faces are all threaded through with thin lines of blue cybernetics, with a faint, soulless glint shining behind their eyes. The stench of burning plastic and rotting flesh is so powerful as to be gag inducing._

 _Once they're within 10 yards, both formations turn to face each other and step back, giving her group just enough room to walk down the middle towards the gate. Lia stays close by, her biotics passively building with every step to match her growing disgust. "This is insane. Completely insane. It's like they've been lobotomized." Jane doesn't respond. The mercs around them have been changed to a degree far more horrifying than simply having part of their brains scooped out. She keeps marching down the corridor between the two formations, trying to ignore the voices in her head screaming for bloodshed, begging for revenge against creatures that all of them had fought against in life._

 _They reach the gate and pass through without trouble. Inside, the space between them and the central spire is completely empty. The bunkers protecting the approach are unmanned. Portable heavy weapons nests are abandoned. The air is eerily still._

 _There's an almighty slam as the gate shuts behind them. A line of pale blue lights sparks to life on the ground, illuminating a path to guide them towards a heavily ornamented set of doors leading into the central spire. Images of demons and gods locked in bitter struggle cover every square inch of the massive portal, each one more gratuitously visceral than the last._

 _Expecting the worst, Jane whispers to Lia, "Be ready. Jortan's playing some kind of game and it can only end in-" The doors leading into the spire open up, allowing a single individual to come marching out._

 _Recognizing the figure for what it is, Jane immediately drops into a fighting stance. Spits crouches low, snarling at the creature as it pulls out a pair of dark blades. Lia lights up her barrier and aims her pistol. "Jane?"_

" _It's one of the Wake's monsters. Let me handle it." Even as she says it, other figures begin to break camouflage nearby, all of them drawing dark blades or rifles as they appear. "Shit! Lia! Take the others down fast!" Lia doesn't hesitate to engage, calling Spits along with her._

 _While they occupy the lesser targets, the primary creature stops a few yards away, flourishes its blades and roars at them. "Death is upon you Fulcrum!" It leaps towards her, propelled by grotesquely modified muscle and sinew. Their blades meet with a bone shaking clang that is quickly lost in sounds of gunfire and biotics around them._

 **Kaidan**

They make good time through the tunnels, meeting up with another group of freed slaves at the hidden exit. They seem to be relatively well trained and kitted out with gear common to the Wake. The only thing marking them as different that the mercs they're here to kill is a simple red armband that most of them have chosen to tie on.

Vof't guides them past large courtyards packed with men and material getting ready for the battle to come. There are a couple close calls when some of the mercs got a little too curious, but quick thinking and silenced weapons let them deal with nearly every obstacle along the way without slowing down much. As they draw closer to their goal however, they're forced into the open more and more.

The first real problem comes at the checkpoint leading into the bowels of the fortress. The batarian manning the barricade demands identification from Vof't and glares at the rest of them as their new comrade flashes ID codes with his omnitool. After a few seconds, the guard's omnitool flashes green. "Clear. Get moving." He angrily waves them through as he turns to glare at the next group in line, a small squad of mercs carrying toolboxes. Before he can pass through the checkpoint, the merc puts out a hand to block Kaidan's path. "What's with the non-standard kit?"

Thinking quickly, Kaidan lies as best he can. "Got recruited right before the enemy blocked the relays. Haven't had time to get kitted out with the right gear."

The batarian narrows all four eyes and growls. "That's funny. Last I heard, nobody without a full uniform is allowed to have anything but a knife." The guard draws his weapon, ready to take him down for the breach, but Kaidan is too fast for him.

He lashes out with a hard strike to the merc's throat, crushing his windpipe with a biotic-assisted punch. His teammates react with admirable speed to stop the other mercs behind them from calling for help. Kal spins on his heel, launching a full power EM pulse from his omnitool, frying their comms and paralyzing them. John kills the other guard by the door with a knife throw, burying the shinning silver blade in his throat before drawing his rifle and firing at the tech team behind them. The cultists, including Vof't, attack without hesitating. What they lack in experience is made up for in the savagery of their attack. Three men are beaten to death by the former slaves while two other have their bodies shredded by multiple blades.

As Vof't kicks a corpse from the end of his serrated bayonet, Kaidan steps over the suffocating guard that tried to stop them. He draws his pistol and fires two silenced shots into the downed man's head. Knowing they don't have time to burn away all the evidence, he settles for the next best thing. "Make sure they're dead and get ready to move. We probably don't have long before somebody finds this mess. Kal, rig the door with proximity explosives, just enough to bring down the entrance and slow down anybody that comes in behind us."

Once the bodies have been dragged inside, Kal plants a few bundles of plastic explosives before setting up a simple laser tripwire. "Trap's ready."

Kaidan nods to Vof't and they move at double time further into the fortress. With most of the mercs set up in orbital weapons batteries or patrolling outside, They move through the corridors relatively quietly. A few Wake mercs pop out of doors along the way, only to be peppered by bullets. Each time a body falls, a pair of men will stop at the door to make sure no one else was inside. The few times it turned out to be otherwise, all it took to solve the problem was some judicious application of excessive gunfire.

They're almost halfway to the shield generator when things hit the fan. They had just reached what looked like a multi-level mess hall when an alert klaxon began to blare from speakers set into the wall. Moments later, the charges Kal planted went off. "Everybody move!" Kaidan sprints towards the door at the opposite end of the hall with everybody close behind. Right before they reach it, a team of mercs round the corner beyond the door. They come to a sudden stop on seeing the heavily armed group running at them full-tilt. That hesitation gives the infiltrators all the time they need to bring their weapons to bear and gun down the mercs.

Even as their enemies crumple to the ground, a stream of shots comes from the floor above them. Two of the cultists are cut down before they can shoot back and the rest of them dive for any cover they can find. Overturned tables, a serving counter, and cheap metal chairs are all that's available against the growing storm of incoming fire. More mercs are running into the mess hall with each passing moment. Three shots graze Kaidan's left shoulder, the first two deflected by his shield while the third breaks through and hits the bare plate. The impact briefly numbs the skin beneath the armor, but fails to do much else.

Three more cultists go down before a turian voice bellows from the uppermost floor. "To the line! Fire at will!" Dozens more weapons start firing from the upper floor, directly into the Red Wake forces that had tried to surround Kaidan and the others. After thirty seconds of a gunfire monsoon, the same voice calls out. "Cease Fire!" The gunshots instantly peter out, replacing the sounds of battle with the groans of the dying.

Kaidan cautiously looks out from his cover to see another twenty men with armbands move through the upper floors to quickly dispatch the Wake survivors with economical shots to the head. As Vof't hops up to his feet and shouts to several of his fellow freed slaves, Kaidan spots the leader of this new band of allies.

Despite the cheap prosthetic mandible, the wrong colony paint, and a few new scars, there's no way he wouldn't recognize the younger Sparatus. Veritan marches down to ground level, pausing only briefly to shoot one of the wounded mercs in the head. He stops in front of Kaidan, letting a turian smirk light up his face before holding out a hand, taking him by the wrist and shaking. "It's about time you guys got here. Do you have any idea how bad these bastards smell?"

He chuckles at the turian. "I've noticed a bit of a BO problem with the locals. Didn't seem that bad to me to be honest."

Veritan scoffs. "Ha, that's because you humans have those stubby little noses. Turians aren't so blessed." The cultists all gather around, looking to Veritan with a mix devotion and hero worship. He addresses the crowd. "Now is the time to move against the Red Wake in earnest. For years, you have worked, bleed, and sacrificed, and now it is time to claim your due. Spread out into the fortress. Tell your brothers and sisters to do as we have been planning. Drag down officers and slit their throats! Sabotage everything that will help them hold this place! Most importantly, make them suffer for all the pain they have caused! For the New Dawn!"

"For the New Dawn!" The cultists echo with religious fervor. Multiple squads of them break off to exit the mess hall in every direction. Once all is said and done, there are only 3 of them left to follow Kaidan and the others. Vof't salutes Kaidan before falling in behind him.

Before leaving, Veritan puts a hand on Kaidan's shoulder. "It's good to see you again." He looks to Kal and John, "Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming at last."

Kal props his rifle against his shoulder. "What? Did you think we'd just leave you here and let you have all the fun?"

John scoffs at that. "We would never do that. Somebody has to be here to look good while you do all the hard work."

They share a brief chuckle before moving towards the door. As they get back underway, Kaidan asks Veritan, "So, where's Teg?"

"Oh, don't worry about him. He's got something special planned." Veritan chuckles darkly and waves Kaidan ahead of him.

 **Teg**

"We've got reports of infiltrators inside the main compound, headed towards the reactor sector. Redeploy units 3, 15, 77, and-" The salarian is cut short as a massive fist collides with the back of his head. His amphibian skull is not match for the brutal power of the impact and fragments of bone are bashed into his brain. Before the body can collapse, the booming cracks from multiple automatic shotguns end the lives of the other mercs in Torfan's primary comm station. Peeling his hand out of the salarian's crushed skull, Teg snatches up the headset the merc had been wearing.

While he maneuvers the far too small headset into a position where he can use it, two squads of his recruits move quickly to drag the bodies out of the way and assume positions where they can do some good. Getting somewhat comfortable with the headset, Teg transmits to the general alert channel. "This is Captain Trunt. Scratch previous alert. Main compound has been secured. New attack detected moving on the atmospheric processor. All nearby units are to reinforce immediately."

Close to a thousand men stationed relatively close to the processor rapidly deploy into defensive positions directly around it. Torfan was an ugly little moon, barely habitable, and that habitability depended entirely on the continuous operation of the gargantuan atmospheric processor at the far end of the compound. When they first arrived on Torfan, he and Veritan had no idea what the ugly machine was. They had to organize the disappearances of a dozen different officers to gather enough information just to discover what it was. Then Teg himself had to work his way into the officer cadre in the main command blister to get clearance codes to access the schematics.

Powered by a colossal geothermal plant below, the processor had been functioning non-stop for nearly a century as part of a batarian colonization experiment that proved to be too costly for mass deployment. The Red Wake took control a few decades ago, after establishing themselves as the premier slavers in the sector. The Hegemony quietly seeded control of the processor in exchange for a continuous supply of slaves. Now, even after a hundred years of endless effort, the giant machine could only manage to maintain a minimal level of habitability. If it shut down, the moon's air would be unbreathable again in less that a month, and Teg made sure that information had spread to every merc in the fortress, though the rumor he spread claimed they would only have 3 days. The fortress' life support wasn't designed to work on a completely lifeless world, and most mercs weren't too keen on the idea of suffocating.

One of his recruits, a turian named Selitus, cleared his throat. "Brother Teg, a security team is approaching the comm station."

He nods. "Yeah. Standard security procedure if infiltration is detected. Keep routing units to the processor. We need as many as possible when the fireworks start. I'll take care of security. Make sure the rest of our people have destroyed the other comm stations. We don't want anybody but us callin the shots." Selitus salutes and gets to work, calling in multiple regiments in response to a phony threat approaching from outside the wall. Teg chuckles at the gung-ho responses of the unit commanders and tosses the headset onto one of the consoles. He's still rumbling with laughter when he steps out of the comm station.

The four man security stops in front of him. The batarian leading then sneers at him. "What's so funny Trunt? We've got infiltrators inside the fortress!" Breck had tried his hardest to make Teg his ally over the years, but constantly being rebuffed or outright ignored had soured the once eager batarian's opinion of him. "Now move. We need to secure the comm station in case they try to make a move."

Teg gestures towards the door behind him. "Be my guest." Breck and his team stomp past him and reach for the door. "Before that though, there's something you need to hear."

Breck rolls his eyes and looks over his shoulder, right into the barrel of Teg's shotgun. "Boom." The massive weapon goes off, turning the batarian's head into paste. As the body falls, Teg fires again, this time at the man closest to the door. The scattershot shreds the other batarian's torso into mince meat. A third shot takes the salarian team member in the groin, disemboweling him as the last security man tries to shoulder barge the chortling Krogan. He cracks into Teg's chestplate, barely moving him an inch. In response, Teg headbutts him, breaking the plates cover the turian's head and knocking the fool silly. Another blast from his shotgun ends the man's life. He spends a few minutes dragging the corpses out of the hall and making sure no one else is approaching.

Chuckling to himself, Teg steps back into the comm station. "What's the word?"

Selitus leans away from his chosen station to announce, "I think we've got all we're going to get. Several unit commanders are demanding to know why they should reinforce when there's no sign of the threat we're calling out."

Teg grunts. "Huh, guess we should go to phase two then." He retrieves the headset from where he dropped it. "Strike wings 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, we have orders. Sending target coordinates for approaching enemy force. Load munitions for ground attack and make ready to support units defending the atmospheric processor. Wings 5, 7, and 9 are on overwatch." Switching to a pre-arranged channel, Teg announces, "It's time guys. For the New Dawn." Wings 5,7, and 9 all echo the call before closing the channel.

The designated wing commanders call in an affirmative and load for their assignments. Minutes later, close to 60 strike craft launch from three different hangers. Most make a beeline for the processor, while the wings on overwatch come to a hover outside their hangers. Each of them activates their weapons and opens fire on the other strike craft still docked inside. In seconds, over half of the Red Wake's airpower is chewed to pieces under a barrage of missiles and railgun fire. With the hangers in ruins, the turncoat strike wings boost high into the air to chase after the others.

They reach the processor right as word of the treachery begins to spread through short range comms that don't pass through the main station. Wings 1 through 4 make a hard turn to engage, only for wing 6 to dive in on the ground forces massing outside the processor. Loaded down for ground attack, the cultists piloting the strike craft find themselves in the dream position for an attack run. None of the AA weapons around the fortress have been retargeted yet and none of the units around the processor fully understand what is happening yet. While the loyal Wake craft clash with the turncoats above, wing 6 bears down on the clustered ground units to unleash their payload.

Missiles with eezo-tipped warheads scream out of launch cradles tucked inside the aircraft, raining down onto armored troop carriers and gutting them in flashes of blue light. Mini-disruptor torpedoes, normally used against armored columns, fall like rain into tightly packed units of infantry struggling to understand what the hell was happening. Plasmic-napalm canisters ignite in the air, spilling hellish fire down onto scores of screaming mercs. Hundreds of men are ripped to shreds or burned alive as wing 6 pulls out of its first attack run.

Despite smiling to himself, Teg knows the element of surprise only lasts so long. "Wing 6, one more time and then move to the next phase. Save the rest of the heavy stuff." The wing leader acknowledges before guiding his craft into a rapid turn to make another run on the scattering units below. This time they lay into them with the rapid fire rail-cannons mounted on their craft. Entire squads of Wake mercenaries are simply erased in the strafing run, their bodies so thoroughly torn apart by the hypervelocity rounds that they seem to evaporate. Some mercs fire back. They even manage to hit one of the attacking craft with a rocket, sending it crashing to the ground in a ball of flame. It lands near the heart of the units still trying to form up. In death, the pilot probably killed more than he had in life.

With the second run completed, wing 6 pulls a hard turn towards the processor itself. By now, several AA guns are being manually retargeted. As wing 6 runs for the primary target, wings 5, 7, and 9 are fighting for their lives. Loaded for ground attack, the enemy craft are ill suited to face the turncoats, but they still take a bloody toll. Almost half of the cultist craft are shot down before the AA guns open fire.

Showing no concern for their own people, the gunners fire into the cloud of aircraft. Friend and foe alike are burned in a hail of GARDIAN lasers before the guns begin turning towards wing 6. The cultists push their aircraft hard, but they aren't fast enough. All but two of them are punched from the sky in seconds. The survivors are heavily damaged and trailing smoke. One's engine dies right before reaching the target. He steers his craft into a dive at the processor's lower reaches. The fighter's eezo core blows before contact, setting off the rest of its munitions and tearing fifty meter chunk out of the device, though that's only a prelude.

The last pilot pulls up as high as his failing craft will allow before nosing over. He aims straight at the crown of the processor and pushes his engine into one final surge of speed. Even as it rockets towards the end, pieces are peeling away, leaving a burning trail in the sky. The pilot sends a final transmission before impact. "For the New Dawn!"

Teg nods to himself as the fighter slams into the top of the processor at nearly three times the speed of sound. The remaining torpedoes onboard go off, inside the machine this time. He punches the air in celebration as a chain reaction begins to spread through the incredibly complicated device. In moment, the entire processor is on fire, with several ragged explosions tearing holes out of its unsightly flanks. Debris rains down on the already decimated units outside, shattering what was left of their cohesion. Many hundreds that might have survived are abandoned to the the hungry flames as their comrades flee from the destruction. Nearly two thousand are already dead, with many more soon to join them.

Any grieving for the dead or celebration of a successful operation is cut short as Selitus shouts to him. "Incoming security teams! They know the comm station is compromised and are coming in force."

Teg trots over to the window and sees several hundred men converging on the station's entrance. "Heh, heh, heh. Fun's here boys! Dig in and get ready! Time to kick some ass!"

 **Jane**

 _Seraph slices through the creature's right shoulder, severing the arm in a spray of black ichor. It staggers back, trying to bring up its remaining blade to block a lateral strike from Abyss, but it's too heavily wounded. Jane powers her blade through the weakened guard, slashing through the creatures neck. As the head rolls away and the body topples forward with crunch, Jane sends a wisp of biotic energy through her blades to burn off the corrupted blood before taking stock of the situation._

 _Her armor has suffered minor damage, mostly superficial, though she does have a cut on her left arm that stings quite a bit. She takes a deep breath to slow her heart down and sees Lia finish off one the last lesser creatures with a double tap to the head. Spits is a few yards away, viciously mauling another with wild swipes of his artificial talons. The body is quickly shredded, but that doesn't stop him from chomping down to rip off the few pieces that are still intact. Once the corpse has been reduced to steaming chunks, Spits trots over._

" _Good job, but we can't rest yet. This was just round one." Lia nods and checks her pistol for damage before falling in behind Jane. They proceed through the open doors and through a short corridor, finding themselves in a vast chamber filled with strange runes on the wall. She pauses to examine one of them. "I've seen this before…" Old memories bubble to the surface. Her last day on Omega comes to mind, specifically the sealed chamber underneath the Wake's stronghold. She pulls off her right gauntlet and detaches the glove beneath it._

 _Running her bare fingers over the rune, Jane lets a tiny pulse of biotic energy seep out. The wall gets warm beneath her touch, but something is wrong. "It's like on Omega but… but it's corrupted, like someone saw it from far away and didn't really memorize it." She pulls away from the wall and let's more power build around her. The temperature in the chamber skyrockets, forcing her to stop to avoid putting Lia and Spits in danger. As the heat slowly fades away, Jane catches an oh so faint glimmer in the air. Whorls of barely visible energy drifting up, into the higher reaches of the spire. Jane breathlessly says, "There's an archive here…"_

" _An Archive? What do you-" She almost missed it, the surge of biotic energy that's screaming towards Lia. Jane launches herself into the black blur hurtling towards her asari shadow, colliding with it in a blast of opposing biotic fields. The creature that targeted Lia is catapulted across the room, slamming into the wall and leaving a spider web of cracks as it scrambles back to its feet. Lia brings up her pistol to fire without hesitating, but her shots never connect. The creature is one of the gangly freaks, sunken eyes and starved features. Despite the wasted appearance, it moves with horrific speed, rushing towards Lia with twin daggers drawn._

 _Jane tries to help, but a blast of corrupted biotic energy slams into her side, cracking open her armor and throwing her back. She turns the fall into a roll before leaping back to her feet in time to throw up a barrier. A storm of crimson energy crashes down on top of her as another creature steps from the shadows. "Embrace the end Fulcrum!" It redoubles the attempt to obliterate her, pouring out enough energy to begin liquefying the ground around her._

 _As she fights against the biotic monster, the other one is trying to close with Lia. The asari has to discard her pistol to focus entirely on her biotics. It's the only thing that can keep the creature at bay. Each time it closes in to slash at her, Lia lets out a hurricane of biotic power to throw it back, but she can't gather energy quickly enough to actually hurt it._

 _It surges towards her again and this time she's unable to throw it away. Instead, Lia tries to stop it in its tracks with a stasis field. For a moment, the creature stops entirely. Then, it manages to take a step forward, then another. Slowly, the creature begins building speed, despite being forced to fight against an attack that should have frozen it entirely. It raises one blade, ready to strike as it closes in. Just before it can hit, Spits leaps at it from behind, fangs poised to sink in deep._

 _Sensing the danger behind it, the creature manages to break free from Lia's stasis, whirl around, and kick Spits from the air. Its foot connect with a sickening crack and Jane's best friend is hurled across the room, bouncing twice before coming to a stop. He isn't moving._

" _Spits!" Teeth grinding in absolute hatred, Jane lets her control slip for a brief moment, and the shadow inside gleefully surges out. In an explosion of power, she breaks free of the biotic creatures attack and charges the one that kicked Spits. It turns to try and counter her, but her energy wreathed fist slams into its rotting face before it can bring a weapon to bear. The creature's head bursts, splattering ichor all over her and Lia. As the corpse falls, Jane turns on her heel to hurl Abyss end over end towards the other creature. The blade, powered forward by a surge of her own biotics, slices through the monster's corrupted energy to stab into where its heart should be._

 _It staggers back, gurgling as blackened ooze seeps from the wound. Not giving it time to do anything, Jane draws back her other arm and throws Seraph as well. The much lighter blade rips into the creatures chest next to Abyss. She crosses the chamber in a flash of biotics, appearing right in front of it. It tries to lash out but she grabs its fist, plants a boot on its shoulder, and tears the limb out of the socket before using it to club the creature to death._

 _With every visible threat gone, Jane wrenches back control and runs over to Spits. Lia skids next to her as she scans him with her omnitool. "Is he alive?"_

 _Jane's guts are in a knot as she waves her omnitool over him. "Yeah, but he's hurt really bad." Spits wheezes in pain, trying to push himself up only to collapse back to the ground. "Sit still buddy. Nir'outa." He stops struggling and lays still, his chest rising and falling in an irregular rhythm._

 _Lia kneels down. "What can we do?"_

 _Jane pulls multiple medigel injectors from her belt and feeds them into the right port in Spits' armor. His breathing steadies a bit, but it's not enough. "I can't do more for him here. He needs proper care." She sighs and flashes her biotics towards the biotic creature's corpse. Abyss and Seraph fly into her hands as she stand up. "I've got to end this soon so we can get help. Lia?"_

 _Her shadow looks up from Spits. "Do you have a plan?"_

" _Kinda. I'm going to continue up the tower and kill Jortan. Hopefully by then the others will have caused enough mayhem to let Gavin approach the tower. I need you to stay here with Spits."_

 _Lia looks at the downed varren, torn between her duty and helping the poor animal. "Jane… I love Spits too, but my duty is to protect_ _ **you**_ _. I… I can't let you go alone."_

 _Jane shakes her head. "I can't focus if I'm worried about him being alone. If I can't focus I go nuts, you know that. With you looking after him, I can finish the job with a decent chance of surviving. If he… I won't be able to keep myself together."_

 _Lia sighs bitterly. "Dammit… Alright. I'll stay with him, but if that army outside gets called in, there won't be anything I can do."_

 _Jane hold out a hand to help Lia up. "That's why we're going to seal the entrance before I go. Come on." Together, they get to work. Jane melts the two doors together into a single super dense piece while Lia destroys the mechanisms built to open it. After that, Jane rips several tons of metal from floor to create a massive plug to clog the path just inside the door. "There. Hopefully that'll hold long enough to get the job done."_

 _She goes back over to Spits and gently hugs the big oaf. "Rest up big guy. I'll be back in no time." He wheezes pitifully at her as she steps away, only for Lia to take her in a tight embrace._

" _Don't you dare get yourself killed. Come back in one piece so we can all leave together."_

 _Jane hugs her back. "I'll do my best." They break away and Jane jogs over to the nearest set of steps. With no elevator in sight, they seem to be the only way up. Ignoring the pain from at least two cracked ribs, she takes them two at a time, charging up to the next level as fast as possible._

 _She doesn't see the figure watching from the shadows, hidden from even her prodigious senses by technology older than humanity's most ancient ancestors. The being follows her progress the whole way up the tower, recording her actions to transmit back to its master._

 **Unknown**

 **Fulcrum has Engaged**

 **Test 1 - Single Class 1 Unit**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minimal Damage**

 **Test 2 - Single Class 2 Unit and Single Class 5 Unit**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minimal Damage and Severe Injury to Animal Companion**

 **Addendum**

 **The Fulcrum's Allies Will Soon Cripple the Fortress on Torfan**

 **Invasion from Orbital Forces is Inevitable**

 **Conclusion - Testing Must Accelerate**

 **Releasing Larger Attack Force**

 **Subject Jortan is to Engage if Fulcrum Survives**

 **Subject Jortan Victory Probability - 65** **%**

 **Begin Next Phase of Testing**


	84. Chapter 84

**Chapter 84 - Only so Far**

 _Date_ _: 3.3.2178_

 _Location : Torfan System_

 **Jane**

 _The glaive slashes across the flat of Abyss, summoning a screech of dark metal on dark metal. Jane flicks her blade hard, knocking the creature's attack away and creating an opening for her to ram Seraph through its head. She's forced to leave it there and whip out one of her guns to take down the lesser creatures trying to draw a bead on her from the stairs leading up to the next level. Her shots take down two of them as the other three open fire. Jane drops her gun, grabs Seraph, still embedded in the creature's skull, and drags the corpse between her and gunners._

 _She lets the carcass soak up about thirty rounds before using her biotics to throw it at her attackers. The corpse hits hard enough to crush two of them, while the third is knocked down the stairs. With Seraph recovered, Jane rushes the creature before it can get back to its feet. Like a great set of shears, both blades slash through the creature's throat to sever its head. The body tumbles as she slides Seraph back into its scabbard._

 _Taking a deep breath to still the hammering in her chest, Jane pulls the fallen gun to her hand and slots it back in place at her hip. She hisses in pain as the muscles in her left arm seize up temporarily. The creature with the glaive had managed to stab the very tip of the weapon into the 'meat' of her arm. Not deep enough to cripple the limb, but more than enough to slow it down a little. The synthetic tissue wasn't designed to allow such detailed pain responses, but her body had long since melded flesh with the artificial limb. Blood mixed with white synth-fluid seeps from the wound as she applies some medi gel. It seals the wound well enough for now, though the armor for her left arm is in tatters._

 _Jane looks up the stairs and resumes her climb._

 **Unknown**

 **Test 3 - Single Class 3 Unit and 5 Class 1 Sub-Units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minimal Damage**

 **Conclusion - Escalation necessary**

 **Kaidan**

"Left side! Left side!" The cultists react admirably, turning to fire at the mercs Kaidan called out. Their rifles quickly cut down the three men emerging from the corridor on the left as Kal and John aim suppressing fire on the squad trying to fortify the entrance to the shield generator. "Veritan, grenades!" He and his turian teammate lean out from cover and hurl two disk grenades at the deployable barricade. The weapons latch onto the heavy doors behind the enemy squad with a clang.

Twin blasts send shrapnel scything into their backs, killing two and wounding the others. While the survivors are trying to recover, Kaidan throws up a barrier to cover the team's advance. He leads the way, trusting the team to follow him in. He reaches the barricade, vaults the armored slab in front, and lands right in front of the batarian squad leader. With a biotic enhanced punch, he crushes the man's head. The other two mercs die from Kal's pinpoint fire and a five round burst from Veritan.

The immediate threats dealt with, they can focus on getting through the heavily armored door between them and the shield generator. "Okay, good job guys. Now, lets get some explosives and blow this thing-"

Veritan loudly clears his throat before punching a 14 digit code into the keypad next to him. For thirty seconds, they can hear heavy clangs and crunches echoing from inside the portal as the locking mechanism disengages. Eventually, the heavy door begins to slowly rise back into the ceiling.

As it pulls up from the ground, Kaidan can see that it's almost a full meter thick. "Damn… We couldn't have blasted through that with triple the explosives we have." They all step up to the door, ready for any surprises inside. Before heading in, Kaidan asks, "So where'd you get the codes for the door?"

Veritan gestures to a golden sigil on his shoulder plate. "That right there means that I'm a Captain of the Red Wake. Teg and I both needed to move up in the ranks to get useful intel. It took a while but if enough officers wind up having 'accidents' or 'deserting', that opens up room for advancement. I focused on internal defenses and Teg got into communications."

They wave the cultists in first, trusting Vof't to call out any problems. After a few seconds of gunfire, he radios, "We're clear."

"Well done." they step inside the chamber and Veritan nods to Vof't.

"It wasn't us Brother Veritan." Vof't points to the catwalks overhead where a group of technicians raise their sidearms in salute. All of them have armbands on. "Our brothers and sisters are spread far indeed. As far as we can tell, almost half of the shield crew are loyal to the cause."

Kaidan spots several bodies nearby. Most look like technicians, with a couple armored guards littered amongst them. As he gets closer, he sees at least four of the dead have armbands. Vof't kneels down next to each one to close their eyes, paying special attention to the batarians. While other species did it as a sigh of respect, for the batarians it was a matter of salvation or damnation. It was said that closing a dead batarian's eyes marked the moment their soul was freed from the cage of the body.

As the cultist whispers a prayer for his fallen brothers, Kaidan puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Vof't."

The batarian nods his appreciation. "They died for a good cause. We all knew the potential price of joining in this battle and we gladly pay it so others don't have to." He stands back up and salutes. "Ready for orders."

"Good. Gather up the techs that survived and have them point out where to plant our charges. Shutting it down isn't enough. We need to make sure the shield stays off forever." Vof't nods and waves down the others. In ten minutes they have their charges in place.

Veritan puts a finger to his comm bead, listening intently. "Copy that. Hold your ground. Reinforcements are only a few minutes away." He marches over to Kaidan. "Teg's position is under heavy attack. We need to drop the shield now and call in reinforcements."

"Copy that. Everybody fall in!" With the surviving cultists and freed slaves running out ahead of them, Kaidan leads the team out of the shield generator. Once they're at a safe distance, he keys the detonation signal before leading the headlong charge out of the lower levels. As they go, a number of secondary detonations wreak havoc through the fortress' interior. "Move fast! Veritan, get through to Teg and tell him to signal the fleet in orbit!"

They gun down several mercs on their way out, but most are just trying to avoid being buried under the collapsing hallways. "I've got him but he might not be able to transmit much longer. Is there a code word or phrase to signal a landing?"

 **Teg**

"Do you copy that Teg? Transmit the code to orbit and the landings will start." He lines up with a team of mercs trying to forge a path up the steps to the comm station. His auto shotgun roars to life along with six more from his allies nearby. The mercs are cut down in short order but there are plenty more where they came from. Selitus takes his place on their barricade as Teg steps away. "Teg do you copy?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Any idea what they've got waiting up there?"

He can hear Kaidan's voice in the background, ordering their team to move forward. Veritan calls out an affirmative before responding to Teg. "It's even more than we were hoping for. Coalition gunships, Dun-Alon Legionnaires, even Alliance marines. With the shield down, the marines can land first. Once most of the AA guns are taken out, the dropships can come down in force."

"Heh, you owe me fifty credits. I told you she'd get more than the Coalition."

"If we live, I'll pay up. Send the message or we're screwed."

Teg reaches the main control room and starts looking for a relay panel that isn't burning. After seeing dozens of their allies mowed down on the approach to the comm station, some of the real Red Wake mercs had tried to repel down from the roof, kicking through the station's windows to surprise them. They killed almost half of the men he had with him before being gunned down themselves. No more had tried the same tactic since Teg hung one of the corpses out the ruined windows, though they'd been pushing the main doors pretty heavily for over an hour now.

He finds a panel that'll work and carefully moves the body still sitting at the station. It's a human named Nate. Teg hadn't known much about him beyond the fact that he had a family huddled in the tunnels down below. "Sorry bud. Promise we'll kill 'em all for you and get the little ones home."

He powers up one of the transmission disks on the roof that miraculously hasn't been blown up and begins to signal the fleet in orbit. "Attention, attention. This is a message to the Coalition and Alliance fleets in orbit. This is Dun Teg of the Pale Horse, under the command of Special Operative Lieutenant Jane Shepard. The shield is down, repeat, the shield is down. The guns are being taken care of now. We require reinforcement. Sending passcode and coordinates now."

 **Anderson**

"Captain! Contact with the surface established!" He marches over to his comm officer as the message repeats itself.

"Attention, attention. This is a message to the Coalition and Alliance fleets in orbit. This is Dun Teg of the Pale Horse, under the command of Special Operative Lieutenant Jane Shepard. The shield is down, repeat, the shield is down. The guns are being taken care of now. We require reinforcement. Sending code now." there's a brief pause over the line before the code is transmitted.

"Can you patch us in to the source? Give me a line to man sending?"

The comm officer moves quickly, and in moments he nods to Anderson. "You're on sir."

"This is Captain David Anderson. Can you hear me?"

The sound of screams and gunfire fill the line for several seconds before Teg sends again. "Anderson? Oh yeah, I remember you. You're one of the guys Jane's supposed to work for right?"

"That's right. We've received your code signal and will begin dropping reinforcements soon. Have the AA guns been crippled? Until they're down the largest dropships can't land."

The line is clogged with static for several seconds as an explosion goes off in the background. Teg shouts at someone, cursing and laughing like a madman before coming back over the line. "The ones closest to the comm station are taken care of. The rest are a bit harder. Send help and we'll be able to clear more of them out. And hurry up dammit. This is fun but Jane's here somewhere and I wanna go kill with her."

An even bigger explosion cuts the line in a squeal of feedback, forcing the comm officer to rip his headset off. He pats his ear a few times before looks up at Anderson. "Signal cut off at the source sir."

He sighs. Despite his relief over Jane's survival, they're still not in the clear. "Try to re-establish contact. Tell me immediately if anything else comes through."

"Yes sir."

"Put me through to Admiral Rheinhardt."

 **Pandora**

She's been trying to find a way to help everyone one the surface, but the computers down there were too heavily defended for her to get through. ' _Guess that's what the quarian was focusing on instead of the platforms._ ' She thinks to herself. The Allied fleet was the only place with enough processing power for her to jump to when the Pale Horse went down.

Now she's stuck bouncing from ship to ship, trying to keep an eye on everything at once, hoping to hear from someone on the ground. When Teg's transmission came through, Pan would have been bouncing in excitement if that had been possible. Listening in as Anderson talked was the best alternative available. She kept watching as he finished talking with Teg and once that was done he contacted the Alliance admiral. For some reason, Rheinhardt didn't really sound happy to have gotten back in contact. In fact, he sounded pissed. He didn't argue with Anderson over deploying the marines, but something in the way he talked didn't sit right with Pan.

Deciding not to leave things to chance, she waits a couple minutes for the Elbrus' comm filters to reset before transferring herself over, careful to avoid being detected in the process. Anderson and Hackett might be okay with her, but she'd learned not to trust every Alliance officer with knowledge of her existence. Inside the dreadnought's computers, Pan tracks down Rheinhardt in moments. He's arguing vehemently with his second in command at a quiet corner of the command deck and she tunes in to listen. "We can't do this sir! It would put over twenty thousand innocent people in danger! The plan is working and we should stick to it."

Pan refocuses all her perception on the argument as Rheinhardt rounds on his subordinate. "If we deploy now we risk having the entire marine detachment wiped out! I'll not risk a thousand human lives because of what _might_ happen, nor will I trust a bunch of scum from the Terminus to support our people in battle. We'll launch a full scale bombardment of the fortress from orbit to clear a landing zone and then, once the surface defenses have been decimated, we'll let these Coalition dregs launch as the first wave. They'll soak up the majority of the casualties and our boys and girls will be able to finish the job in relative safety."

She's already detecting power build ups in the dreadnought's port side weapons batteries. Missiles are cycling into dozens of launch chambers, cannons are loading, and the ship's GARDIAN array is locking onto targets scattered across the fortress, including Teg's broadcast site and the central spire.

Rheinhardt's second isn't giving up though. "Dammit Ernst! The Alliance has a Treaty with the Coalition and we have people down there! This will kill them all! Shepard-"

The admiral jabs a finger at the man's chest. "Shepard is an aberration! She's barely even human and her crew of aliens is a disgrace! We'll proceed with bombardment immediately and if you have a problem with that, _Captain_ , then you can file a formal protest once the battle is over." Rheinhardt turns his back on the captain to order the bridge crew to make ready for orbital bombardment.

Pan takes a look through the sensors and sees most of the Alliance flotilla slowly moving into position to begin a surface attack. No time to spare, she sends a recording of the admiral's conversation to Anderson before launching a full cyber attack against the Elbrus' computers. It takes several minutes to brute force her way through the security, causing severe damage to multiple systems along the way and briefly crippling the ship. By the time she takes full control, the flotilla is only minutes away from opening fire. To stop the betrayal from ruining everything, Pan creates a faux Admiral Rheinhardt image, forges the proper command codes, and sends new orders to his entire force, telling them to resume their original position and for Major Kyle to prepare for launch.

The marine transports sail into prime position directly over the fortress to launch almost a thousand drop capsules. With the disaster averted, Pan turns her attention back to the bridge where Rheinhardt is raising hell over his orders being disobeyed. She considers overloading a console next to him but the man's second in command takes the decision away from her.

He approaches the admiral flanked by a security detachment. "Admiral Ernst Rheinhardt, for violating the terms of our treaty with the Terminal Coalition, thereby placing tens of thousands of innocent lives in danger and endangering the entire operation, you are hereby relieved of command and placed under arrest. Please, surrender your sidearm."

The admiral's face is locked in a look of utter shock and for a second, it seems like he'll try to use his weapon on the captain. Instead, he regains a small measure of his composure and slowly hands the weapon over to one of the security officers. Before being escorted off the bridge, he grabs the captain's shoulder, wrenching him close enough to whisper, "I'll see you skinned alive for this Mikhailovich."

Rather than respond, Captain Mikhailovich turns his back on the admiral and helps coordinate the marine's assault on the fortress.

Pan would smile if her avatar was being projected. Instead, she lets a quiet giggle echo through the corridor Rheinhardt was being escorted through, just to screw with him. Shortly thereafter a comm line aimed specifically at her, and protected by encryptions so complex that she's nearly rendered speechless, comes through the Elbrus' systems. She hesitantly responds. "Um… hello?"

Anderson responds. "Hello Pandora. We need to talk."

 **Jane**

 _She kicks another corpse off the end of Abyss before throwing herself to the side. The crimson wave of power rips past her, slamming into the wall behind with enough force to obliterate the metal and concrete. Jane launches her own concussive waves through her blades. They break through another biotic assault to slice cleanly through one of the creatures, while the third takes advantage of the distraction to close with a warhammer of ridiculous size. Despite its unwieldy appearance, the creature swings it like she swings her swords._

 _The first strike of the hammer barely misses her, slamming to the ground inches away with enough force to open a hole between floors and actually knock Jane off her feet. She lands hard but is forced to role away immediately or be crushed by the next strike. As the creature pulls the hammer back for another swing, Jane flashes her biotics for a boost of speed, allowing her to kick out and sweep the monster's feet out from under it. It tumbles to the ground and she leaps back up to swing Abyss down at its head. The creature gets the haft of its warhammer in the way in time. Her blade bite's a few millimeters into the haft before stopping. Without hesitating, Jane lifts her left foot up and powers in back down in a haze of amber energy, right into the monster's chest. She breaks through its ribcage with a crack before vaporizing its guts. The creature dies with groan and Jane extracts her gore streaked boot from its chest._

 _She looks up the steps to the next floor and sighs heavily. Her cracked ribs are worse than before, the damage spreading a bit further with every clash. The medigel injectors are working hard to help, but there's only so much they can do. After wiping the blood under her nose away, Jane makes her way up._

 **Unknown**

 **Test 4 - 1 Class 2 Unit, 1 Class 5 Unit, and 1 Class 9 Unit**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minimal Damage**

 **Addendum - The Fulcrum's Allies are Incoming**

 **Conclusion - Testing must Accelerate**

 **Escalation Necessary**

 **Major Kyle**

The pod is rattling loudly as it descends through Torfan's atmosphere. The ride is rough, but not nearly as bad as his first time in one of these tin cans. He, like most marines, had been skeptical of the drop pods when they were introduced. Before their first use in battle, the pods had been nicknamed 'rapid deployment coffins' or RDCs. Then Elysium happened. That battle had proven the value of the new marine delivery system and earned him his promotion to major, though the RDC nickname still stuck around, mostly as a joke. Even if a pod was hit by AA fire, it would only kill one man, instead of the ten or more that would be in a shuttle.

As it is, he calmly listens to the incoming reports from the fleet above. The launch had been a near total success with only about a dozen pods failing to deploy. He smiles at the cursing from marines that got stuck up above, glad to hear that they're already being rerouted to a dropship that'll land after the big guns are taken care of.

At one minute to landing, he opens the comm to every pod. "60 till touchdown boys! You know the score, so I'll keep this short. Link up fast, drop the enemy faster, and focus on hitting the AA guns. Keep moving, no matter what. When this is done, we've got free drinks to look forward to. This is going to be the last day of the war, so let's make sure the galaxy remembers that it was the marines that won the day!" As the cheering over the line subsides, he feeling the retro thrusters on his pod fire, slowing the descent to a relatively safe speed. The simple VI built into the pod warns him to brace for impact only a few seconds before it slams into the ground. The mass effect field cushioning his body disengages and he drags the rifle from his back. Major Kyle kicks the pod door open, ready to open fire.

The first thing he sees is what's left of the Red Wake squad his pod landed on. Six of them were burned to death by the thrusters, while the others were either crushed by the impact or knocked senseless. He quickly executes the survivors before moving towards his objective. Captain Anderson asked him to personally secure the primary comm station. They had an ally working hard to hold the area and his mission was to make sure the crazy bastard pulled through.

Within minutes of the landing, his command squad has formed up around him and they make their way towards the comm station, while the rest of the marines push towards the AA guns. The shock of their assault buys them precious time to strike. By the time the enemy recovers from the sudden appearance of a 1000 hardened marines, his men have already decimated multiple weapons nests.

The major himself leads a flanking attack into the Wake mercs trying to assault the comm station. Between the 50 or so marines at his back and the murderous fire coming from the objective, they clear the opposition with the speed and efficiency he's come to expect from his men.

They contact their allies inside. "This is Major Kyle of the Systems Alliance. We're here to help."

The first response is a chuckle over the line. Soon after, a few of the survivors exit through the main doors. There's 1 human, a blonde woman with one eye covered by a bloody bandage. Next to her is a batarian missing his left arm. Both have a red armband on, something Anderson told him to look for on the allies they were supposed to seek out.

Their leader is a heavily bulked out krogan with a repeater shotgun propped against one shoulder. He was in Wake colors, but his armor was transmitting an allied IFF. The krogan stomps over to the major, eyes him with a frown, then smiles broadly. "About damn time. If you'd taken any longer, we'd of killed 'em all." He gets a rueful chuckle from the two with him. The krogan holds out a three-fingered hand to the major. "Name's Dun Teg. I work for Jane Shepard."

They shake briefly. "Got here as soon as we could. The guns are slowing things down a bit, but my guys will take care of that soon enough."

Teg lets out a deep laugh. "Hah! Not if my guys get there first!" He puts a hand to his comm bead. "Listen up everybody. The Alliance marines are here and they think they're the ones that'll open the door for victory. I say we beat them to it! Support them where you can and show them up as much as possible. We're the ones that'll win the day!" He flashes a grin at the marines.

Major Kyle smiles back, checks his rifle, and responds. "In your dreams krogan. Today belongs to the marines!" Him men cheer and then they run out of time. The enemy is regrouping to push back. With Dun Teg, his followers, and the major's best men, they lock down the comm station before organizing the purge of the guns. Soon enough, even emplacements atop the walls begin to go up in flames, with both marines and local allies fiercely competing to see who can do more damage.

 **Jane**

 _The creatures are coming faster now, and in greater number. Two with swords come at her together, trying to overwhelm her through sheer ferocity. Jane frantically parries their attacks, twisting, ducking, and leaping out of the way with brief bursts of biotic energy. As she's pushed back, two of the gangrel creatures circle the melee, waiting for an opening to strike through. They find one when Jane kicks 1 creature away and locks blades with the other._

 _Both the emaciated figures leap at the same time, one on each side. She pulses her biotics again to knock away the blades pushing towards her. Before the creature can recover, Jane lets go of Seraph to grab hold of a loose piece of its armor. With another pulse of energy, she yanks it into the path of 1 of the leaping creatures before wheeling around to intercept the other. The creature behind her is impaled by twin daggers as Jane ducks below the incoming attack. As it passes overhead, she flashes her biotics once more, this time to let the strength to cave its throat in with a lighting quick jab. It lands in a choking heap while the other rips its dagger out of the dying blade wielder._

 _She recovers Seraph with a biotic pull and launches into a flurry of slashes at the creature. With her growing fury boosting her strength and speed, it can't match her in either. She quickly batters through what little defense it can muster with its smaller weapons. In a final powerful sweep, her blades snap the daggers before continuing on to slice through its neck. The head plops to the ground and she turns to face the blade wielder she kicked, not realizing that it had already died._

 _Jane carefully edges towards it, unsure of how it had fallen. On closer inspection, she sees that her kick had actually cracked the armor covering its torso and sent a jagged fragment of it stabbing through a blackened heart. Not wanting to risk it reanimating, if that was possible, Jane stabs both blades down into the torso before dragging them towards each other to slice the corpse in half._

 _The echoes of the fight slowly fade away, leaving her alone with the sound of her pounding heart. Again, she looks up the steps to the next level, silently cursing every stair to the darkest and most hideous hells in the universe. Seventeen floors have already gone by. Seventeen floors of the Red Wake's monsters, of chambers with mis-transcribed glyphs, of the grinding sensation in her torso getting worse and worse. Sometimes the chambers would be empty, save for piles of mutilated bodies or long rotted remains. With each new floor, the sights and smells get ever more grotesque._

 _With a ragged breath, Jane starts up the stairs again, hoping that things will get better but knowing that it's a fool's hope._

 **Unknown**

 **Test 7 - 2 Class 1 Units, 2 Class 2 Units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minor Damage**

 **Addendum - The Fulcrum is Experiencing Fatigue**

 **Addendum - The Fulcrum's Allies have Crippled Aerial defenses**

 **Infiltrators and Orbital Reinforcements Have Established Multiple Beachheads**

 **Mass Landings in Progress**

 **Conclusion - Time is Short**

 **Escalate**

 **Jane**

 _She goes down to one knee under the barrage of corrupted energy. The creatures blocking the way forward have their arms outstretched to channel enough crimson power to crush tanks or entire infantry platoons. Her barrier holds back the tempest, barely. The pain in her head is becoming unbearable. The trickle of blood from her nose is getting thicker every second and she knows that if this takes much more out of her, she won't be strong enough for the real fight._

 _Using the mental techniques Aethyta taught her, Jane parses off a portion of her mind to maintain the barrier while allowing her consciousness to drift deeper, towards a very old meeting place. The dais is just like she remembers it, though there is now a red sun in the sky between the two lights spinning above. Her shadow is already waiting, its eyes watching her with absolute focus._

 _As Jane steps closer, she can feel the furnace heat pouring off of it. "I need your help." It keeps watching, silent as always. Jane steps closer with one hand held out to it, inviting it to join her. "I can't do this alone. Please…"_

 _The shadow finally reacts, reaching out to take her hand. Their fingers intertwine and Jane braces for a painful surge in power. The shadow doesn't disappoint. Her perception snaps back to normal as her body is flooded with energy. The creatures still trying to obliterate her redouble their effects, throwing out enough power that their bodies begin to crumble to dust under such exertion. Jane pushes up from the ground, pouring a massive stream of energy into her barrier. It's enough to turn the shield into an expanding sphere of destructive power. She throws the barrier out, destroying every surface in the chamber. When it hits the creatures, their own barriers are quickly overwhelmed. They're torn to shreds, leaving her alone and bathed in amber light._

 **Unknown**

 **Test 14 - 6 Class 5 units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory**

 **Inner Reserves Triggered**

 **The Dark One has Activated**

 **The Fulcrum's Power has Increased Dramatically**

 **Conclusion - More Data is Needed**

 **Escalate**

 **Jane**

 _More die with every level. Again and again they come at her, sometimes in pairs, other times in large mobs, each one wielding weapons on par with her own, but the wielders are not._

 _Jane hacks and cleaves through the opposition as fast as she can, knowing that the longer she draws on the shadow, the harder it will be to keep herself in check. She can already feel the beast gnawing on the chains in her mind, silently waiting for an opening._

 **Unknown**

 **Test 20 - 2 Class 10 units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minor Damage**

 **Test 21 - 4 Class 1 units and 2 Class 3 units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minor Damage**

 **Test 22 - 7 Class 7 units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minor Damage**

 **Test 23 - 10 Class 1 units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Minor Damage**

 **Test 24 - 5 Class 6 units, 2 Class 2 units, 5 Class 5 units**

 **Result - Fulcrum Victory with Moderate Damage**

 **Addendum - The Fulcrum's Allies are Breaking Through**

 **Mass Landing in Progress**

 **Conclusion - More Data Needed**

 **The Dark One's Full Capabilities Must be Measured**

 **Accelerate and Escalate**

 **Jane**

 _She's fighting her way through swarms of the creatures now. For the entire climb, the enemy's numbers had been slowly increasing. Now, they're trying to utterly overwhelm her. The worst part is… it's working._

 _In spite of her prodigious biotic power, the quality of her weapons, and the boost from the shadow inside, it's not enough. She's forced back a step as 3 of the spindly dagger wielders at hurled at her by an entire team of the biotics. Her blades sing in arcs of glittering energy, slashing through each one, but there are plenty more monsters right behind them._

 _Waves of energy constantly slam into her failing barriers. Each one feels like a spike in her brain. Her heart is beating so fast it sounds like a drummer testing how quickly he can strike his instrument. Bladed whips snake through gaps in the enemy horde to nick and cut her. Small trickles of blade seep out of multiple breaches in her armor._

 _Eventually, one of the creatures with a warhammer gets close and manages to make contact. Knowing the immense power behind the weapon, Jane was forced to redirect every scrap of energy in her barrier into a much smaller one at the point of impact. The hammer strikes the small spot with the sound of a bomb going off. Despite sparring her a spine shattering blow, the barrier violently detonates as her focus is broken, and the hammer hits her midriff._

 _The impact throws her across the chamber, almost a full hundred meters, to smash into the opposite wall. The VI in her armor warns of multiple severe breaches, including the complete loss of three plates covers her back. She gasps for breath, seeing that the entire horde is closing in fast, ready to capitalize on her momentary weakness._

 _She manages to shove herself out of the new hole in the wall, but her right leg gives way when she hits the floor. Something is torn in her thigh and Jane lets out a muffled scream of pain while trying to get back to her feet._

 _Time slows. She looks out to see the army ranged against her, a swarm of vile, corrupted monsters with no will of their own. It comes with a painful, humiliating realization. "I can't win this…"_

 _With no other options, Jane looks inside once more. On the dais in her mind, her shadow is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a beast of light and shadow paces along the length of its chain, the end held in a death grip in Jane's right hand. The beast watches her with a predatory gaze, ichorous drool oozing from its fang filled maw. She doesn't speak. It… she wouldn't understand._

 _Praying that she'll be able to come back from this, Jane lets go of the chain. The beast lets loose a roar and charges towards her. It leaps, taloned paws outstretched and its mouth cracking open at an impossible angle._

 _With a triumphant snarl, the beast clamps down and her mind goes completely red. The world around her returns to normal speed as the enemy closes in. Lost in a haze of rage, Jane pushes back to her feet, uncaring and unable to react to the searing agony in her leg anymore. She takes a deep breath, deep enough to fill the secondary structures in her lungs to the breaking point._

 _Using her biotic abilities, the beast lets out the first real world roar of its existence._

 **Lia**

She paces the floor restlessly, unable to decide if staying with Spits was the right thing to do or not. Her oath meant that she was obligated to do what Jane told her to. However, Lia was also responsible for keeping Jane alive. As much as they all loved Spits, he wasn't the one she was meant to protect.

As she checks his vitals for what must be the thirtieth time, Lia feels a shift in the air, like a hatch was suddenly opened in space. The chamber they're in gets colder and voices start echoing from the very walls. Then, a tremor shakes the entire tower, shifting several pieces of debris from the ceiling. She throws up a hasty barrier to protect Spits from the falling chunks of metal and stone. He wheezes, trying to paw at her affectionately but only managing to whimper in pain.

Lia kneels down next to him. "Rest. It'll be okay you great big-" A sudden surge of pain rips through her mind like a burning knife. Every thought beyond the agony is momentarily scorched from her thoughts and she collapses to the ground. As unconsciousness drags her down, Lia hears a howl of rage from above that makes her heart quail in terror. It goes on and on, grinding against her mind. Spits whimpers in fear and Lia whispers, "Oh Goddess…"

 **Unknown**

 **Aberration Detected**

 **Energy Signature Matches Records of Previous Events**

 **Presence of Mental Defense Mechanism Confirmed**

 **Category - Omega**

 **Conclusion - The Fulcrum has Developed Further than Predicted**

 **Testing suspended**

 **All Remaining Assets are to Engage Immediately**

 **Jane**

 _All is blood. All is death. All is pain. There is nothing she can do but lash out in every direction as creatures of all sorts rush to engage her. The blades in her her hands are no longer separate objects. They are extensions of her own body, pieces of her meant to end life as fast as possible. She cleaves through their bodies like a scythe through wheat, screaming in incoherent rage the entire time._

 _Every wrong she's ever suffered is projected onto them. The friends lost, family stolen, homes ruined, hopes dashed, they drive her to greater heights of savagery with each passing moment. Killing them isn't enough. She has to break them, destroy them, annihilate them. They have to be utterly erased from existence._

 _With every floor, Jane is driven deeper into the well of hate that's been building inside her for every one of her 23 years. As she rips through the creatures trying to kill her, a brief moment of lucidity intrudes of the slaughter, not that it stops her body. Jane's sanity is little more than a passenger at this point, watching from the back of her mind._

 _A tiny voice comes to mind, the same one that helped her gain control of the beast before. 'Don't fight it. You need to flow with it. One day, you'll understand. For now, be ready. The time will come soon when you will have to retake control, for what it's worth. Every depends on it...'_

 _It forces her into a berserk rampage, thankfully far from any innocents, but as her enemies begin to dwindle in number and her true prey gets closer, a tiny scrap of her mind wonders what will happen once he's dead._

 **Gavin**

With the guns finally taken down and the skies clear of hostiles, he gleefully takes Blue out of the canyon and into the action. The fortress is a burning mess, but the battle is still in full swing. He lands at a clearing where the gunship was detecting IFF tags from Kaidan and his team. As soon as Blue touches down, the man himself jumps into the back, along with John, Kal, and Veritan. Soon after, Teg hops in too.

He smiles at Veritan as the turian settles into the copilot's seat. "Damn good to see you again."

Veritan nods back. "Same here. We need to move, Jane is in trouble. Head for the central keep."

All trace of levity gone, Gavin boosts Blue into the air and sends them soaring towards the center of the fortress. As they fly, multiple Alliance and coalition fighters come alongside to provide escort. Behind them, several dropships join the formation.

Down below, Coalition forces are locked in brutal combat with the Red Wake. Enemy tanks try to push forward and disrupt the landings, only for some of them to turn on their allies and fire into their vulnerable flanks. The armor formations quickly disintegrate into a swirling melee of point blank cannon fire, leaving the forces deploying from orbit to land in relative peace.

Drones from Typhon fill the skies, many of them being used to intercept the few missiles still being launched. Some are flown down in kamikaze attacks against entrenched positions, while others serve as scouts through the winding buildings clogging the outer reaches of the fortress.

As they close in on the central keep, their formation comes under heavier fire from the ground. The decimated units near the landings filter out, replaced by those that haven't been bloodied yet. The strike craft escorts change that, diving down in strafing runs to rip gruesome holes in the units trying to reach the battle. With minimal air cover of their own, the Wake forces are being decimated.

Blue quickly leaves that slaughter behind, closing on the central keep with only a few strike craft still with them, along with the dropships. The gunship's sensors are registering explosions on the other side, so he calls back to the crew compartment. "Things are hot inside! Get on the guns!" He friends oblige, manning the side guns as they pass over the last wall.

Inside the courtyard, Gavin can see hundreds of mercs gathered around the main doors doing their damnedest to break in. They fire rockets, use grenades and explosives, and even deploy multiple biotics to try and force their way in. One group is putting together a rather ominous looking object nearby as well, complete with spikes and glowing spots that make it look like something from a horror-fantasy movie. Before the mercs spot the new arrivals coming over the wall, the guys open fire with the side guns. Armor piercing and anti-personal fire rip into the crowd, tearing several men into bloody ribbons.

Even as mercs try to counter attack, the rest of Blue's entourage arrives. While the remaining strike craft rain death from above, several heavy dropships land far enough away to let the men inside deploy safely. The Coalition infantry move in quickly, using the bunkers to cover their advance. They engage the enemy soon enough, gunning down any that try to abandon the attack on the doors. Oddly, the enemy down below doesn't break under the barrage. Instead, half of them gather into one large mass of bodies and charge headlong into the nearest Coalition unit. With the enemy so close, the strike craft above can't engage and a bloody close quarters battle erupts on the ground.

"God that's a mess. Where do you want me to put us down?" Gavin waits for an answer. When he doesn't get one, he looks over at Veritan to see him arguing over his comm bead. "Well?"

Veritan winces at something before pointing to the side of the tower. "Take us to that breach. We have to get inside." Seeing a hole blow through the side of the tower, Gavin carefully eases Blue into position. The guys in back have to jump the gap, but they all make it with only a few bitter curses.

Kaidan calls over the comm once they deploy inside. "Activate the main transponder and let Pan in. Once she's down, go support the Coalition at the doors." He does so and soon the data crystal they installed in Blue warms up. Together, they go to help however they can.

 **Teg**

He's only been in the central spire once, and that was a while ago. Still, he remembers just how uncomfortable it was, for him and pretty much anyone else. It had something to do with the symbols on the wall. Whenever he focused on them, it made his eyes ache. Having his hammer back in place helps a little bit, but Teg still does his best to avoid looking as he stomps down to the lower level. He spots Lia slowly pushing herself off the floor and Spits lying nearby.

"What the hell happened?!" He bellows. Spits is barely moving and Lia looks ready to pass out.

"Something terrible has happened up above. It overwhelmed me but I'll be alright. Spits," she puts a hand to her forehead with a groan before shaking it off, "he was kicked by one the creatures that did that to you." Lia points at the spot on his crest where the fissure was hidden by his disguise. "After that, Jane asked me to watch over him. She couldn't fight if he was alone."

Teg's about to respond when a massive crack sounds from the door. They both bring their weapons to bear, seeing that the huge plug blocking the way is beginning to glow red hot. Pieces are beginning to break away.

Gavin calls from outside. "You guys better get ready. They just blew some huge bomb against that door and all of them look ready to come pouring in!"

They both look down at Spits. "We need to get him out of here, now. Then, we can set up on a higher floor. The steps are narrow enough to funnel them into a killing corridor." Lia doesn't argue with him. She calls Gavin back to the breach above while Teg scoops up Spits as gently as he can. The varren mewls in pain and not much else. They reach the next level where Lia uses her biotics to move Spits into the crew compartment of Blue. Pan takes the controls momentarily so Gavin can strap him in. Once that's done, he flies the gunship away, making a beeline for the fleet above. Dr. Chakwas was busy looking after Kalen in the tunnels, so they had to hope the doctors on Typhon could help.

Soon after, the doors down below give way. They can hear a cacophonous roar as hundreds of Wake mercs pour through the opening. He and Lia sprint up to the next level to meet up with the others. Together, they set up any traps they can, use biotics to create some cover, and establish a firing line. As they finish what little preparation there was time for, the first merc comes running up from the lower level. It's a batarian, and one of the mercs that Jortan had personally selected for his honor guard. His face is blacked and threaded through with thin blue lines. He smells like a corpse.

Kal fires a single shot from his heavy rifle. His disruptor mod lets the round penetrate the mercs shield and bury itself in the man's brain. Even as the body falls, plenty more rush up behind him, straight into their guns.

 **Unknown**

 **Processing…**

 **Processing…**

 **Processing…**

 **The Fulcrum has Eliminated all Assets Aside from Subject Jortan and his Chosen**

 **She Will Soon Engage Subject Jortan**

 **Mental Defense Mechanism still Active**

 **Conclusion - A Counter is Required**

 **Testing must Resume**

 **Assuming Control**

 **Jortan**

This is it. The moment he's been waiting for. Everything is as it should be. The impure burn outside. His loyal few, his chosen, are fighting their way through the demon's minions down below. And, most importantly of all, **she** is almost her. After years of waiting, of praying and suffering, the gods have delivered his deepest desire. The demon was within his grasp. All he had to do, was reach out, and take his prize.

As the roar of the demon rapidly approaches, he feels the divine power of his deities fill his body. The holy glow of his cybernetics redoubles in intensity, bathing his chamber in harsh blue light. The voice of voices echoes through his head. "It is time, faithful servant. You are blessed. You are worthy. You are chosen. Slay this demon and the galaxy will be yours."

He kneels in prayer to thank the god filling his mind, little caring that his body was changing even as he whispered his obeisance to the divine. Under his simple robes, muscles grossly expand, ripping skin open, only to have his flesh harden, becoming stronger than steel. Small growths of gnarled flesh sprout up where the last vestiges of his impure body rapidly begin to mutate under the will of the being that has slowly conquered his mind over the years.

Jortan doesn't question any of it. He simply prays more zealously, thanking the divine for the changes to his unworthy body. Everything is a step closer to his gods. The pain is just the price he pays for ascendance.

The changes slow to a stop as the demon breaks through the barrier to his chamber. She is just as he expected. Her helmet is gone, armor in tatters. Her exposed face is twisted in a visage of bestial rage that so many of his followers have seen just before being torn apart. Her crimson hair floats behind her in an air current that isn't there and streamers of golden energy arc from her body into the walls, leaving behind slagged metal with every touch. Both her blades are dripping in the ichorous blood of the priests. ' _Truly, she is damned…_ ' He thinks to himself.

She doesn't speak as her pace builds into a charge. Even as she howls like an animal, Jortan blesses her with his words. "Come Akshar. Let us end this, together." Her voice grows in intensity. It would likely be enough to kill a lesser being, but he is blessed. Without him choosing to do so, his body draws the heavy black blade from his back. It is not unlike her own dark sword, though his was forge by the priests and thrice blessed. His other hand quickly changes one final time, shifting from something very similar to a normal batarian's hand into something special. His fingernails merge completely with his digits and begin to extend. They grow into black talons, twice as long as his fingers had been, with their ends sharped into mono-molecular sickles.

While he revels in yet more blessings, Akshar leap at him from the base of the steps leading to his position. She is bathed in blinding golden light as her blades descend towards him in a murderous arc. Unafraid, Jortan allows his masters' most painful blessing to manifest. Like a wound in reality, he is surrounded by crimson energy, every bit as intense as the demon's own power. His sword and new claws clash with her weapons. The two opposing fields create an explosion of power so great that the entire tower is shaken down to its foundation. The windows behind him shatter, the triple reinforced glass nothing before their clashing energies. He stabs his claws into the floor to stop his movement, while she lands hard at the base of the steps.

In less than a second, the demon is back on her feet and shrieks as she charges back towards him. He braces for another impact and a voice that isn't his own rips out his mouth. "I am your end Fulcrum!" They collide again and Torfan shudders.


End file.
